#shiragiku’s here too!

[vinnigami]

WAIT IF YOUVE READ LONE MAREBITO. CAN WE GET A KUSHINADA FOR THE MAYBE 3 KUSHINADA FANS THAT EXIST. OUR GIRL!!!!!

YES ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!! OUR GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 3 - The Song of Naru (Part 2)

Let me share my personal theory: In this universe, the sport of kyudo possesses the supernatural ability to alter one's brain chemistry. Those who have a deeper affinity with the bow are more transformed by this ability. Kyudo, it seems, can make one become more spiritually attuned and connect seemingly completely unrelated concepts, but also warp one's thought processes to the point of non-kyudo practitioners finding them incomprehensible.

Anyways I still had no idea what's going on. And yes, that last line in the chapter is real

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

The word used here is 文字絵 (mojie) which means a picture formed by letters

In Japanese, superstring theory (超弦理論) contains the character for "bowstring"

A yotsugake is a kyudo glove that covers four fingers

Dousha is "a form of Japanese archery with the purpose of shooting arrows from one end to the other of the outer area on the west side of Sanjyusangen-do temple"

Toshiya is another name for dousha

A kosode is a short-sleeved kimono. It contains the character for sleeve

Apparently this is a quote from Kuroko no Basuke?

Previous | Next

The sun was flashing, spreading rainbow-colored wings of light.

It was the middle of May. The prefectural high school kyudo tournament preliminaries were being held.

The competition event was “close range.” The first day’s “individual competition” consisted of shooting four arrows in two stages in zasha, and the top ten with the highest number of hits would be selected for the next round.

The “team competition” on the second day consisted of one coach and five to seven archers, and one male and one female team per school could participate. The competition format was teams of five, four shots in zasha, and a time limit of eight minutes. Forty-one schools participated in the boys’ competition, and the eight teams with the highest scores in the first and second rounds would advance to the prefectural tournament. Looking at the past results, winning was between thirty and thirty-five hits, and the lowest halfway point was twenty.

Kazemai High School had a total of six girls: the three second-years Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, and three first-years. The boys had a total of seven, with the five second-years Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao, and Minato, and the two first-years Himuro and Kanbayashi. A total of thirteen people entered the individual and team competitions.

Kazemai was the winning school last year, so they attracted a lot of attention. Their school’s name was printed on the back of their green jerseys along with the illustration of an arrow.

When a student from another school said, “Oh, it’s Kazamai,” Nanao folded his hands behind his head.

“This is read as Kazemai. I get it, I sometimes say it wrong too.”

Kaito was appalled. “Don’t get the name of your own school wrong.”

“Japanese kanji is hard because there are so many different readings. Nippon, Nihon, Hinomoto, and Yamato are all examples of the ever-changing name of our country, after all.”

“Oh, it’s Asahina and Eddie from YumiDou,” they heard someone say.

They looked and saw the Haneina High School members passing by, with the flashy duo leading them. “Haneine?” someone muttered when they saw the characters printed on the back of their orange jerseys.

“Those guys are called ‘Haneina High School’… Oi, Asahina and Eddie! Merha!”

When Nanao waved at them, Asahina and Eddie also waved back. In addition, there were other unique members following them, such as a man with narrow eyes, a boy with a notebook and pen, and a boy with fresh flowers in his bag.

Asahina saluted them. “Hey, Nanapri and everyone from Kazemai. It’s been a while. How are you guys?”

Eddie continued, “Prince Nanao, it has been long seen we’ve last contacted each other. The frog art (1) I received from you the other way has seen a lot of uses, that it has.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I saw your last stream. You hit the center of the target in the dark!”

“Thank you. My body learned how to do it using something interesting. If it’s my dojo, I rarely miss a shot.”

“That’s amazing. I’d like to learn that technique too,” Seiya said.

“During kai, the second joint of your bow hand’s index finger should be in line with the position of the tree branch outside the kyudojo.”

