#i was practicing archery after school today

[xrphansrevival]

pose referenced from @blumineck

will i ever stop drawing this One Singular Character? probably not

[killergee]

Hi, hi! First thing first, im in love with your hoshina x designer weapon reader! It's really warm my heart!! (I LOVE IT TO THE CORE HEHBFJSHDHC😭🫶🫶🫶 BLESS U)

Can i request you (this is kinda awkward) i want to see Highschool AU! For Hoshina x Reader. Kendo player! Hoshina x Archer! Reader👉👈 i would love to see them bantering each other (of if it's not Highschool AU! You can use the close range user! Bf x long range user! Gf thing!)

Thank you!

Ahhh my first request, how exciting! Sorry for posting so late. So many things have been happening lately. Also had to do some research and ended up watching tsurune LOL.

Here's a bunch of little stories of your life as Archer! Reader x Kendo! Hoshina.

Part 2 (one shot)

Synopsis: The club captains of the kendo and the kyudo (archery) club don't seem to get along. Or rather, that's how the club members see it.

---------------------------

"Oi, what do ya think you're doing? The kendo club's got this gym booked for today."

Toppled on top of each, the members of the kendo club huddled nervously outside the door to their gym. They could only take small peaks and glances from their place as they were all too scared to step foot inside.

All except one.

The Captain of the Kendo team, Hoshina, was the only one who dared to enter the gym. Standing tall with his arms crossed, he gave you a menacing glare.

Rising from your kneeling position, you exhaled a tired breath and put your training bow down. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see your name on the registrar, so I presumed the gym was empty and booked it." Despite the courteous words, your apology dripped of insincerity and a smidge of condescension. "Had you actually done your job correctly, this could've been avoided."

The members of your own club shifted awkwardly. Exchanging knowing glances, they braced themselves to watch their Captain go at it once again with the rival club Captain.

Hoshina lets out a scoff as he rolled his eyes at your attitude. He ignored your comment and continued on with his interrogration. "What are ya even doing here, ya can't shoot in here. Why aren't you in the kyudo hall?"

"It's under repair, and kyudo isn't only about shooting. I gotta teach the newbies the correct form before they can even touch a bow." You stated before offering a fake smile. "Why don't you go build your stamina with some laps? It's not good to slack on basic fitness."

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you? When's the last time ya used your legs?"

After a brief moment, Hoshina flashed his own small smile, although there was nothing friendly behind it. He leaned down until his face was a mere couple inches from yours. He knew you hated the height difference. That you hated the fact that there was something he had over you. Going by the tiniest twitch in your perfectly crafted smile, he knew he was right.

"Hey, give me the room, and I'll play nice and let you watch us practice. Maybe then you'll learn something of actual worth." He suggested, feeling a deep satisfaction at the slight clench of your fist.

"I don't understand the need to swing a big sword. Overcompensating for something?"

"Ah, and I suppose hitting a massive target from far away is much more impressive."

"Oh my, if you think a target that's only thirty-six centimeters is massive, then I'm definitely worried for you."

"Are dick jokes the only jokes you can make? Are you a child?"

"Sorry, did I hit too close to home?"

A vein popped on his cheek. He could never really get a handle on your snake-like tongue.

Everyone felt the heavy tension and chill in the air. The first years had trouble believing that the two people squabbling like children were their beloved Captains.

You were known for your kindness and elegance. But you knew when to be soft and when to push harder. Where you went, people's eyes would follow whether consciously or not. You were the most talented kyudo archer the school has ever seen and an equally good captain.

Hoshina was among the top strongest kendo player in the division. Diligent. Attentive. Trustworthy. His laidback attitude attracted a lot of people, but when his serious nature slipped through during matches—that's when it was impossible to take your eyes off of him.

You two rarely crossed paths, but when you did, it was a blood bath. You two brought out the worst in each other. Or maybe you simply brought out each other's competitive streak.

All the members of their respective club could only pray for the day the two of you stop bickering.

---------------------------------

"I heard you guys passed the preliminaries," you said as you sat and watched him practice. It was late into the evening, and only the two of you were still in school. You had locked up the kyudo hall but saw how the lights were still on in the kendo dojo. Curiosity got the best of you, and you went to see who was still practicing.

"Congrats," you said quietly, barely audible to anyone around you.

"Oh, sorry, what was that? Awww, are ya congratulatin' me? I'm so honoured, oh, glorious captain." He jested back, pausing his activities against the training dummy. He stopped because he's had enough practice and shouldn't overexert himself. He definitely didn't stop because he wouldn't hear you against the sound of the strikes.

"Whatever, your opponents were shit anyways. It would've been harder for you to lose."

He lets out a low whistle at your words.

"Way to ruin the moment." He said, beginning to take off his armor. Placing his wooden sword at the stand, he peeled off his gloves.

Then, realization hit Hoshina, and he froze. The corner of his lip curled into a dangerous smirk as he turned to look at you.

"Wait, does that mean ya watched me compete?"

You flushed a pretty shade of pink and looked away from his amused eyes.

"Well, we're hosting the tournament this year, and I happened to pass by the dojo, so I just took a look."

"Right..." He chuckled. "Your preliminaries are tomorrow, right?"

You nod your head as you get up from your spot. The way you stretched your arms above your head reminded him of a cat.

"Yup, and we're gonna show you guys why we're number one in the division, unlike you guys who are only what again? Right, second."

"Hope you miss." He grunted in response. Though, despite the gruff words, Hoshina found that there wasn't actually any bite to his remarks nowadays. His once heated bitter words are now nothing more than poorly disguised teases.

At hearing your chuckle, he looked up at you, and his breath catches in his throat.

"Me? Miss?"

The look in your eyes was hypnotizing.

"Never."

---------------------------------------------------

Why others seemed to admire you was beyond Hoshina's understanding. You were immature, vain, cocky, rude, and knew exactly which buttons to push to annoy him. If people saw the side of you he got to see, they would run for the hills.

Walking from the main school building to the dojo, he heard the faint but recognizable sound of the kyudo bow releasing an arrow.

Ah, that's right. You should be playing right now.

He stopped in his place as he looked to the direction of the sound. He had to pass the kyudo hall anyway to get to the dojo, is what he told himself before he changed course to take the longer route to the dojo.

There was a crowd gathered around the hall by the time he made it there. Not wanting to be seen, he kept to the edges of the crowd but still in a good enough spot that he had a good view of the archers.

Hoshina thinks to himself that he'll only stay to watch your first shot as he watched you ceremoniously kneel with your bow and arrow.

However, he found himself stuck in his place as he watched your elegant and meticulous gestures. Like a moth to a flame, he couldn't tear his eyes away from your figure as you drew your bow. He didn't know much about kyudo, but he couldn't help but think that your draw was beautiful.

Everything about you screamed confidence and assurance. With the twang of the bow string, the arrow released and hit dead centre of the target.

Like always.

By the time he realized he's stayed longer than he should've, you had fired 5 shots. Not a single arrow missed the target.

The cocky smile that bloomed on your face as you lowered the bow and admired your work made his heart race.

Huh... so that's why so many people are head over heels for you.

He left before your team could celebrate the victory.

---------------------------------------------------

As the season continued, you two made it a habit to stay later than usual when practicing. Whoever would finish first would go to the other and watch or tell them to pack it up.

As captains in your last year, both of you needed to win your tournaments.

"Don't ya ever get tired? Or are the rumours true and you're actually a robot?" Hoshina said with his head resting on his bag as he sat and watched you.

"Only partly, actually," you quipped back before drawing another arrow. "One more shot."

"And how many times have ya said that?" He asked looking at your target filled with dozens of arrows. Unlike what he was used to seeing, a third of your shots were off target.

"Can't afford to miss. "

"Ya need to go home."

"No"

Hoshina rolled his eyes at your stubborness. "You think this is going to help ya? You're just burnin' yourself out."

Although you lowered your bow at that, your focus does not move away from your target. "We were one point away from not advancing to finals. I need to be perfect. My team is depending on me. I can't afford to drag my team down or disappoint them."

At one point in time, he'd have paid someone to bring you down a peg. Now, however, his heart twisted at seeing you doubting yourself.

"Listen, I know the pressure better than anyone else. This tournament is important to me too. But ya just need to have faith in the skills that you've built up over these years. You've earned the title of best kyudo player for a reason." He sat up straighter when you finally turned to look at him. Rubbing the back of his neck, he continued, "also, have faith in your team. They've worked hard and don't want to disappoint you either. Don't forget you're in a team, afterall."

You stared at him for a moment before giggling. Your giggle turned into a full-blown laugh at his pout.

"Now why's that so funny?"

"No, no," you managed to say as you try to collect your composure. "I just never imagined getting a pep talk from my arch nemesis."

A smile replaced Hoshina's pout. "I'm your arch nemesis?"

"Aren't I yours?" You jested back as you began putting away your equipment.

Were you? Arch nemesis wouldn't be the words he'd use to describe you. He didn't quite like the idea of you only being a rival to him.

His on the other hand. Now, that didn't sound too bad.

With your back turned to him, he called out to you, making you turn to him.

"Here."

You caught whatever he threw at you before it could hit you. Sitting in your palm was a key chain with a cat shaped charm, and beside it, an omamori charm with the embroidery "victory."

"Hasn't really been working on me, so you might as well try it," he said, looking rather bashful.

You let out another laugh at his actions. "Can't be owing you, here's mine," you said amused, removing the charm that hung on your bag and tossing it to him.

"It might give you my luck, but I doubt it'll be able to give you my amazing skills. So don't put too much pressure on it."

The charm was of a heart with an arrow through it and a wooden good-luck charm with the engraving "grind them to dust."

"How fitting," hoshina said outloud as he held the charm in his palm.

"Oh yea," you chuckled. "The statement is quite aggressive, but I thought it was funny"

"Hmmm? Oh yea, that too." Before you could even think twice about his statement, he closed his palm around the charm and gave you a determined look.

"Let's win this."

You couldn't help but smile. "That goes without saying."

---------------------------------------------------

Bonus:

"Hey, isn't that Hoshina's charm?" One of your club members asked curiously as they stretched on the ground. Although the rest of the members pretended they weren't listening in, they were dying to know why you had it. They were able to spot it right away when they saw it on your school bag. It was the charm that Hoshina kept on his bag for all the years they've known him. They also couldn't forget how the Kendo members were forced to stay after school to search for the charm when he lost it.

"Yeah," you responded matter of factly as you stood and watched them.

"Why? I thought you two hated each other?"

"Now, who ever told you that?" You responded slyly.

Their mouths hung open at your statement. Were you gaslighting them? Or were you just pretending you didn't pick a fight with Hoshina every chance you got.

"Oi, y/n hurry up. I'm hungry"

At the voice, they all snapped their heads to look at the owner of the charm himself. Leaning against the doorframe, he was in his school uniform with his bag tucked under his arm.

"Yea, yea, coming old man, don't be so pushy," you said, making your way towards him. When he turned to head out, the members saw your unforgettable charm hanging from his bag.

"You buying lunch this time or is it my turn?" They heard you say as the both of you walked by the window of the gym.

"Don't remember. Let's just say it's my turn. " Hoshina responded with what they think was a smile.

"What the fuck just happened."

[blissfullsvn]

zomnextdoor

summary. short scenarios about boynextdoor in a zombie apocalypse.

pairing. boynextdoor (ot6) x reader genre. zombie apocalypse!au, angst, fluff word count. 2.6k (0.4k–0.5k each) warnings. zombies (surprising), violence (towards the zombies + one depiction of bashing a zombie in the head), implied major character death (in 1 scenario). all scenario-specific warnings will be mentioned at the start. a/n. in light of bnd's 1st anniv, the new what?door! ep coming soon, & the sudden influx of 좀넥도 content on k-onedoor twt, i hereby present my brainrot to you. enjoy! (p.s. some scenarios are untagged bcs they're not rly fluff... but also not angst...) masterlist

sungho

archer!sungho

sungho is at archery practice when he hears it; the screams around the school, so incredibly raw that he knows they’ll echo in his mind again and again, long after today.

he finds out the reason just a few moments later, far sooner than he can properly digest the disconcerting noises. seeing the glass doors crash and break into a million pieces is a sight, but the true sight comes a second later, when the cause of the destruction hurtles towards them.

and he freezes. it’s just for a beat, but a beat too long. he sees the exact movements of the rotten fingers reaching for him, so unmistakable it’s as if he’s viewing it in slow-motion, then something in him finally clicks. he instantly ducks down, which happens the same time he feels something tug at his wrist, but his scream doesn��t get to escape his throat when he hears yours.

“sungho sunbae!” you yell as you maneuver around the onslaught of rotting bodies. you’re dragging him towards the staircase leading to the second level of your practice area, because archers will always have the upper hand from longer distances. “what the hell are you doing?”

it’s an immediate reality check. he looks around, and it’s chaos; there are zombies flowing in from every exit, screams and shouts being heard from within and outside the room, and the distinct sound of arrows being shot. he looks back to you, who’s running in front of him and pulling him along to keep him safe. 

you’re right. what is he doing? everyone knows that as an archer, agility is one of the essentials, but he had nearly lost himself from a moment of hesitance. he feels even more embarrassed that you, who has always claimed to be his super fan, is saving his ass literally single-handedly by using the back of your bow to shove the zombies away because your other hand is wrapped around his wrist.

at the realisation, he grips his own bow tighter in his hands and promptly turns around despite your protests.