“That isn’t something you learned with your body, it’s something you saw with your eyes…”

“Haha, well, it’s alright, isn’t it? I’ll be able to do it with my mind’s eye sooner or later.”

Suddenly, Asahina stared at Minato.

“Hmm? Is there something on my face?”

“I don’t know why, but I feel like rubbing your forehead, Narumiya.”

Seiya quickly hid Minato’s forehead. “You need our advisor’s permission.”

“Seriously? Just how strict are things at Kazemai? If only we can use a jutsu to clone him and borrow one of them. Oh, speak of the devil, Doppelgangers No. 1 and 2 have arrived.”

Asahina’s gaze was directed at a group of people dressed in purple jerseys.

It was the Kirisaki High School kyudo club. The twin brothers Senichi and Manji stopped walking at almost exactly the same moment. Their bangs were arranged symmetrically to each other. Senichi, whose bangs were parted to the left, spoke.

“Doppelgangers are already old news. We’re the Twin Fighters now.”

Hearing this, Kaito’s jaw dropped.

“I can’t believe there are guys with terrible naming senses in a different way from Seiya… Are you sure you guys aren’t going against the times?”

“Huh!?” The twins exclaimed in unison. Kabashima and Yushima tried to calm them down, but Senichi picked up the corners of his mouth and bared his teeth, and Manji pulled his eyelid down and stuck out his tongue. Without paying any attention to what was going on around him, Ryouhei ran up to a certain person.

“Shuu-kun!”

“Hey, Ryouhei. Did you grow taller again?”

“Yep. I’m not losing to you yet!”

“Fufu. I guess I have to give up.”

“It’s a shame that Motomura-senpai and Sase-senpai aren’t here anymore. It’s so sad that everyone has to go their separate ways after graduating from high school, even though we had so much fun together. I wish I could shoot with everyone more.”

Shuu’s pale eyelashes wavered. Senichi and Manji reacted.

“Yamanouchi, stop calling him that.”

“Huh? But Shuu-kun is Shuu-kun, isn’t he?”

Someone was watching the jumble of green, orange, and purple as they chattered.

Kuon was lamenting outside the circle.

It’s him! The man I saw in my dreams.

…No, wait. Who is Fujiwara-senpai looking at?

Following his line of sight, Kuon found Minato there. Shuu had a gentle smile on his face.

I can’t believe this. Those who stand at the top should not smile so frivolously. I don’t care about the dog anymore. This guy must be harmful to Fujiwara-senpai.

The antique doll smiled coldly.

After the opening ceremony, the individual competition started. The order was random in individual competitions.

The girls went first. Hanazawa, Shiragiku, Seo, and six other girls put on their yugake and headed for the waiting room with their bows, arrows, and tsurumaki with spare strings. Tommy-sensei went with them.

Cheering squads from each school took their places in the stands. It was filled with people holding paper cranes with prayers written on them and others recording in notebooks.

The Kazemai girls started appearing from the third group. Hanazawa’s matooto was cheered by the audience, and Shiragiku and Seo, who were in separate groups, followed. They performed a light and lovely dance, and as a result, Hanazawa had two hits, Shiragiku had three hits, and Seo landed all four of her arrows.

Next was the boys’ division.

Haneina’s Asahina, Eddie, Matsuda, Kanuma, and Igarashi. The five unique and showy individuals captured people’s attentions even when they were alone. Two in particular, Asahina and Eddie, had hair colors that couldn’t be misperceived even from a distance, and their shooting was even more beautiful than in their videos. Their arrows were like flashes as lightning, and they hit with all four arrows.

Kanbayashi, a Kazemai first-year, watched them from the waiting room and thought, I can’t shoot disgracefully. I have to do my best not to bring shame to Kazemai.

The first individual match. Kanbayashi was at the second target in the second group. The archer before him drew his bow. He released his arrow and hit the target at three o’clock. It was a good start.

Meanwhile, tension had stiffened Kanbayashi’s shoulders.

Huh? Why can’t I focus?