“take care of my back. i’ll handle this,” he says as he walks backwards, aiming his bow at the herd.

riwoo

angst warning: implied major character death

riwoo prides himself in staying calm, even in the most extreme situations. but somehow, it shocks even himself that this statement still rings true in a national crisis.

when he hears screams so loud they burst through the music blasting in their dance practice, he doesn’t hide the raise of his eyebrows. however, he doesn’t mention anything, considering none of his members seem affected.

when the noise doesn’t cease, instead growing by the second, he raises a hand to signal a pause in their practice. one of the members runs to turn off the music, and the immediate juxtaposition that occurs is more than unsettling. with the room abruptly falling into pin-drop silence, the flood of screams rattling the walls is even more prominent. that’s when the dancers start to grow wary.

despite this, riwoo is calm. he’s confused, but not frantic. even when the doors of the practice room burst open and you stagger inside in terrified hurry, he’s calm. even when he notices the red patch of fabric on your arm that you’re clutching tightly, he’s calm. even when you’re trudging towards him with a weird gait, he’s calm. even when he's gesturing to the rest of the members to leave the room, knowing he’ll be left alone with you, he’s calm.

it’s weird, he thinks as he watches all of his members run for their lives before his eyes fall back to yours, noting the way the recognition in them is flickering. it’s weird how, instead of following his team, he’s reaching out to thumb at your tears, which only prompts more to flow down.

he thinks so again as he wraps his arms around you, tightening his hold like it’s the last time he’ll ever get to do this. with you in his arms, he can clearly feel the unusual twitches from your body, and yet he’s still calm.

when you cup riwoo’s face with shaky hands, scanning his face as if to engrave it in your memory, he only offers the warmest smile he can. he tries to do the same; to capture this moment to the fullest. so when he sees the exact moment your eyes turn unfamiliar, he lets go of himself as well.

jaehyun

football player!jaehyun, fluff

if someone told jaehyun that within just a few minutes, he would receive a confession from his nine-month crush before his football match and immediately get thrown into a life or death situation, he’d laugh at them for saying nonsense.

but that’s exactly what happened.

“wait, did i hear that correctly?” jaehyun is bewildered, eyes nearly popping out of his sockets. “you… like me?”

you twiddle with your fingers and nod slowly. like this, you look even cuter than usual, and jaehyun is practically melting; it takes everything in him to not squeeze your cheeks. looking at his round eyes that are even rounder from the shock, you ask timidly, “are you going to reject me?”

“reject?!” it comes off louder than intended, but it shows just how much he’s in disbelief. “how could i ever reject you?” he lets out softly, directly reflecting the expression on his face.

the way you brighten up immediately is a sight to behold, one jaehyun would like to keep dear to himself forever. this moment is unfortunately cut short when he hears screams from the bleachers.

jaehyun raises an eyebrow. “what? have the others gone out already?” he peeks out of the locker rooms.

at first, he’s confused. there’s no one on the field, but the screams are increasing by the second. everyone in the audience is scurrying frantically, running and pushing past one another. despite his own apprehension, he senses your tenseness behind him and quickly cracks a joke to ease you first. “don’t tell me they’re this terrified of a mickey mouse?” he laughs, turning to look at you, but his face drops immediately.

you’re horrified. you’re watching the scene as if you’re seeing something from your nightmares come to life, and the look on your face makes him think that maybe you are. he feels himself grow antsy at your drastic reaction, and he understands why when he turns back to the field again.

if there’s one thing in the world he’s more terrified of than ghosts, it’s the possibility of an infectious virus outbreak that threatens humanity.

and he’s witnessing it happen right now.

for a football player, his legs are utterly useless now as he wobbles from his own weight. before he can drop to the ground fully, you’re already next to him and hoisting him up.

“jaehyun,” you call, and he’s surprised at the firmness of your tone, a complete contrast from the meekness before. “hold onto me tightly, okay?” you interlock your fingers together and take a step forward, standing in front of him. “we're gonna have to run.”

taesan

fluff (?)

both you and taesan are aware of how terrible this could go.

you’re in the music room, surrounded by instruments of all sorts. in normal circumstances, these instruments would be as welcoming as a warm hug, offering the solace you needed after a long day. now, seeing them only makes uneasiness zap through your veins.

you don’t have time to ponder your decision again when you hear the inhuman noises you’ve unfortunately grown familiar with. after ensuring the doors are locked well, you stride to your makeshift stage by the windows, where taesan is standing by the keyboard. he nods at the window, where a rope is hanging from the highest floor down to the ground, and you mimic the gesture before slinging your bass over your shoulders.

your fingers immediately find their positions on the instrument from muscle memory, which puts a flash of a smile on your face. you look at taesan, who’s already looking at you, and he nods reassuringly.

he smiles, “shall we play for our biggest audience yet?”

for the briefest of moments, you hear a pin-drop silence that you haven’t been able to experience since the outbreak. you shut your eyes, taking it in. then, before you realise, the bass is echoing throughout the speakers.

you look at taesan as you play, both to help your nerves from the crowd that you know will be right outside anytime soon, and to live this moment to the fullest. after all, you’re not sure whether you’ll be able to ever do this again.

taesan shares the same sentiment, because he’s soon opening his mouth to yell out the lyrics of your go-to song, the one that’s been yours ever since you joined the band together.

you flicker your eyes over to the herd that has arrived outside the room, banging at the doors and windows as they try to enter. despite the situation, looking at taesan and the way he’s relishing the music puts a smile on your face, so much that even when you see cracks start to form in the doors, you don’t feel an overwhelming sense of despair.

when you notice that the doors are bending more under the weight, you and taesan share a nod; the cue for him to step away from the keyboard and climb onto the rope behind you. it’s the final part of the song, the bass solo, which is also nearing the final part of your plan.

the second you hit the last note, you unceremoniously swing the bass towards the door and jump into taesan’s arms, just in time for the doors to break down.

leehan

taekwondo athlete!leehan warning: one depiction of bashing a zombie in the head

the peace of leehan’s nap gets shattered when he hears the thud of the door, immediately followed by irritating growls and a poorly muffled scream. he’s ready to ignore them until he hears the cart of balls being pulled away and crashing into something, presumably the zombie itself, which has not only pierced his eardrums but also unveiled his hiding place to sleep in the gym’s storage room.

he sighs. dropping the open book covering his face, he stands up and adjusts the lollipop in his mouth before placing his hands in his pockets. he walks towards the opposite corner of the room, where the source of the disturbance finally comes into view.

you’re cowering behind a stack of mats. despite the top of your head clearly peeking out, you don’t dare to look at anything beyond the faux shield. he merely spares one glance at you before he turns to the problem itself. then, he notes that it’s either the zombie has strength that’s off the charts, or you’re incredibly bad at pushing and aiming, because the cart is nowhere near the zombie and is by the wall instead. 

he shrugs off the observation when he sees the zombie staggering towards him, and he slowly takes a few steps back. then, in an action as swift as the wind, he twists his body in a semicircular motion and delivers a kick right to the zombie’s head, effectively bashing it onto the floor—all the while keeping his hands in his pockets and the lollipop dangling over his lips.

you’ve since looked up from your hiding spot, and there’s a newfound expression on your face. however, when you look back at the twitching body on the floor, the fear returns at once. 

leehan looks over to you, and in the most nonchalant tone, as if he hadn’t just casually roundhouse-kicked a zombie, he says, “don't lure them in here. they're so loud.”

you can only offer a shaky nod, and then he’s walking back to his original position. but when he sees you stand up and stumble towards the door, he halts in his steps and turns to face you completely.

“didn’t you hear what i said? you’ll lure them in if you open the door. just stay here.”

woonhak

you’ve never had a proper interaction with woonhak, but from the bits of information you’ve unwillingly gathered due to his popularity, your impression of him isn’t the best. he’s loud, boisterous, and sometimes just rowdy; you can’t help but paint him as this immature kid in your head.

but your prejudice has been completely shattered today.

when the signs of a virus outbreak first appeared in your school, starting with your classmate who had entered the class with a ghostly pale complexion and nosebleed, all you knew was you had to run. and that’s all you’ve been doing for the past hour, burning your muscles and lungs without stopping to narrowly avoid the grasp of death.

until you found yourself tripping over a stack of tables, and your legs got trapped under all the tables that had toppled over you.

when you tried to pull your legs out, all it did was cause the tables to fall even more, making it harder for you to move at all. the noise had also attracted the zombies roaming endlessly, so when you saw silhouettes dashing towards the room after your futile attempts to get yourself up, you had already resigned yourself to your fate—the mangled jaws right before your eyes. you could only shut your eyes and brace yourself for the inevitable.

then you heard the groans from the herd in front of you, followed by the lessened weight on your legs and the crash of something across the room, and you immediately opened your eyes.

there, standing in front of you, is kim woonhak. he has a table in his hands, the flat surface facing him and the legs outwards, using it to hold back the herd before you with a wince.

you don’t know how, but he manages to hold the table with one hand while reaching out with his other to grab onto another table over your legs, hurling it across the room.

you watch him do this for a few moments, until it finally clicks that the noise is too loud. you search around the room frantically for something—anything—you could do to help, and your eyes soon land on a baseball bat a short distance away.

“woonhak,” you call.

“yeah?” he grimaces, struggling to use the table as a shield when the crowd seems to grow by the second.

“are you good with a baseball bat?” you ask, holding up the weapon.

he turns to you for a split second, seeing the bat before he faces the front again. he instantly catches what you’re insinuating, and his decision is a no-brainer.

“pass it,” he reaches out his hand without looking.

you’re surprised, but you don’t waste another second before giving it to him. almost immediately, he drops his makeshift shield, and what you see next completely repaints your image of him. by the time you’re able to get yourself out, he has already cleared half of them. it seems you’re constantly getting surprised today.

before he can pass out, you quickly tap on his shoulder and grab the bat from him without asking. “thanks a lot, woonhak. take a breather; i’ll take care of the rest.”

a/n. half of this was easy to write, and half was hell. guess which one was which

fyi, i wrote this with them all being high school students in mind, but you don't have to imagine them like this! except for woonhak ofc

anw, don't ask me why i wrote riwoo's part like that bcs i hv no idea either. it just felt right. so enjoy... hopefully...

© blissfullsvn 2024. All Rights Reserved.

[veryberryjelly]

katie's first day

pairing : kate bishop x reader

🎃 - back to school / university

👻 - " careful, there might be vampires, or werewolves! " " yeah, or ghosts "

𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞

by some form of miracle, kate had been accepted into college after the incident with the bell tower at her previous place of study.

after a glowing reference from a national hero such as clint barton her old school was practically begging her to come back and study there, but she had found a school with an excellent sports programme for her to continue with her archery,

you seemed more excited than her.

when the morning of her first day back arrived you were out of bed before she was even awake.

you wanted to make sure today was easy for her.

you knew how hard it was to start a new school half way through your academic career and it wasn't very fun.

by the time you had fed lucky and made coffee for both yourself and kate, you could hear footsteps coming from your shared bedroom.

a few moments later you felt a pair of arms around your waist where you were stood against the counter.

" morning, sweetheart...you excited for your first day ?" you questioned, picking up her coffee and turning around in her arms, offering the warm mug out to her.

" more nervous, the bell tower thing wasnt exactly a secret...i don't really want people knowing me for that..." she explained, lifting the mug to her lips to take a sip of the coffee.

you picked up your own mug, sitting yourself up on the counter top where kate quickly stepped between your legs.

" then show them that you're more than that. show them that you're the girl who can shoot a bullseye with a blindfold from 50 meters away. give them something to know you for, other than your gorgeous face and the bell tower" you explained, your hand sliding up to rest on her waist underneath her sweater.

she had no rebuttal to that.

instead she left a soft peck on your lips.

" c'mon, if you don't get ready soon you're going to be late. "

🌘🌕 🌒

the ride from your shared apartment was short, but it was one filled with soft touches and quiet praises.

when you eventually pulled up outside her school building you turned your body towards hers.

" you all good ?" you questioned, a soft smile on your lips.

" i'm all good. " she replied simply.

" okay, then good luck, baby. call me later, oh! and be careful, there might be vampires, or werewolves " you joked, hoping to ease the nerves you could see radiating through her body.

it seemed to work when she let out a soft laugh.

" yeah, or ghosts " she joked and it made you smile. she was relaxing at least a little bit.

she leaned in to press her lips onto yours in a loving kiss.

"love you, baby. you got this " you said as she undid her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, heading into the main building.

[bitterbutblue]

october 1998

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

im so stressedfor uni for literally no reason its so bad i think high school has traumatised me ..

we got some robin pov today!!!!! i hope ur all doing well <3 i will still be posting one shots like i used to just not as frequently now im afraid..

i was thinking of doing a tingyun x reader maybe soooo maybe thats next

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The rhythmic tapping of the feet, the squeak of a sole of the shoe against the dance floor, the quiet sounds of panting and gasping, eventually overtaken by silence as Robin drops to her knees. The cold wood against her knees, fan barely keeping her from overheating as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. Each move she practices feels wrong, slightly off. And she can't have that if she wants to audition next month for the company that's now opening up for new trainees. Her body feels right, yet the mirror shows her moves constrained and held back, stiff and rocky.

"Fuck!"

The sound of a fist hitting against the planks echoes through the dance studio, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes as she takes a shaky breath to calm herself down.

"Robin?"

The unfamiliar voice has her looking up quickly, quickly brushing away the once falling tears as she takes in the person who stands at the door.

"Topaz?"

The student council member just blinks.

"I- I haven't seen you since like, primary school. I heard you moved back." Topaz clears her throat "Can I come in?"

Robin nods, and Topaz opens the door to enter the somewhat stuffy dance studio. She takes in the sight of Robin, eyes red and knees bruised, kneeling on the ground in a sweat-drenched shirt and she sighs- unable to stop herself from worrying.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

The response came too quickly to her liking.

"Really?"

Robin nods again and Topaz doesn't press the matter any further.

"Student council, huh?"

"Same as it was when I was in primary."

"Except more responsibilities now, I assume."

Topaz lets out a chuckle that sounds slightly forced. Robin just watches from the ground as Topaz moves to open a window, a gust of wind and the slight ventilation had Robin releasing a breath she didn't realise she was holding in.

"Why are you still here? It's late." Topaz raises an eyebrow "Way past 6pm. Only school registered clubs are allowed to stay."

Robin clenches her jaw, looking away to stare at the wooden planks beneath her. Topaz doesn't sound like she wants to get Robin into trouble, more so worried. And the worry pisses Robin off for reasons she can't quite explain. But she can't show that.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. You haven't been here in a long time anyways." Topaz offers out a hand "Come on, let's go."

The hand stays held out for a bit, until Robin finally takes it. Topaz helps Robin up to her feet, who at this point can't even stand without feeling like her ankles are about to crumble into dust and her arms might just fall out of their sockets. So she stumbles slightly, Topaz quickly steadying her with a concerned look in her eyes and something else. Something Robin despises.

Pity.

"Are you okay?"

Robin nods, shooting her usual charming smile as she stands up straight, ignoring the jolt of pain up her back and hiding a wince behind a smile.

"All good."

The humid summer fades into a cool autumn breeze now, and walking in this weather is significantly nicer than walking in what feels like a never-ending sauna. She zips up the windbreaker, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she walks down the same path. The same path that would let her pass by the soccer field where the archery club would practice on Wednesdays but always made an exception for their golden star. Their child prodigy.

You.

She watches from afar as each arrow nails a target so small she can barely see the score. She watches you hit score after score that a normal person would find impressive but you frown at with a look of growing frustration. She loses time watching you shoot from afar, just standing there, unable to move.

The day your mother came to pick you up, she remembers distinctly watching the entire conversation unfold. The archery club whispered behind your back and she had to physically fight the urge to throw something at them.

What hurt her most was seeing you cry. The last time you cried, in her memory, was when you were six. You broke a gift Robin had given you and broke down to her about it, sobbing and begging for her forgiveness and Robin just remembers laughing. She remembers telling you it's okay and that it's just a gift but you still insisted that it was more than just that.

You were six.

Robin doesn't want to think about how many times you might've cried over her, over losing her for a reason you never figured out. The guilt still eats her alive- and it's only worsened after getting here. She wanted to avoid you, but you can't really avoid anyone in a small town where everyone knows everything about each other, like who failed their job interview, whose son got into university, whose company went bankrupt and had to move back to a country they long left behind. There was no avoiding you, which meant each day was confrontation with the reality of what she had done and who she had lost from her own immaturity.

So lost in her thoughts, she doesn't realise that you had stopped shooting. You had put your bow down, sitting on the ground with your knees pulled to your chest and head buried in your arms. You look so vulnerable in the moment, like a strayed dog who had come to terms with the fact that it would never find comfort. She wants to talk to you, she wants to approach you and ask you if you're okay but based on your last reaction- perhaps it wasn't the best idea.

So she walks away, forcing herself to move one foot at a time away from you. She walks, the image of you sitting alone on the field burned in her mind now.

How alone could one be?

"Robin! How have you been?"

She finds herself, once again, at the door of the convenience store your mom ran.

"Hello, Ms. Yukong." She bows slightly "I've been well."

"Adjusting alright?"

"Yep."

She shoots your mom a smile as she walks down the candy aisle, looking for a specific sweet in mind. Her eyes soften when she finally spots it, the Dream Candy. It was stocked up high, and she smiles at the thought that your mother had purposefully gotten more in stock in case you wanted to eat them. A sweet gesture, and she wonders if you've ever noticed it.

"Dream Candy?" Yukong smiles as Robin approaches the counter "I didn't realise you still liked these."

"I haven't had them since I left." She says quietly as she slides a bill across the counter. Yukong hums, quickly giving Robin some change.

"It's Y/n's favourite too, you know?"

I know.

"Really?"

"She loved them as a kid, same with puffergoat milk. You might've forgotten by now."

I didn't.

"Most likely." She laughs "We haven't spoken in a couple years."

She leaves the store with a feeling of emptiness she hasn't felt in a long time. A small packet of assorted sweets in one hand, steamed puffergoat milk in the other, she makes her way up to the same rooftop she ran into you two months ago- the same rooftop she had been too afraid to go back to in fear of seeing you.

The walk was an odd one, essentially going back up the path to school except she takes a left turn at a certain house and up a sketchy looking set of stairs before continuing down the path. Eventually, she will reach an old abandoned building with a large 'NO TRESAPSSING' sign that she has willingly decided to ignore. Pass the gates, through the door. It's dark now, all she has illuminating her are the streetlights and a flashlight keychain she has.

The view at the building is not anything breath taking. It's a cloudy night and even the moon has decided to avoid her, for better or for worse. She moves to sit at the edge of the building, feet dangling over with the threat of falling looming over her. It's this threat that makes her want to sit here, as a form of punishment of sorts. She twists open the cap, taking a small swig of the drink before letting out a soft sigh. It's not often she likes to be alone with her thoughts yet recently she has found herself unable to process anything- as if she was overloading. She wants to focus on her dancing but all she can think about is the expression on your face when she tried to talk to you. She wants to focus on the audition soon but all she can think about is the way you turn around to walk the other way if you ever see her walking towards your direction.

It hurts, but it's deserved. Perhaps this pain she feels is only half, a quarter, a tenth of whatever pain you felt when she decided to stop talking to you.

By the time she finishes the entire drink, it was completely dark out. The silence surrounding her should have freaked her out at least a little but she can't help but find it calming, she can't help but like the silence.

She looks down at the bag of sweets in her hand.

Maybe, just maybe.

"So I was telling her like, I can't keep doing this. I'm exhausted, I have barely any time to study and she still expects me to somehow maintain sixteen hours of archery a week alongside maintaining top grades."

You can't stop yourself from completely going off on Stelle. It was a dam long waiting to be broken and when she asked if you were okay it just broke. The two of you were walking to your locker to pick up your archery bag for practice, Stelle choosing to accompany you as she had nothing to do and she made the unfortunate choice to ask how you were doing.

"Talking to her is going to be useless, I'm not sure what else you can do."

You groan in frustration, leaning your head against the locker door as you've arrived.

"There is nothing I can do anyways, fucking hell." You grumble as you throw open the locker door.

You blink.

You did not remember buying a pack of your favourite candies.

"What-"

You pick up the pack, peeling off the sticky note on top. The handwriting was unrecognisable, no one you talked to aside from Dan Heng had handwriting this neat.

But this was not Dan Heng's handwriting.

Take care of yourself! It'll be okay :)

"What is that?"

You feel your heart beat just a bit faster as you reread the note, Stelle peeking over your shoulder.

"Secret admirer?" Stelle's eyes widened, and you can't stop the silly grin from forming on your face as you fold the note up and pocketed it. It feels ridiculous, you feel ridiculous. "Let me see the note!"

"No!"

"I wanna see if I can figure out the handwriting, come on!"

"Shut up-" You lightly pushed Stelle away, a fluttering feeling in your chest. The person behind the note didn't matter, but the fact that someone was looking out for you made you feel warm in ways you hadn't felt in a long time. Stelle rests her chin on your shoulder, standing behind you as she pouts and you feel your heart beating faster again.

"Come on, let me read it!"

"Oh, fuck off."

You look inside your locker for your other things before taking out the archery bag, Stelle stepping back as you heave the back onto your shoulder.

"How do you lug this thing around every day?"

"Honestly? I have no idea."

She follows you like a stray puppy, but all that you could focus on is the fact that she is next to you.

Nobody tells you how hard it would be to perform well when your crush / best friend has her eyes on you the entire time. She watches you like she's learning from you, eyes tracing your every move as you lift the bow up, drawing back, and firing.

"Don't keep staring at me, it's pressuring me."

"But you look cool."

You have to fight every fibre in your being to stop yourself from smiling.

"Shut up."

You fire again.

"9." Stelle announces through the binoculars

"Fuck."

"How is that bad?" Stelle's eyes widened "You are shooting at a target I can barely even see!"

You shake your head.

"Not good enough according to my mom." You sigh as you sit down next to her on the grass, pulling out the pack of sweets and opening it. Stelle grins, wiggling her eyebrows in a way that makes her look absolutely ridiculous.

"Soooo, can I see the note?"

"No." You hand her the pack as you chew on the gummy "It's fine. They'll probably reveal themselves at some point or another."

"You have to tell me who it is. I wanna guess it's... ooh, maybe it's Tingyun from business?"

"Tingyun? I've barely spoken to her."

"But she's always looking at you."

You roll your eyes.

Again, it really doesn't matter whoever it is. Because the person you wanted most is sitting right next to you, barely even realising you're looking at her with the softest gaze as she rambles on about why she thinks it's Tingyun (it most definitely is not, and you are willing to bet on that).

"I'm surprised they got my favourite candy right." You mumble as you toss one up into the air, catching it with your mouth. Stelle does the same, copying you except she doesn't actually catch it and just wasted one of your precious sweets- sacrificing it to the ants on the field.

"You eat that shit all the time in class, anyone could've guessed." Stelle takes another one from you gratefully

"Whatever."

It's rare for Stelle to stay after school, she normally works part time jobs but every time she does get to stay she spends it with you. And you're grateful that she has the time to spend with you today. There's nobody else you'd rather be sharing sweets with as you watch the sunset together.

As Robin walks down the same path, she notices the smile on your face from afar. It's bright, and it's warm. You look happy, and that's all that she can really care about for now- even if it hurts to see you smiling like that with someone else.

[angerybabydino]

Share the first lines of ten of your latest fanfics (or up to if you have fewer) and tag ten people.

@detta-pica This is how I start properly using tumblr after saying I would start for the past four years XD Thank you for tagging me, all the kisses

While I definitely have more than ten WIPs, most of them I haven't touched in. A while. So have the ones I've been working on recently :3

Another World, Another Time - Chapter 10 (satosugu, reverse!AU)

Satoru’s almost surprised when he arrives at the elementary school and senses numerous curses condensed on the third floor. The report said no one would be sent out to handle anything until tomorrow. It was supposed to be a single grade-two curse that spawned from the students’ fears of being consumed by the giant hole in the ceiling that had yet to be fixed due to low budget. He doesn’t expect the large amount of grade-four and -three curses mingling about.

untitled wippie (satosugu; shotgunning)

Waves crash against the beach, a steady push and pull that almost lulls him to feel. The moon shines bright against the water, reflection rippling and warping in an endless stutter. The night air is cool against Suguru's skin, sea salt filling his nose as he leans over the balcony rail. It's cold against his bare arms, sending shivers down his spine. A cigarette sits between his fingers, end glowing red against the darkness the night has bathed him in.

Give Me a Chance (Come Kiss Me and Bite Me) (satosugu; Over The Threshold fanfic)

“Good enough, Satoru,” Utahime says, arms crossed as the music cuts off. He can see her face reflected at him through the wall-length mirrors of the practice room, eyes still critical and analyzing his every move. “We can work out the rest tomorrow when the backup dancers are here.” “Like you don’t want to hound me and fix everything right now,” Satoru snarks back, chest heaving with exertion as sweat trickles down the back of his neck. The last time he was on tour was a year ago, so his limbs ache from practicing multiple songs in a row after so long.

A Single Breath Before Release (wangxian, archery!au)

There's always something incredibly soothing about setting up his bow for a shoot. It's methodical, a process where every step has its place in order for him to be able to shoot properly. It's almost as meditative as shooting itself, but he has to pay attention to his equipment, make sure nothing needs any maintenance.

Peonies Pressed Between The Folds of Your Heart (wangxian, hanahaki)

Somehow, he manages to pick himself off the ground, kick the flowers into one of the bushes along the side of the road, cover his blood with dirt, and haul himself to the nearest town. It doesn't take him long to find an inn and ask for a room and a few jars of alcohol. He uncovers one of them, dumping it down his throat. It stings, not in a pleasant way but in the painful way that comes with a thousand internal cuts.

untitled wippie (wangxian, fox!xian!au)

His car rumbles to a quiet stop as Lan Zhan pulls it into his designated spot. Fatigue clings to his body, dragging his eyes down as he heaves a bone-deep sigh. He loves his job, but there are just some days that just seem to grind by at a snail’s pace despite the amount of projects he’s constantly working on throughout the day. Sighing, he tugs his keys out of the ignition, grabbing his bag from the back seat before climbing out, heels clicking against the asphalt.

untitled wippie (wangxian, ice skating!au)

The blast of cold that hits Wei Wuxian in the face every time he comes to the rink never fails to send shivers down his spine and elation to his heart. While he prefers his apartment on the warmer side, the drop in temperature never fails to also feel like home. Today in particular is busier for a public skate since its the weekend, kids stomping around in skates not tied correctly, couples sitting on the benches with one obviously more nervous than the other. Not too many people to make practicing an issue. He forks over his ten dollars for two hours of skating time, not needing to pay an extra seven for rentals as he dodges around children and marches up the bleachers. In reality he should probably rent a locker to store his bag and wallet and keys, but he always leaves his bag in plain sight and it hasn’t failed him yet.

I. Don't have any people to tag so feel free to bounce off this if you haven't been tagged in one yet :D

[liviavanrouge]

Friends

Lester: You save lives, I bring death...death and life can't be friends..

Livia: *Smirks at him* Hm, can't they~

~~~~~

Livia: Lester! Start taking care of yourself!

Lester: *Lifts his head* AH...a number between ten and thirty-

Livia: EAT THE DAMN SANDWICH!!

Lester: *Blinks groggily* Yes ma'am...

Livia: *Sighs, shaking her head*

~~

Livia: *Grins, holding her phone up*

Lester: *Rests his chin on her shoulder*

Livia: EW IS THAT DROOL!?

Lester: *Laughs as she started punching his arm*

Livia: YOU ARE DISGUSTING!!

Lester: *Stands up, running away with her hot on his tail*

~~

Lester: Where are you going..?

Livia: Huh? I have archery practice with Rook, wanna come with?

Lester: ...Prince of Death here, did you forget..

Livia: OH RIGHT! The arrows would try and impale you..!

Lester: Yep..!

Livia: I'll see you later then!

Lester: *Smiles, waving to her*

~~

Lester: *Smirks, carrying Livia princess carry* Don't hide, princess~

Livia: Sh-Shut up!! *Covers her face with one hand embarrassed, the other wrapped around his neck*

Lester: Quite the bad accident in Flight Class~

Lester: Perhaps the school nurse isn't as invincible as I thought!

Livia: *Huffs, flustered* QUIET!

~~

Livia: *Beams, carrying stuffed animals Lester won* Thanks Lester!

Lester: *Huffs, carrying her giant lion plushie* Happy now that we've gone to almost every booth, the sun is setting..

Livia: You're the one who indulged me~

Livia: And yes, I am very happy~

Lester: *Rolls his eyes, smirking* I bet...

~~

Lester: *Leaps up onto the railing, turning around* Come on, it's easy to balance and all that...

Livia: *Stares at him, her arms crossed* Ah...says you..

Lester: *Holds his hand out* Come on, you can hold my hand..

Livia: *Grabs his hand, smirking* Why thank you~

Lester: YOU TRICKSTER-

Livia: *Laughs, placing her foot on the wall, giving herself a small boost*

~~

Lester: *Lays sprawled out on top of Livia, his head resting on her chest*

Livia: *Yawns, sleeping soundly, her fingers tangled in his hair*

Lester: *Grumbles, wrapping an arm around her waist, turning his head around to face the wall*

Lester: *Sighs, falling back into a blissful sleep*

~~

Livia: *Grins widely, wearing a sundress that showed her back, her hair in pigtails*

Lester: *Stands beside her with a sunhat on and lots of sunscreen, his arms crossed* I hate this..

Livia: You promised to go shopping with me~! *Skips beside him, smiling*

Lester: *Takes his cardigan off, placing it on her shoulder so her back was covered, walking after her* Whatever...

~~

Livia: *Smiles, writing in her diary, her cheeks pink*

Lester: *Staring over her shoulder* Why are you writing Jacks name with hearts-

Livia: *Screams, slamming her diary shut* LESTER!!!

Lester: OHHH! I'm snitching!! *Runs away, laughing loudly*

Livia: NOOOOOOOO!!! *Runs after him, her hair flying behind him* SHUT UP!!

~~

Livia: *Runs with Lester, holding his hand, pointing forward* ONWARDS!!

Lester: I am the Prince of Death! I preferred being carried by skeletons-

Livia: NOT TODAY! WE RUN!!

Lester: *Wheezes, struggling to keep up with her as they ran*

Livia: *Smirks at him, looking smug*

~~

Livia: *Yawns, laying upside down, rubbing her eyes*

Lester: *Lays upside up, his head resting on her chest*

Lester: *Closes his eyes, falling asleep*

Livia: *Gently toys with his hair, running her fingers through it*

Livia: *Closes her eyes, falling asleep*

~~

Livia: *Smiles, resting her hands on Lester's shoulder*

Lester: Hey Princess...

Livia: *Rests her cheek on her hands, grinning at him* Don't ever call me that again

Lester: *Gently bumps his nose against her head* Alright, Livy

Livia: *Closes her eyes, smiling*

@queen-of-twisted @zexal-club @13hoursss @frosity @writing-heiress @abyssthing198

[supersnaill]

PLEASE PLEASE tell us more about the karate au!! is it in a modern setting? how does the princess thing work in it? i want to knowwwww

so actually this isn't a completely new au it's just an extra part of my hylian high school au which is in turn......a zombie apocalypse so be warned hehe

LOTS OF STUFF UNDER THE CUT V

so i'm imagining it would be in a modern au. they're just regular guys (i haven't really thought of the princess stuff...i guess she's just distantly related to some old royalty here?) who train at their dojo and are trying to survive haha. They go to the same high school, too.

So the form of karate they're doing is shito-ryu, since that's what i do and i'm most familiar (also it's the best form of karate hehe), and it's going to be like.................australian dojo because i want this to be my self indulgent putting miphlink into my life :v ,minus the apocalypse but it's similar enough to today's life so it's ok

Link and Mipha are both brown belts going to black belt (relatable✌️😔) who kind of lost touch over time but reconnected when they had to start training. it was awkwardd, because Mipha had sort of ghosted him when her mum died and really withdrew into herself. Link thought that he'd done something wrong and then...didn't try to reach out to her again so she thought that he now hated her and it went badly. They become friends again quickly though, but there's some tension because Mipha's new friends don't really like him because to them, he just stopped being friends with her as soon as stuff got hard (which is technically true but he was just being an idiot).

Here are some vague outlines of the main characters and their roles (in and out of the dojo! ^^) Link: Senior student (around the same rank as Mipha but he got presented with his brown belt first so...by luck he usually is in front of her in rank). He also helps out the teacher. (15 yo) Had never held a sword before until he found a magical glowing one in a piece of rock, but prefers to just punch people in the nose. Mipha: Senior student and the demonstrator for sensei. Basically she is always picked for every demonstration and gets thrown around a lot in front of the class haha (15 yo). Also has some magical abilities she had no idea about 👀

Impa: Leading student & black belt! O: Mipha and Link look up to her but Link has a grudge after she gave Mipha a concussion in one tournament. Mipha thinks she's cool and took the concussion as a compliment and proof she needs to improve lol (17 yo)

Urbosa: Sensei! :D Very scary but sweet too. Post-apocalypse when she's having to look after the kids it's kind of awkward because she went from being teacher to practically their aunty so it's a tough transition and an interesting dynamic. (She still teaches them some practical stuff to use but rarely has time for kata and real teaching now that they live day-to-day) Has known about her lightning powers for years but tried to suppress them out of fear of being arrested and studied in a lab. (40s.)

Revali: Doesn't do karate but is instead an archery master and pretty good at a gun range too! Him and Mipha get very close when the apocalypse hits and he pretty much takes her under his wing (🥁) because at this point in time he's got no-one else and makes it his mission to try to reunite her with her family (17 yo). When he meets Link he pretty much usurps his position as leader of the group, so they get a pretty big rivalry after that. He has weapons but there is no way he is letting anyone near them.

Daruk: PE teacher at the kids' high school! I don't have many other things to say about him yet (sorry daruk 😭) he does have his protection, tho! (40s)

Zelda: One of Link's friends! Was really happy being friends with Mipha, too, and is really good at anything related to science and surprisingly, very talented at learning to use a crossbow when she finds one post-apocalypse. (i think she needs something way less dainty than that tiny little bow and arrow she gets in aoc.) Also awakens some interesting powers when her friends are in trouble and is able to purify zombies after that. (16yo)

this kind of diverged from karate to zombies but i hope you don't mind! this is honestly really self indulgent and i didn't want to have two hylian aus so i squished them together... my black belt test being interrupted by an apocalypse after i learnt three whole kata and trained for months would piss me off so much. mipha and link have so much strength

[sagethegaywitch]

Rook's Birthday Bash

GN reader

TW: none

Genre: fluff

I feel so bad. I completely forgot I was writing birthday blurbs for everyone. I know I'm like 3 days late for Rook's birthday, but here's his birthday bash piece.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rook is aware it's his birthday, but he's not going to make a fuss about it cause he wants others to acknowledge it first.  Of course he'll hint to others that it's a special day, but most Pomefiore students brush him off, saying they don't remember today being a holiday.  Even Vil and Epel will ignore Rook’s silent hints, and Rook tries to remain positive but it still hurts.

What's odd is that at school, many of his friends from the other dorms will wish him a happy birthday.  It's like only Pomefiore forgot about it.  He'll tell you his woes, being very dramatic as he throws his whole body weight on you and fake sobs into your shoulder.

You’ll reassure him and try to cheer him up by hanging out with him during the school day.  You follow him as he stalks a few students and you help him set up targets for him to do some archery practice.  You don’t allow him to shoot an apple balanced on your head, but he doesn’t let that bring down his mood.

While he seemed very disappointed that people forgot about his birthday, hanging out with you has brought his energy back tenfold.  In the short period of time, he managed to drag you to a grassy knoll and prepared a small picnic for you two to enjoy.  With a few desserts that he might have stolen from a Heartslabyul unbirthday party and fruits from the school’s gardens, Rook put together a decent little surprise for you.

Meanwhile, the Pomfiore dorm, under Vil’s watchful gaze, is setting up the dorm for a surprise party for the beloved Vice-Housewarden.  Everything is in perfect order, the decorations evenly spaced out and the colors matching flawlessly.  Vil checks his watch, making sure that they have enough time to prepare a small meal and cake.

As the sun begins to set, Rook pulls you a bit closer, having you lean your head on his shoulder, as you two watch the fiery sunset.  Rook tells you how glad he is to have you as his friend and he’s really happy that you remembered his birthday.  You smile and pull out a wrapped gift from your bag.  You tell him that you were going to save this for later, but there is no better time than the present.  Rook will carefully take the gift and tear the wrapping paper off.  You would either get Rook a mug that reads “Tears Of The People I Beat At Archery”, archery gloves, or a small piece of jewelry with a bow and arrow on it.  Whatever it is, Rook will have real tears in his eyes as he hugs you and rambles he thanks in French, none of which you can understand.

After the sun fully disappears and the stars start twinkling, Rook walks you back to his dorm, filling the time with stories about his past hunts.  When he finally reaches the doors and pushes them open, he’s startled to see all of the Pomefiore students jumping out and yelling “Surprise!” with Vil standing in the middle of the hallway with Epel by his side looking very proud of himself.

Rook’s eyes tear up again, but doesn’t let them fall as he runs over to hug Vil, kneeling in front of the Housewarden and hugging his waist.  Vil sighs and pats Rook’s head but forces him to stand up before ruins either of their outfits.

The party involved a full course meal, which in reality was a really small portion, before Epel brought out a cake.  After everyone sings happy birthday, conducted by Vil who ensured everyone was in perfect harmony, Vil used a precise hand to cut the small cake into multiple tiny and thin slices.  He’s a bit more lenient with Rook and offers the birthday boy a normal-sized slice.  Rook will scarf down the cake before complimenting the chef, and he might even try to sneak a few bites off your plate.

When it comes to presents, Vil is probably gifting Rook a new bow and arrow while Epel will get Rook a new quiver or some fancy arrow set.  He’ll thank them profusely as well, but it wasn’t as raw with emotions as when he thanked you for your gift.

As the sky gets darker, Rook will give you one more head pat and hugs you, whispering another thank you before he lets you leave.  Of course he’ll follow you in the dark to make sure you got back to your dorm safely, and he’ll only feel more relaxed when he sees your door close behind you.  Back in the comfort of his own room, tucked into his covers, he’ll trace over the details of your gift once more before putting them on his nightstand and hoping for good dreams about you.

[leoconstantinepinochle]

10) Leos class and way to his room

characters: Leo

Leo POV:

Then, it hit me.

I had been asleep during the lesson. It must have only been for a few minutes, but I had drifted off. The lesson was still ongoing.

I had been sleep-deprived for a while due to preparations for infiltrating Rummy college.

The teacher glanced at me while teaching math to the students, then turned back to the class.

It seemed he had noticed I had fallen asleep, but he didn’t say anything. He likely wanted to avoid drawing attention by acting like a teacher and getting on my bad side.

The school is becoming more and more ridiculous.

After school, it was time to go home, but in current case i had to go to the dorms.

In the classroom, some students were chatting, while others were heading off to their extracurricular activities.

I packed my belongings into my satchel and stood up from my seat. As I did, I noticed a few students hesitantly approaching me, as though they were trying to gather the courage to speak.

"Is something the matter?"

I forced a smile, one not meant for adults, but rather one I would show an old friend.

There were two students. I didn’t know their names.

"It’s been a while since you’ve been to school, right, Leo? Since you’re here, I thought it’d be nice to talk," one of them said.

The other student looked to their side, waiting for a response.

"Ah, yeah. You’re not in any clubs, are you?"

They tried to act casually, though their nervousness was evident.

"We’re in the archery club and we were wondering if you wouldnt... like to join?" one of them said.

"Actually, I’m not allowed to join any clubs … Sorry for not being able to join you even though you invited me."

I showed them a slightly gloomy expression.

"No, no! Don’t apologize! It makes sense—you’re a Pinochle, after all!"

"Well then, see you tomorrow!"

"Hmph…"

And with that, they quickly left.

I walked out of the classroom and strode down the hallway.

Clubs, socializing—all just excuses to get closer to me.

As I walked, I let my expression shift, lowering the metaphorical shutters on my face.

Manipulating kids like them is simple. I have the skills to overturn whatever impressions they might have of me—a survival skill, if you will.

There are always people who resent me simply because I’m a Pinochle. But I need to establish a foundation first. Fortunately, my behavior in class today was passable.

If I can maintain this impression, I can leverage the Pinochle name to extract information or influence as I need.

Using classmates as pawns might prove somewhat useful. Keeping a certain distance from them while doing so will be key.

I need to be prepared for this to be a long-term mission.

There’s no harm in taking my time, but I don’t intend to stay here forever either.

This time, my mission at Rummy college is to investigate the whereabouts of the x-playing Cards. Moving too quickly might draw unnecessary attention.

Other than dozing off briefly during class, I performed flawlessly. I answered every question posed by the teachers perfectly, outran the other students during running practice, and executed gymnastics routines that even outshone the performances of the athletic club members. I was so good that I ended up being used as a demonstration model instead of the teacher.

Though being singled out like that was irritating, public recognition minimized any jealousy from others.

After classes, I played the role of a student unfamiliar with the school's layout, showing weakness on purpose. Some sympathetic classmates invited me to lunch. My reflex was to politely decline, but I decided to accept, viewing it as an opportunity to gather information.

I also made sure to ingratiate myself with the teachers. Pretending to struggle with balancing family obligations and studies, I approached them after each class with questions. Of course, I didn’t have any real questions—there was nothing I didn’t understand. But people feel pleasure when they’re relied upon, and that often turns into goodwill.

If I keep this up for a few days, the groundwork will be complete.

However, the real problem comes after that.

This isn’t about the mission anymore. The thought of continuing to infiltrate the school itself fills me with dread.

I left the school building and walked along a stone-paved path lined with patches of grass. As I walked, the students instinctively parted like the Red Sea before Moses, making it ridiculously easy to pass through.

I passed several buildings bathed in the hues of sunset. The campus of Rummy School was vast, with numerous structures spread across its grounds.

Because the campus was so large, I found myself reflexively wanting to summon a hired car.

Luckily, I came across a shaded bench in a secluded area. Just because I was infiltrating Rummy School didn’t mean my branch office duties had disappeared. Some tasks were being handled by Bernard and Wendy in my absence, but there were jobs only I could do.

I sat down on the bench and pulled out my notebook. For a while, I immersed myself in work.

I always feel more at ease when I’m working for the branch.

As I continued working, I found myself relaxing a little. After emailing Wendy about an error in the ledgers, I put away my device, stood up, and left the bench.

After walking for a while longer, I arrived at my destination: the dormitory known as the House.

Rummy School is a boarding school, so students generally live and eat on campus. The House is where they spend their time when not in class.

Students are assigned to dormitories divided into four groups: "Spades," "Hearts," "Diamonds," and "Clubs." These names correspond to the four suits of playing cards, which are associated with the four provinces of the Forland Kingdom. However, a student’s group assignment has no connection to their place of birth.

I was assigned to the Diamond dormitory.

Daily life, as well as school events, are managed by dormitory groups, fostering a sense of camaraderie among those in the same suit. Each dormitory seems to have its own unique character, but since I’ve never participated in any events nor stayed long enough to notice, I can’t say I’ve grasped the details.

I arrived in front of the Diamond dormitory.

Since it housed about a quarter of all students, the building resembled a massive (yk what else is massive?) apartment complex. Above the wide-open gate, a large diamond emblem was prominently displayed.

Upon stepping inside, I was struck by the understated elegance of the place. Alongside electric lights, lanterns were also installed, giving it the air of a traditional hotel lobby. Rather than feeling dreary, the atmosphere was calm and serene. Students in tailcoats were scattered about, engaged in animated conversations.

The moment they noticed me, however, they immediately straightened their postures. Some even began adjusting their attire.

Internally sighing deeply, I flashed them a bright smile—enough to almost make a sound.

Even the upperclassmen among them instinctively returned the gesture with polite nods.

As I climbed the broad central staircase, I exhaled a real sigh, making sure no one could notice.

Now, what floor was my room again?

I walked down the corridor lined with individual rooms.

The sight resembled that of a hotel, though the children passing by, dressed in tailcoats or casually wearing variations of them, lent an uncanny air to the scene.

Checking the room number that Barnard had told me in advance, I searched through the many doors. With such a large number of rooms, it was no easy task to find mine.

Eventually, I arrived in front of my assigned room. The door, far too ornately carved for a mere dormitory, stood before me. From my pocket, I retrieved an antique key. Despite its simple design, its age made creating a spare a troublesome ordeal. I’d also heard that the keys used for certain facilities, like the staff room or valuables storage, couldn’t be duplicated.

Should anyone lose their key, they would be required to submit a written apology and face a hefty bill sent to their family. For someone like me, though, the amount was barely worth my allowance.

I inserted the key and turned it, but it spun freely.

It seemed the door wasn’t locked.

"Hey—finally decided to show up, huh?"

Accompanied by an irritating, raspy voice, the door flew open with a bang, nearly causing me to stumble forward.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 3 - The Song of Naru (Part 1)

Things that happened in this chapter

- Yotube drama

- Mustaches

Watch Ooku guys!

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Nakiryuu means “crying dragon” and it’s a common motif in Buddhist temples 

2. I don’t know what this means. I think it’s some kind of Japanese wordplay that flew over my head

3. Oogiri is “a form of comedy that focuses on improvisation by providing a funny answer on the spot for a question or thematic topic”

Previous | Next

Haneina High School’s Asahina was eating an onigiri.

He had spread out a picnic blanket in the courtyard during the bright afternoon and was eating lunch. Next to him, Eddie was stuffing his cheeks with triangular onigiris. Before studying abroad, he had learned of the existence of onigiri after watching a Japanese historical drama, and now he was captivated by them. Every day he thought about what to use for the filling, and today’s filling was kiwi fruit.

When Asahina was on a school trip in elementary school, he saw that only his onigiris were cylindrical while everyone else’s were triangle-shaped and thought, Huh? Why am I the only one who’s different? He asked his mother about it after he returned home, and she told him that she was from Kansai and that onigiri had always been made like this back home. Apparently, it was easier to pack in a lunch box.

There was an unpleasant scraping sound, and Asahina stopped eating.

“Ow, I bit the inside of my mouth.”

“If you bite the inside of your mouth, that is your body’s way of informing you that you are eating too much and it doesn’t wish to eat anymore.”

“Really?”

A quick internet search revealed that when the body was in poor condition, such as fatigue or poor physical condition, it was difficult to control jaw movement well. It said to get plenty of rest and get in shape. It had a point. Last night, he had been too focused on video editing and didn’t get enough sleep. Eating too much—he did have second helpings of Wan-Nyan cheese curry at the place he visited yesterday.

The Haneina second-year Asahina You and American exchange student Eddie Fox were Yotubers who ran the channel “Yumihiki Douji” together, and they were well-received. The standard orange kyudo uniform was Haneina’s color. They also had customized orange bows and arrows, all of which were uniquely theirs.

Anyways, it was “aesthetic.” Rather than kyudo that emphasizes spirituality, they aimed for kyudo that people could enjoy watching.

On today’s practice, Asahina wore a pongee kimono as he drew his bow. When he learned that the kyudo wear he usually wore was training wear and that people wore kimono in formal occasions, he started to collect kimonos. It was said that patterns weren’t allowed and solid colors were OK, but finding those were difficult. Kimonos were expensive, so most of them were recycled items, and washable polyester materials were tried as well.

Their videos were almost completely ignored as soon as they were uploaded, and after a while they were filled with comments like “their shooting form is terrible,” “they’re so bad,” “that hairstyle is so ugly,” and “you’re disrespecting kyudo.” But since it was for class, they updated every week, and positive comments like “I look forward to it every week” and “Same same. I learned so much from them.” As they took in the opinions and feedback of the viewers, their archery skills also improved. Recently, their collaboration project with a channel about Japan became trending.

One day, someone wrote in the comment section, “I started kyudo because I admired Zen in the Art of Archery. Can everyone in Japan do what Awa-sensei did?” It was a request from a foreign viewer.

Shooting a target in the dark.

Two arrows were shot in the dark. The first one pierced the center of the target, and the second one split the first one down the middle, the shaft halved in order to reach the center. This was a superhuman feat. Asahina had also heard this story from his grandfather when he was young, and it remained somewhere in the back of his mind. He would love to attempt it. Even if he didn’t hit the center, he would probably hit the target at least.

The results were terrible. He couldn’t see the target at all after turning off the lights in the target area. They tried lighting mosquito repelling incense, but they only produced faint white trails of smoke and he couldn’t find his aim. When they went to pick up the arrows, they found that the arrows had avoided the targets and pierced the azuchi at an angle, or landed right in front of them. It looked like a battlefield. Now he knew how much he usually relied on his eyesight.

He had considered trying again during daytime, but it was no use in the first place. If you could aim and hit, then you’d already hit. The shape of the bow, which had existed since the beginning of time, had changed, and despite the difference in materials, it had reached a point where it couldn’t be changed anymore. And now it had reached the present. The Japanese bow, which had been imbued with the lives of generations of bow makers, was a tool that even the wisdom of mankind couldn’t yet control.

That was why the bow chose the wielder. What should one do to be chosen?

Asahina gave a big stretch.

“Haa, ‘don’t do today what you can do tomorrow.’ Tomorrow is fine, so let’s think about it tomorrow.”

“’Tis a Turkish proverb. This humble one takes it to mean, ‘Do it today because you may not be able to do it tomorrow,’” Eddie said.

“Really?”

Can’t be helped. They were going to stay at the kyudojo until nighttime today as well.

He heard the gathering bell. He listened to the nostalgic sound that tinted the sky an azure color.

He heard the gathering bell. He listened to the nostalgic sound that tinted the sky an azure color.

On that day, Asahina and Eddie were at the temple gate.

The two walked along the cobblestone path to the main hall. Two dragons were painted on the ceiling of this temple, and when they clapped their hands in prayer right below them, there was an echo like the roaring of dragons. They were called nakiryuu. (1) In fact, the two of them met in this nakiryuu room, and moreover, it was in a dream.  Their conversation went something like, “It’s been a while. When was it, a few hundred years ago?” “Well then, shall we go all out?” When they actually met each other at school, they were both silent, wondering if this was a continuation of the dream.

There was a fellow second-year of the Haneina kyudo club standing in the temple.

“You guys really like the nakiryuu room, don’t you,” the fierce-looking Matsuda said.

“I guess so,” Asahina answered.

“I don’t really know what the dragon’s expression is like, but the resonating sound when you clap your hands together feels good.”

Matsuda was poor-sighted. He couldn’t see the outlines of things very well, but he had a great ability to sense the presence and feelings of people. He could tell that Asahina and Eddie had an unusual relationship, but he thought that it was something that must not be mentioned. He liked watching their red and gold hair sway, so he quietly stayed by their side. The three of them chatted with each other a lot, and right now Matsuda was putting his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. He felt an unfounded sense of security that these two sun-colored people would never treat him like a freak or exclude him.

On the other hand, the fourth member of Haneina’s kyudo club, Kanuma, was a man who went at his own pace and didn’t care about anything. He was obsessed with haikus, and when he started thinking about them, he often got lost in his own world and froze in the middle of conversations. Incidentally, his haiku skills were mediocre.

Even right now, he was muttering to the temple wall.

“Maybe a line about dragons? It’s even more difficult if the motif is mundane.”

“Kanuma, have you composed a poem? I’d like to collaborate with you on a haiku and kyudo project for the next Yumihiki Douji video,” Asahina asked. “Yeah,” Kanuma answered.

“Kanuma, I want to ride the dragon on the ceiling. Can you help me?” Matsuda asked, and was answered with “Yeah.” No matter what was said to him, he only answered, “Yeah.” Eddie threw in the towel. “This is hopeless.”

There was another person glued to the wall. More precisely, a boy was staring at the patterns on the wall.

Igarashi had a nickname: the Gardening Prince. He grew various plants, took precious care of them, and drew them. His bows and arrows were decorated with a profusion of flower drawings, and at competitions, the people of other schools let out gasps of admiration when they saw his bow and arrows.

After imprinting the pattern on the wall into his eyes, he looked at Asahina.

“I saw the last Yumihiki Douji. There was another comment from ‘that guy.’ Is everything alright?”

“Oh, you’re talking about ‘Tetsi’ right?”

“They write complaints in other people’s comment section every time. Isn’t that like going into other people’s houses and renting a room?”

As their views increased, someone calling themselves “Seigi no Tetsui” would write things like, “Kyudo is a traditional Japanese martial art” and “What kind of kyudoka would have red or blond hair? If you’re Japanese, dye your hair black like a Japanese.”

Eddie waved his own blond ponytail at Matsuda.

“My blond hair is my natural hair, and I am not Japanese, but American, so how about that?”

“It’s an old trick to throw in mistakes on purpose to get people to bite, isn’t it? Don’t get lured in.”

“As you say. I shall ignore it.”

Kanuma, who they thought wasn’t listening, turned around, gave a thumbs-up and grinned.

The Yotube channel “Yumihiki Douji” was Asahina and Eddie’s channel, but it was actually run by the six of them: Matsuda, Kanuma, Igarashi, and Coach Tsuchiya.  

When the five exited the temple gate, they heard the laughter of elementary schoolers on their way home from school.

It happened at the end of the holidays.

A protest was posted on several channels set up by Haneina students with the title “Attention Haneina High School.” The writer was Tetsi, or “Seigi no Tetsui.”

Your school is making students selfish and egotistical in the name of freedom. Since children are immature beings, adults should firmly admonish them to follow the rules of the world. Someone who isn’t disciplined in that way would commit foolish acts later in life. The behavior of the kyudo club is especially unbearable to watch. Kyudo uniforms are white. This should be stopped immediately. They are a disgrace to kyudoka—.

Because the school was named, a staff meeting was held.

The principal said, “Our school’s educational philosophy is to ‘cultivate people with reading comprehension and communication skills.’ Listen carefully, think for yourself, and share your opinions. Communicate calmly with people who have different opinions. Videos are the place to practice these things. First, Tsuchiya-sensei will show the students an example. I shall take responsibility. Do it to the best of your ability.”

The next day, Coach Tsuchiya stood in front of a camera.

“To everyone who watches this channel, thank you for your continued support. My name is Tsuchiya Ena, a teacher at Haneina High School, as well as the coach for the kyudo club. Recently, we received the following comment. As a faculty member, I sincerely apologize for my poor choice of words. From now on, I would like to choose my words more carefully. Regarding kyudo uniforms, in accordance with competition rules, we wear white during tournaments and only colored clothing during practice. We appreciate your understanding.”

The next day, a new video channel was opened. The owner was Tetsi. There was a black sheet covering their entire body, and they were wearing a Noh mask. Their voice was also modified.

“It’s one thing if you’re university students, but it’s deplorable for high school students to wear orange. It’s a lax mindset. There’s something you should do before worrying about your clothes. You should study harder. Are you going to destroy the traditions that kyudoka have cultivated over centuries?”

After this, Yumihiki Douji and Tetsi continued to post responses to each other’s videos.

――There is no basis for claiming that the students in our club aren’t diligent in their studies. The school will not publish data that only extracts the grades of some students. That is your delusion. Also, there is no reason why this is acceptable for university students but not for high school students. The white kyudo wear we wear for competitions is practice wear, and kimono is worn on formal occasions. By wearing kimono on a daily basis, the students are trained to avoid careless blunders in formal situations.

――Who does this young woman think she is? What kind of university did you go to? Don’t tell me you’re from an F-ranked school. A school that would hire such a bottom-of-the-barrel girl is clearly not worth anything. What a stupid school. There’s no point in talking to you. Get me the principal.

――The university you graduated from has nothing to do with your kyudo ability. In the past, there apparently used to be a section on the examination form where you must fill in your last place of education, but this has already been eliminated. The precept of our school is “learning from the past.” We visit the old to learn the new. You can’t break the mold if you don’t know it. We respect the teachings of our predecessors.

――Where’s the respect? You should respect your elders. I’m senior to you.

――I said the old, but predecessors aren’t necessarily older people, and just because someone is older does not mean they are superior. It’s just a way to honor a person’s achievements.

The videos were clipped and spread widely, and a controversy arose as to what color kyudo gi should be.

“It should be white.” “No, green should be OK as well.” “White, black, and navy blue are fine, but fluorescents are going too far, aren’t they? It’s too bright for the eyes.” “What color should I buy if it’s not white? Can I dye it lavender or something?” “Who’s this Tsucchi? Can the coach be my girlfriend?” “At my school, if you buy a different color, you’ll have to buy a new one, but I don’t have the money.” “I’m in the table tennis club, but I get more motivated when I chose a gi that stood out.” “The length of the sleeves is just right for kyudo gi, aren’t they?” “Tsucchi and Tetsi together make Tsutecchi.” “My dad’s Chicchi.” “The bow’s micchi is kewacchi.” (2)

It was a flood of words that was pretty much just an oogiri. (3)

Asahina raised his hands.

“Hey, Tsucchi, let’s stop responding to Tetsi, okay? This is taking over the channel. Our channel name is Yumihiki Douji, right? The adults are butting in too much.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I just got so mad when my adorable students got criticized.”

One day, Tetsi’s disguise got peeled off.

They wrote, “You guys should just shoot your bows quietly.”

Their comment section became a huge mess.

“It’s not ‘shooting a bow,’ it’s ‘drawing a bow.’ Saying you’re shooting a bow means you’re making a bow. If you’re an archer, that should have been the first thing they taught you.” “You’ve never referred to their shooting forms at all, have you? Maybe you don’t know the Eight Stages of Shooting at all? You’re not an archer at all, are you, Tetsi?”

The identification people showed up and very easily found Tetsi’s identity. Tetsi was a female office worker, a classmate of Tsucchi’s from the same university, and had zero kyudo experience. An hour later, all her videos were deleted, and Tetsi’s account was gone.

She was just an outsider who was stirring things up by using words she heard somewhere to provoke them. The flood that had been blocked by the dam continued to flow, and all the talk about what the color of kyudo gi should be got lost somewhere in the middle. Just what was all that fuss about?

The pair returned to normal operations.

“Hello, this is Asahina of ‘Yumihiki Douji.’”

“This humble one is called Eddie.”

“She, or rather, Coach Tsuchiya is working hard as a teacher, her main job. It’s encouraging, so if you like, please give her a high rating.”

The Kazemai High School kyudo club was continuing to work hard at practice today.

After the training camp, when everyone put on their hakama, there was a feeling of “this is what an archer is,” and they felt somewhat proud.

Tommy-sensei was holding a box. He pulled out small kasumi-mato from within. They were handmade by him, and the frame was made from the cores of duct tape.

“Now then, everyone, let’s use these mini targets today. For those who hit the target, I will give them a present along with this mini target.”

Tommy-sensei pointed to Masa-san, who was wearing a silver mustache. He was holding five “fake mustaches” in different colors.

Masa-san stroked the ends of his outward-curling mustache.

“If you put this on, you’ll become an archer like Tommy-sensei.”

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo clasped their fingers in a prayer-like pose.

“I would just love to have the pink mustache. I shall do my best.”

“I guess I’d go for the light blue.”

“Black is classic. No, white might be fine too.”

The girls were excited for some reason and were choosing the color of their mustaches.

The mini targets really did look small once they were placed on the azuchi and the archers stood at the shooting line. They were smaller than the kinmato used for celebrations.

The first-years were standing in front of the targets. Nanao quickly put on his headband and was ready to go.

“I have to give it a try, don’t I? I’ll shoot through your heart!”

Several girls fainted in the stands.

While they were waiting for their turn, Keyaki and Kanbayashi were chatting. It was about the recent video incident.

“I’m glad that Asahina and Eddie from ‘Yumihiki Douji’ have recovered from this. I was thinking of unsubscribing if it became a channel for watching Tsucchi,” Keyaki said.

“If someone asked me what color I want my gi to be next time, I’ll go with white if possible. White is safe and effortless,” Kanbayashi said.

“I heard that most of the girls in the Kirisaki kyudo club were navy blue hakama in the summer. I thought that they were required to wear navy blue gi, but I was told that they run on a merit system and have no specific rules on what to wear.”

“I don’t think people who want to stand out in the first place would choose kyudo as their club activity. Archers gravitate towards the world of wabi-sabi and mania than dazzling luxury… It’s more that we prefer the austere and understated.”

While they were talking, arrows were being shot one after another, but without success. They were allowed to shoot the mini targets as many times as they wanted to within the time they were given, so everyone was going through their arrows.

In the fourth round, a beginner first-year successfully hit the target. Cheers erupted, and when the round was finished, everyone rushed forwards. They took back the mini target with the arrow in it and handed it to the person who shot it. They were moved to tears.

Time was up when each person had finished shooting up to four arrows.

In the end, only the first-year, Ryouhei, and Shiragiku were able to successfully hit the mini targets, while all the others were disappointed.

Kaito silently pulled out his arrows. His two arrows had pierced the azuchi around the mini target, as though avoiding it.

“If it had been the usual target, I would have landed all my arrows. To think I didn’t land a single hit…my training’s not enough.”

After returning from retrieving his arrows, Nanao took off his headband.

“Even when everyone didn’t hit the mini target, they’re closer to the center than usual. It’s strange.”

“So does that mean it’s possible to hit an arrow in the center if you’re conscious of it?”

Next to him, Seiya smiled daringly.

“But you’ll never become a master if you keep aiming and hitting at the target. You haven’t trained enough, have you.”

“Gaah, this is just full of contradictions.”

Minato was looking at the upper right, as though he was thinking about something.

“It’s like you’re looking, but you aren’t looking, and it’s like you’re not looking, but you are in fact looking. In kyudo and zazen, you don’t stare at a single point, but vaguely look with half-open eyes.”

Hearing that, Ryouhei approached Minato and Seiya from behind.

“I learned that in kendo. If you don’t focus on a single point and vaguely look at the whole body, you can quickly sense your opponent’s movements before anyone else. Basically, they’re telling you to not get caught up in the information coming in through your eyes.”

Masa-san was standing behind all of them.

“You guys noticed something important. Kendo and kyudo are both martial arts, so they have a lot in common. Takuan Osho left behind the phrase ‘kenzen ichinyo,’ where ichinyo means the state of being one. In English, it’s explained as ‘The sword and zen are one.’”

Keyakia and Kanbayashi had both stopped cleaning and were leaning forward to listening. Himuro was of course unmoving.

“First of all, you have to get used to it. As you gain experience, you accumulate data, and your body learns trends and countermoves. The ultimate goal is to be able to draw a bow in the same way no matter when, where, or under what circumstances. Well, I also had a tough time getting there as well.”

Keyaki became at a loss upon hearing that.

“If even Masa-san says it’s difficult, I wonder when I’ll be able to do it.”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Miyamoto Musashi also wrote in the Book of Five Rings, ‘See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training.’ Have you learned the essence of ‘No-Look Shooting’ of the Kazemai-ryuu? Now, take these as a souvenir.”

Tommy-sensei prepared slightly smaller mustaches as participation prizes. They were handed out when practice was over, and everyone wore them on the way home.

The next day, people started calling the kyudo club, the “Mustache Club.”

Tsucchi, a.k.a. Haneina High School faculty member Tsuchiya Ena, was being followed by a suspicious person.

The suspicious person was dressed in baggy clothing, and wearing a mask and a hat pulled deeply over their face. She had been followed by people in the past, but this one seemed particularly persistent. They followed her to work and back home every day.

“Tsucchi, shouldn’t you tell the police about this soon?” Asahina said.

“It is as Asahina said,” Eddie said.

“Mm, thank you. But some people get mad when you involve the police, so I’ll observe the situation for a few more days. Maybe they’ll get tired of it soon.”

“We understand, but if anything should happen, please notify us immediately.”

It happened on her day off.

When she finished shopping and passed through the crowd, she sensed someone following her. When she increased her speed, they got even closer and she could hear their heavy breathing behind her. It made her feel so sick that she finally couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Hey, who are you? Are you Tetsi? Stop this. If you have something to say, show your face!”

Suddenly, the suspicious person attacked her. She quickly got onto the defensive and dodged, but since she was wearing heels that day, her feet got caught on the unevenness of the ground, causing her to stumble.

Crap, she thought, covering her face, but no impact came. When she slowly opened one eye, she saw a man catching the fist of her attacker.

The tall man spoke.

“I know you’re following this person. I’m willing to go to the police with this.”

The wrist he grabbed was thin—the suspicious person was a young woman.

The woman threw out her back and prostrated herself on the ground.

She was screaming.

“I’ve cancelled my phone, but I’ve still been getting a lot of phone calls at work, and the girls I used to be friendly with won’t even talk to me anymore, so there’s no place for me anymore! My life is all messed up because of that woman!”

“This is called reaping what you sow, and in Buddhism, it’s called karmic justice. However, the reaction to a single karma is only once, and it isn’t a chain reaction.”

Tetsi slammed her hat and mask to the ground. She looked just like an ordinary woman, so she didn’t look like the type to write such coarse words. Her hands tore at her hair.

“But, isn’t it unfair!? In university, I tried to talk to Tsucchi, but I got ignored, you know!? She was active in kyudo, everyone makes a fuss over her on Yotube for being a beautiful woman, and she can say whatever she wants to say! Even though we’re the same age, she’s the only one who ever got help, and I got left alone because I’m not cute! After rewriting it over and over and sending it to the planning committee, they rejected it, saying that it was ‘a proposal that was too womanly. Do it again.’ Does that mean I can’t be trusted without a title!?”

She started talking to herself.

Aah, this is such a pain. I don’t remember being approached by her. I worked hard at kyudo, and I have nothing to do with her not doing well at work. Either get back at your boss or quit. Just as Tsucchi was thinking that, the man bent down.

“I don’t know about other men, but all women look beautiful to me. Please raise your head.”

Tetsi looked up as instructed. The man continued.

“You don’t need to change your appearance or title. Just stop belittling yourself. You don’t have to beat anyone to live.”

“…Are you a Buddhist priest? Your head isn’t shaved, so maybe you’re wearing a wig? Ah, I’m so sorry!”

“…How about using that imagination to change jobs to become a screenwriter?”

What’s with this skit?

Don’t tell me that this is some kind of hidden camera prank?

While Tsucchi was thinking this, the man picked up the fallen bag and hat and handed them to Tetsi. He looked as though he was about withdraw at any moment.

“Please wait! Just who are you?”

The man turned around. “I’m just a Shinto priest passing by. You’re Ena-senpai, huh. It’s a good name. I’m rooting for you.”

That was all he said before he quickly left.

Tetsi also said “I’m sorry” and left, leaving Tsucchi all alone.

Oi oi, isn’t he too much of a smooth talker?

Not a Buddhist priest, but Shinto? How incredibly shady.

She could still understand where Tetsi was coming from. That was because Tsucchi also had similar experiences, such as being made fun of because “she’s just a woman,” being sexually harassed and groped on the train. She had the appearance of a woman but was a middle-aged man on the inside, so she just beat them all up. In addition, she was called “Ena-senpai.” Not many people called her that.

She searched her past memories and came across a person with a similar face.

When she was a third year in high school, the start of the awards ceremony was delayed. It was said that the name of the archer who won the kyudo boys’ competition, the one who hit with all his arrows, was different. Because he had used his old name when he entered, so he took part in the tournament under that name. It was dealt with without issue, although it appeared to have been pointed out from within.

She remembered that remarkable ochi. In another tournament, when Tsucchi was about to have her arm grabbed by her male junior, the taller boy made a loud sound that scared off the younger boy.

After that, she thought that the reason why she couldn’t find his name in the student tournaments was because his last name had changed, but she never saw his face at the venues. The remarkable ochi had disappeared.

If she remembered correctly, his name was difficult to read.

His name was—.

As Tsucchi picked up her phone, thunder sounded in the distance.

Previous | Next

[jewwyfeesh]

The Lost Tome - 6

Writer: Mitsuki

Characters: Narukami Arashi, Tsukinaga Leo, Sakuma Ritsu, Suou Tsukasa, Sena Izumi

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

Note: no you didn't see me forget to add the quote, no you didnt. (magics it away)

Arashi: Goodness, Izumi-chan, don’t just snatch it from me so roughly! I promised Ou-sama that I’ll take good care of this.

[ ♪ ]

Season: Autumn

Location: Empty Classroom

The next day…

Leo: LMAO, Sena’s the one who’s late today! Yesterday he was nagging me non-stop with such a deadpan expression, should I nag him back today? Hahahaha!

Arashi: Ou-sama, did you forget? Today Izumi-chan’s taking the day shift, and had already notified us via text message earlier on.

Leo: Ah? Really? Lemme see— Oh… Sena really did send us a message.

Arashi: It’s not my intention to scold you, Ou-sama, but you should pay attention to your messages every once in a while. If Izumi-chan were to see this, he’s definitely going to blow his top… again.

Leo: Yeah I know, I know ☆

Tsukasa: Speaking of which… Leader, what’s that in your hand?

Leo: Ah! I’ve been caught red-handed by Suo~! This is my weapon of choice, hahahaha.

Was I too loud earlier on? Did someone notice us?

Tsukasa: Leader, what’s wrong? Why are you acting so frantic?

Leo: It’s nothing, I just snuck this sword into school. So if the Student Council found out about it, they’ll definitely confiscate it.

Tsukasa: But… secretly bringing weapons in like this is a very dangerous matter, Leader. For yours and everyone else’s Safety, it’s better if you kept it away.

Leo: Suo~, there’s no need to be so uptight~ Not to mention, it’s not sharp or anything! If you don’t believe me, look!

Tsukasa: Wow, its edge has actually been made blunt. Furthermore, it… is rather Beautiful. It does make for a rather exquisite weapon… Oh, no. Kindly allow me to refer to it as a work of art.

Though… Leader, I would like to enquire as to why you’ve brought it today? Do you intend to Perform with it or something?

Leo: Well, it’s because of this book~

I went back to study its contents, and they’re super duper thought-provoking! Not to mention, it allowed me to better understand more about being a knight-errant. See, see! These parts at the back talking about weaponry and stuff are super cool!

After reading it, my inspiration surged forth! So I wrote a piece about knight-errants, but felt that it was lacking a little something-something. So I got my friend to help me buy a sword to try and find that knight-errant vibe.

Then again this method is hella useful! I managed to fill the missing piece, and also managed to channel a better understanding of knight-errants into the piece! Even though I spent a lot of effort on this, seems like the end product makes it all worth it ☆

Tsukasa: Even though your drive to keep on improving is something we should learn from, Leader, please allow me to enquire — why is this book still in your hands? Weren’t you supposed to return it yesterday?

Leo: Err… Y-you see… After saying my goodbyes yesterday, I walked towards the lost-and-found while reading the book…

But I was too engrossed, somehow walked into an unrecognisable area, and got lost…

It took a lot outta me to get myself back somewhere familiar, but by then the sky was getting dark, so I just went home…

Tsukasa: Leader, are you aware that the Student Council is currently in a frenzy because of this book?

I had dropped by the archery range after practice yesterday in the hopes of getting some solo practice. Instead, I bumped into Hasumi-buchou, who was desperately looking for this book.

Back then, I was comforting Hasumi-buchou, saying things like this book could’ve already made its way to the lost-and-found, and that he didn’t need to be so frantic, only for you to… Sigh…

(I remember Hasumi-buchou was desperately trying to find a book, saying that it was something that Tenshouin Onii-sama had borrowed from Hibiki-senpai, and that Hibiki-senpai wanted Onii-sama’s suggestions for one of their scripts…)

(Onii-sama had found the script and its setting particularly engaging, thus borrowing this book from Hibiki-senpai. He had wanted to give it a very thorough look-through, before providing detailed suggestions.)

(But Hasumi-buchou didn’t know of this; when the Student Council were tidying things up, perhaps Tori-kun accidentally lost this book while rearranging the books. And Hasumi-buchou, who was in the dark, didn’t realise when he was making an inventory.)

(It was only after Onii-sama returned, looking for said script, that everyone found out about Tenshouin Onii-sama having borrowed it from Hibiki-senpai. Afterwards, the Student Council was in shambles.)

(At present, Leader has yet to return the book… Hasumi-buchou was so distraught, so guilty. Hh… I wonder if he’ll think I was trying to prank him when he was so down-trodden?)

Leo: Suo~, don’t wear such a heartbroken expression…! I-I’ll go return it now!

Ritsu: I don’t think we’d feel very reassured if we let Ou-sama run off on his own, so I’ll accompany him.

(If I accompany the King to return the book and bump into a Maa~kun who’s gone berserk from searching, Maa~kun will definitely praise me, hehehe.)

Leo: It’s rare to see you so energetic, Rittsu~; not to mention, you accompanying me there is gonna help a ton!

Oh, right! I’m entrusting this sword to y’all to safe keep. If the Student Council finds out about it, I reckon we’re gonna be in a whole lot of trouble ☆

Arashi: Relax, Ou-sama. You can leave this to Tsukasa-chan and I.

Leo: We’ll take our leave first, bye bye!

Izumi: Grr, to be inconvenienced on the day that I have to work the day-shift, how frustrating!

Kasa-kun, Naru-kun? Why are the both of you alone here? Where did everyone else go?

Arashi: The King and Ritsu-chan went to return a book — yep, that book from yesterday. So it’s just the two of us left. Since you’re here, Izumi-chan, let’s start practising~

Izumi: That book from yesterday? Shouldn’t Ou-sama have returned it already?

Arashi: He got lost en-route, so he needs to make another trip today. But Ritsu-chan’s accompanying him, so I don’t think we’ll have any more problems on our hands.

Izumi: Ou-sama that f**king idiot! What the hell! What’s that thing in your hands?

Arashi: Oh, this? It’s the King’s sword. Isn’t it very……

Goodness, Izumi-chan, don’t just snatch it from me so roughly! I promised Ou-sama that I’ll take good care of this.

Izumi: Hmph, this King! I can’t believe he even brought this stupid toy to training!

First, he ditched practice, then he doesn’t attend our activities, and now he decides to bring some… some toy to training! Seriously, it goes to show how much he prioritises Knights! No, I must teach him a lesson today!

Arashi: Wait a minute, Izumi-chan, you should hear my explanation first—

And there he goes. If Izumi-chan goes to look for the King in this state, who knows what kind of disaster would happen? I should notify him first, and give him a chance to hide.

Tsukasa-chan, let’s chase after him. If the both of them bump into each other, we can try to soothe their ruffled feathers.

Tsukasa: Understood, Narukami-senpai. Should a Conflict truly arise, I will do my best to mediate the situation.

[ ☆ ]

← Chapter 5 | Story Masterlist

just a little note of appreciation: thank you to all my wonderful friends who've never stopped supporting me and listen to me ramble about these squishies for ages, and to the readers who enjoy my tls!

special shout out to book club as well, thank you for being so amazing. i hope to hear from y'all soon <3

[all-pacas]

Ages ago @timeturner-jay semi requested a fe3h claude/byleth arranged marriage fanfic and anyway here’s the first part of it like two months later 👋

-

The Old City and the Imperial Palace were, in practice, one and the same: a palace complex so large it had become a town in its own right, and then a city, housing ministers and courtiers and warriors alike. It housed the customary three temples, the royal mint and treasury, four kitchens, countless dining halls, twenty seven courtyards, three baths, dozens of offices, two libraries, a dungeon, and, of course, the throne room, which spanned half the length of the Grand Hall alone.

Khalid had seen it crowded with supplicants during the day; teeming with dancers and audiences by night.

Empty, it is endless.

His feet ring against the tiled floors despite his efforts to walk softly. His father’s throne sits alone, raised higher than anything else in the hall. Sometimes, Father would sit on the lower steps or the edge of the dais itself: today he did not. The Queen was present; she stood, her expression unreadable.

Khalid bows. He waits, a million excuses ringing through his head. It was Shahid’s fault. It was Rhada’s. Rezza started it. He taps his heel anxiously on the marble. He forces himself to wait.

“On reflection,” Father, leader of the seven clans, chosen of the skies and hundred lords, Prince of Arshwan and Lord of Daifan and King of all Almyra, says, “I have decided you are correct.”

Khalid looks up shortly, his stomach plunging into his knees. While normally he loves being told he is right —

“Almyra has neglected her western... neighbor, and you are well suited to take the issue in hand.”

He loves being right.

...And yet the feeling of dread remains. Father is sitting on the throne, and Mother is silent.

“You will be wed in a fortnight,” says the King.

His bride arrives in the Old Capital four days later, which means that Khalid’s fate had been decided weeks before he was informed of the result. She is the Fódlani Archbishop’s daughter or granddaughter, arrived with a small party of lady’s maids and bodyguards, and, according to Shara, the sister Khalid dislikes the least, is quite lovely.

He does not verify this for himself. There was never any use in arguing with his father, and even less with his mother. Khalid allows himself a day to sulk, and then sets to work organizing and burning his papers and letters, putting plans aside, and trying to think up new ones.

Fódlan has only one god — goddess. The Archbishop, a sort of high priest, has no real political power over the petty kingdoms of the continent, but a good deal of soft power in acting as a broker for negotiations and alliances. It is customary for all nobles of a certain rank to spend two years of their youth attending some sort of school on the high temple — church’s — grounds.

This Khalid had known. He had even briefly debated finding a way to Fódlan to attend for himself, once: all of Fódlan’s future leaders in one place was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Being wed to the Archbishop’s heir might have been nearly as good in that regard... but there was no way someone tied to some backwards continent so firmly would ever be allowed to take Almyra’s throne for himself.

Unless...

Well, he didn’t know. Yet.

He’d wanted to explore the possibility of connections to Fódlan, sure. But not be chained to it.

Khalid goes to the training yard one evening, tense and looking to blow off some frustration. Men are hard at work drilling, a few sparring with blades or axes. Khalid claims the archery range for himself, waving off the man-at-arms — it isn’t really the practice he’s after but the motion of it, draw-pull-release, the world shrinking to his arrow and his target and the ache of his arms.

A commotion pulls him out of his trance.

A group of foreigners, loud and garish, are gesturing at the man-at-arms, who is yelling in turn. Khalid lowers his bow. The foreigners are speaking Fódlani, and while it has been a few years since it was his and his mother’s private language, he still understands it well enough...

He shakes out his stiff hand. They’re distracting him.

“This is the garrison training yard,” he says in Fódlani, ignoring the master-at-arm’s muttered curse at hearing the foreign tongue out of the mouth of one of his princes. “You’re not allowed to be here.”

“Then where do I go to train?” The speaker is one of the Fódlani. One of his fiancée’s bodyguards, Khalid supposes: a woman with unkempt, dark blueish hair and a blunt manner.

You don’t, he thinks, pettily. But it’s a fair enough question. “There are courtyards you can make use of.”

“But not training yards.”

Khalid shrugs. The woman’s expression does not change. Her companions share uneasy glances.

“Tell the bastard foreigners to leave and not return,” says the master-at-arms in Almyran. “This place is not for them.”

Or me either, I’m sure, Khalid thinks. It shames him. Hasn’t he always chafed under being an outsider in Almyra’s palace, despite his blood? He runs his tongue over the tops of his teeth.

“They are guests of my father who is King,” he says in formal Almyran, the sort used by nobility and priests. “They shall have the yard for their own use.”

“You —“ the man spits, angry but unwilling to defy.

“You may use this yard,” Khalid says in Fódlani.

He turns back to the archery range.

He’s hardly notched his first arrow before the woman follows him. “Thank you,” she says.

He lowers his bow again.

“Almyra is not friendly to foreigners,” he tells her.

“You were.” Her tone is matter of fact, her eyes wide and blue and guileless.

He’s half a foreigner himself. He hates bringing his father’s name into these things.

Hates that it works, and hates that he’s called bastard more than by name. He flexes his fingers around his bow, his joints stiff and aching. “That wasn’t friendliness,” he says.

“You’re the prince Khalid,” his fiancée’s bodyguard remarks.

“Was it the accent or my skin that gave it away?” he asks, joking, but still feeling bitter and sulky.

“The bow,” she lies, politely. He laughs, surprised. “You’re very good.”

Her companions have remained a few yards back, talking quietly in Fódlani and glancing over every now and then. Khalid doesn’t see any archers among them.

“I am good,” he says. Archery is prized, one of the three Noble Arts, but axes and swords are more prized still. Archery is considered safe, perhaps a bit cowardly. More noble to risk getting your throat cut in a melee. The woman has a sword at her hip.

“Does my noble wife-to-be fight?” he asks. Her guard blinks. “Tell her she’ll be better off in Almyra if she does.”

“You should tell her yourself,” she says calmly.

“I’ll have many happy years to discuss these matters with her,” he says. “Forgive me for enjoying my last days of freedom.”

He draws his arrow and takes a shot.

“Why did you agree to the marriage?” she asks.

“Because I am being punished,” he says frankly: if the rumors haven’t reached his fiancée yet, her companions aren’t doing their job, and if they have, this shouldn’t be news.

“For what?”

He wonders if this is all a set up. Go to the training yard while he’s there, create a meeting. It wouldn’t have been too hard to predict he’d involve himself: Khalid grimaces at the idea. Often, information is spread through servants and pages and retainers and carefully chosen gossip. But Khalid doesn’t trust his servants or use them to gather or disperse information on his behalf.

“I wished to invade Fódlan,” he says blandly.

He hadn’t. Not really. He’d debated attending the Officer’s Academy there. Going incognito to the Leicester Alliance. Told his mother it was an opportunity to learn; his father it was a probe of Leicester’s weaknesses, both arguements he’d believed correctly tailored. And then he’d gotten Nader involved, and then his brother had found out, and...

“Why did your master agree to such a bad match?” he asks sourly.

She regards him calmly. “Almyra is a mystery to Fódlan. I thought perhaps that could be changed.”

I...?

He realizes then, and stares at her in horror.

Her expression doesn’t change. The granddaughter of Fódlan’s Archbishop. A woman three years older than Khalid. Supposedly beautiful, pale and blue-eyed.

“You’re —“ he chokes. Clamps closed his mouth.

His fiancée nods. “I’ll leave you to your training,” she says blandly. His face is red. He nearly misses his next shot.

But only nearly.

[empressofthelibrary]

15 questions, 15 friends

tagged by @pendrvgons

are you named after anyone? My mother picked my legal first name based on her late best friend, who passed shortly before I was born. My penname began as Alanna West, and both halves of that are from fictional characters. I use Alanna as a middle name now, and "Emory Alanna" has such a nice ring to it. I'm really happy with it -- I might make it my legal name, if I ever wanna set anything in stone.

when was the last time you cried? Within the last thirty-six hours. I've slept a lot today as the last two days caught up with me, so beyond that I'm not sure.

do you have kids? What, in this economy? Hah! ...Jokes aside, no, I don't, and tbh I'd probably be a terrible parent anyway.

what sports do you play/have you played? I used to do archery as a hobby when I was a teenager. I miss it, but I never had the opportunity to really practice.

do you use sarcasm? Me? Sarcastic? Noooo...

what is the first thing you notice about people? Their voices, I think. I'm not good at eye contact and I'm pretty faceblind, so those things tend to slip past me. But voices are much easier for me to recognize.

what is your eye color? Blue!

scary movies or happy endings? I'm not a horror movie person. I'll enjoy the occasional thriller, I guess, but I want to know the heroes win. Even if it's a temporary victory, with a bigger threat still out there. "The heroes die, the villains win" is basically impossible for me to enjoy. Tragedy can be fun, you know I love Hamlet. But I need to be expecting a tragic ending, in such a case, and the villains need to lose too, even if the heroes die in the process.

any talents? I write! I've been told I sing well, but I still waffle back and forth on if I can believe it. I can draw decently, both digitally and traditionally. I used to be really good at climbing trees, too, but I'm too heavy and too short to haul myself up like I used to.

where were you born? Oklahoma, unfortunately.

what are your hobbies? Reading, drawing, writing, and I'm trying to learn to play guitar. I also do very bad, off-key karaoke sometimes.

do you have any pets? Three cats. They are needy baby terrors and I love them.

how tall are you? 5'4", I think?

favorite subject in school? I excelled in English in k-12, and art was great. I loved science, but I wasn't good enough at math to really get into it. I wanted to enjoy my history classes more, but the sliced-up way it was taught made it really difficult.

dream job? Oh, jeez, I dunno. I'm not sure I even have one anymore. I honestly wish I could just spend all my time doing art and creating things, and not have to worry about money. That's the dream, really.

I'm not tagging fifteen people, but: @lovelyladylavie @lilyntlrs @saberwriter @twinklecupcake aaaand... @techmomma and @crayonurchin 💛 (no pressure, only if y'all wanna)

[icy-gendango]

*scoots up stool and huddled in quilt* Yakuza story?

STORY TIME!!!! Sorry this is soooo long!

I went to school in Japan for a brief amount of time as an exchange student. Most of my Japanese language class went, we were all kinda like family so it was great to tour the country with close friends. The school I went to was in my USA teacher's hometown, Toyama, so she got to be with her family while we were there. It was all in all a good time, I have severe anxiety but was able to pass it off as jitters. The time came to meet our host families, and for me, it was the most scary part. We would all be split up and sent to families on our own. I was never that good with speaking Japanese, but pretty good at reading and writing.

Turns out it didn't even matter! My host family was half british(the mom and dad met in the UK and came back to Japan, so both of my host siblings spoke fluent english). The class I was in was with my host sister, and the whole class was conversational in English(with only a few bumps).

School days flew by and my first summer break in Japan was just around the corner. Everything seemed fine. That is, until my host parents told us we would be meeting the rest of the family, and would be staying at my host grandfather's home a few hours drive away. I didn't think much of it, until the last day of school.

It was after-school that last Friday, and I was hanging out with some classmates in a lab room. Everyone was always super nice and inviting, wanting to learn about the US and my different habits. The exchange was mutual and I made a few friends in the process. Today was different however. My host sister said she needed to run clubs errands. Cool. She was in archery. It was a few hours later. The sun was starting to set. I was a little worried, and my classmates offered to help look for her with me.

It was then that the intercom went off, and I was asked to go to homeroom. Okay... weird. My homeroom teacher was really sweet. She spoke fluent English and was incredibly close with her class (she had been with them for two years). She was relieved to see me but seemed a bit unnerved. She said we needed to talk, and my host sister was too scared to bring it up herself, so she was going to talk to me instead. I was super confused. I thought maybe I had messed something up or did something offensive. My teacher then made a funny comment. She said we needed to talk outside. Find a place with no cameras. What. I was practically shaking, wondering what I did.

She sat me down on the steps outside the school, my host sister on one side of her and me on the other. She began to tell me some things that honestly scared the hell out of 16 y/o me. She said, "I need to let you know that while you are away, I want you to protect [host sister], keep her safe for me." Red flag. Was it abuse? "[Host sister]'s grandfather is a very dangerous man, and I want you to be very careful around him, okay?" Oh? Uhm? Politician? Oh, wait... is it? I tried to ask her, and she cut me off, saying she couldn't tell me. But at this point, I was fully freaked out and a bit persistent. I asked her if it started with a 'y' and she gave me a long, sad look before saying she couldn't tell me. The conversation took about an hour, but I felt myself numb over at some point, and I don't remember much past the point of me and my host sister going somewhere unsafe and needing to be careful. Also that there would be yakuza.

Oh cool. And my host sister looked so uncomfortable. Her head was ducked down the whole time. She barely spoke the whole walk home after that. She said she didn't want to talk and that was it. I left it be. But boy was I terrified. I didn't know much about the Yakuza, except for the typical stuff. Organized crime, donation drives, yknow.

We went home and I stewed for the next two days before our departure. I wondered it my US teachers knew that I would be taken hours away. I wondered how easy it would be for me to disappear on this trip. The words of my homeroom teacher haunted me those two days. I remember sending a final message to my now fiance. An ambiguous farewell. I wasn't taking the news very well, clearly.

The departure day came. The drive was nice, or at least it would've been if I hadn't been shaking so much. I was told that no one else in the family spoke English, so I would have to stick to my host sister or brother. The house... how do I explain how rich this house was. It was three stories, tradition meiji. There was a luxurious rock garden that honestly could have passed as an entire park. I remember losing my way in it one day. He had rocks imported from all around the world and perfectly trimmed trees. Offhand, my host mother told me one of them was cost over 3k (usd). I treaded lightly in that garden.

I met some aunts, uncles, and cousins. The day went well. Then came dinner. It was massive. Giant platter of sashimi, sushi, and more expensive foods. It never seemed to end. Then he arrived. I didn't realize it was him at first, I was introduced much later that night. He was... pretty nice. He kept telling me to eat. He was always feeding me. Every time we ended up in a room together, he would give me food. I wonder if it was because I was American(haha americans eat so much, haha), or if he was just being a generous host. His clothing style screamed yakuza. Hawaiin shirts, slacks, and the most expensive, radiant dress shoes I think I've ever seen in my life. He was loud, confident, and grandpa. He insisted I called him ojichan. Yep. He whacked my back a lot when he would sit with me.

One time in particular, I had woken up super early and went downstairs to sit at the dining table. He came home with nothing but a bag of tomatoes. He asked me if I liked tomatoes, then proceeded to cut up the whole bag of tomatoes and ate them with me. Completely out of pocket. The tomatoes were good. I tried not to think about it too much(who goes to the store for just tomatoes. The store that's like 40 minutes away. To eat. Raw. Tomatoes. Where did he get the tomatoes?).

It went pretty well. Except I did embarrass myself. Looking back, it was clearly the result of a 16 year old exploding from the severe amount fo stress. I was placed in a room with golden shrine. Full tatami downstairs. It was dark, too. The screen doors led to a hall the fully wrapped around the building, which also had more screens that went outside. I just felt so insecure and overwhelmed. I was the only person downstairs, too. The absolute fear of me being snatched away and no one being able to hear me drove me crazy. I ended up having a bit of a breakdown. My aunt found me and moved me upstairs. I remember feeling just. So overwhelmed. I was prepared for something scary. A crime boss's house in the middle of nowhere. Being responsible for my safety and possibly my host sister's. The rest of the stay was fine. I slowly settled in the new environment. I saw my host grandfather most in that time. My different sleep schedule seemed to match up with his... work schedule. So he often would come home and hang out with me. He didn't speak any English, but we both would try to understand eachother. It was kinda funny.

I was spooked over something not as scary as I'd thought it would be. I wish I had taken pictures of that house. I was too scared at the time. I essentially vibed with grandpa for a week before heading back to my host parent's house. My host sister never spoke or explained herself to me. I knew she had a right to be scared, and so did I. I just wish we were able to have a conversation about it and clear things up. I thought I was being dragged into a den. In reality, it was just some rich old guy who made his was in organized crime. I didn't do anything to upset him, and he welcomed me into his home.

Looking back, I think the series of events is WILD. It was an intense emotional roller coaster. It's funny to think about today. Also the fact that my luggage from my host family ended up delayed by three days. When I got it back, it was ransacked. All my possessions were there, but clearly, someone had checked through it. I think about that, too.

[teawithdiary]

I still remember the day we met.

September 6th, 2017.

In the present timeline, a few days have passed since that date—it's currently September 12.

When I think back to that day, many things happened. I feel like I should continue to write down my experiences when I have time. It serves as a way to heal from the trauma of the past. But, I'm hesitant.

Why am I so hesitant to write my experiences? I feel like it's partially due to the fact that I don't really think I'm a good writer. It's partially because I feel like I don't remember everything. Sometimes it's painful to remember.

However, maybe one day I'll send these letters to you. Maybe it's better that I write it down to remember.

A few days before September 6th, my homeroom teacher asked me if there are any after school activities that I'm interested in. I already had my mind set on a few options: either orchestra club since I've wanted to continue playing the violin, wind ensemble since I also played the flute at my old high school, and lastly, kyudo club.

Why kyudo club? I knew nothing about it. However, I knew it was traditional archery, and as someone with back pain due muscle weakness, I felt like it would be a good opportunity to learn something fun while strengthening and fixing my posture.

When I said kyudo, my homeroom teacher, Kana-sensei, expressed a slight glimpse of surprise and said, "Oh I know just who to ask." She then called a girl over. "Yui, can you come here?"

A tall girl with medium length black hair came towards my desk and stood next to sensei. "Yui, she's interested in kyudo. Could you take her to tour the club after school today?"

Yui's eyes lit up and she nodded with a smile. She turned to me and asked, "So you're interested in kyudo? What do you like about it?" Yui was a few years younger than me, since I was technically a third year but was in a class with first year students. I could feel a bit of a distance in the way she spoke to me, since I was technically an upperclassmen.

"I actually don't know much about it, but I heard it was an option so I'm interested in seeing it." I said with a smile. "If possible, I'd like to join two clubs, maybe one that's more traditional culture, and the other instrument related since I would like to continue practicing."

"I see, two clubs. Most students don't do two clubs since it's difficult with school," said Kana-sensei with a slight worried expression. "However, since you have time and don't necessarily need to participate in lessons, I think you will be able to manage."

Kana-sensei became quiet and began to ponder.

"Also, kyudo is really different from western archery," continued Kana-sensei. "It seems a little hard to learn, but I think if it's something you have interest in after seeing the club, you may have fun."

Yui smiled and said, "Our bows are more than 2 meters tall, and we get to wear cool hakama!" I smiled back and said, "I've never worn a hakama before."

"Yui has been doing kyudo since she was in middle school, and I've heard she's really good," said Kana-sensei. "If you have any questions, please ask her."

I nodded my head and said thanks, and the bell signalling the next class period rang throughout the halls. Before I knew it, the day had passed by quickly and the after school activities were starting. Yui came to my desk after our classroom cleaning time and led me to the kyudojo. It was tucked away behind the school, next to the baseball field. Hydrangeas and other summer flowers were blooming in the bushes beside it, where tall trees from the trail that wrapped along the school grounds provided subtle shade to the shooting range.

As Yui and I approached the kyudojo, a female upperclassman came to greet me. Yui said to me quickly, "She will help you out from here on. I have to go, but good luck!" and she shuffled her feet quickly into the kyudojo to prepare for evening practice.

Gazing towards the kyudojo, I met eyes with another. A white kyudogi with characters embroidered on the sleeve, and a black hakama with characters embroidered in purple—it was different from the other students who wore plain white pieces with red characters embroidered in their black hakama.

Our eyes met momentarily before you diverted them towards your friend walking next to you, smiling.

That day is when I met you.