As he panicked in his mind, he raised his bow and moved to daisan. He slowly pushed his bow open—

Right when Kanbayashi realized it, the arrow was no longer in his hand and was sticking out of the arrow path. The arrow had jumped out of his hand while he was still drawing his bow. He had no idea what happened.

Crap, crap, crap.

No way, is this target panic…?

No, no, no, I’ve been nervous plenty of times, but I’ve never let go this early. No, there’s no time to think about this. I have to nock the next arrow—. His hands were shaking, and his bow grip was becoming slick with sweat.

It’s fine, it’s fine, it’ll be okay next time.

The more he chanted that in his mind, the rougher his breathing became.

For his second shot, Kanbayashi’s arrow was once again released before reaching kai. The venue became noisy as people started murmuring to each other, and the sound of someone saying “Ah” remained in his ears. The archer behind him released a sharp-flying arrow. Shouts of “Yes!” reverberated.

Kanbayashi’s third shot came around. He could feel his hands shaking. He didn’t know how to interpret this first-time sensation. What did Narumiya-senpai say? To overcome target panic, focus on breathing and exhale slowly. Exhale, exha…, oh no, I can’t do it—.

Again, before he even drew his bow back, the arrow was released in an instant. The sound of the aluminum arrow sweeping across the ground resounded, and it pierced the target after bouncing.

Is this what it means to not hear a tsurune?

It was almost terrifying for an archer.

After shooting all four arrows, Kanbayashi didn’t make any matooto, while Kaito, Seiya, and Minato landed all their arrows, and the others ended the first round with three hits.

Once he left the kyudojo, Kanbayashi buried his face in his hands. His heart was still pounding. “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Nanao called out, but Kanbayashi’s face was so stiff that all he could manage was a forced smile.

This is so embarrassing. I became a complete mess in front of my senpais and my family who came to support me.

I’ve been practicing and practicing, but when the actual competition comes, I end up like this. What am I doing—.

Kanbayashi gripped the arrows that he retrieved.

“Please remove me from the lineup for tomorrow’s team competition! I can’t do it! I definitely have target panic! I don’t want to be a burden on everyone!”

This time it wasn’t Kanbayashi, but Minato and the second-years who were blinking rapidly.

It was Kaito who responded. “Oi, oi. We’re still only halfway through the individual competition. Why don’t you just hit the remaining four?”

Nanao and Ryouhei also chimed in.

“That’s right. It’s a little too early to give up. Let’s focus on the individual competition in front of us first.”

“Yeah, what he said. There was also a time when I panicked because my string snapped, but I managed.”

However, Kanbayashi didn’t change his opinion.

“It’s impossible! I’ve always had the potential to get target panic! My mental weakness is the only thing I’m confident about! You have to have had it to understand how awful it is!”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Minato. Nothing but the words of someone who experienced target panic could reach Kanbayashi’s heart now.

Minato stepped forward.

“Although it’s called target panic, it’s still a relatively early and sudden system. It’s not severe yet. We can get back on track.”

“You saw me, didn’t you!? My terrible shooting! I was so careful about target panic, but why, why…”

“Let’s do the dantian breathing exercises together. You’re too worked up right now, but you’ll calm down in a few minutes.”

“I can’t do such wishful thinking!”

Minato took Kanbayashi’s hand.

“Kanbayashi, listen to me. My mom once told me about something she read in a book. In ancient times, the Japanese named very fast vehicles ‘tsubame.” The second-fastest were ‘kodama,’ and the ones after that were ‘hikari.’ What do you think is a vehicle that’s faster than light?”

“…Was there anything faster than light?”

“The Shinkansen ‘Nozomi.’ It’s the Japanese word for ‘hope.’ The slogans were, ‘Nozomi of Ambitious Japan! is always there for you’ and ‘Nozomi is the fastest way to meet the person you want to see.’”

Tommy-sensei, who had been watching their exchange, smiled broadly.

“I’ve ridden on the ‘Hinotori’ before. E=mc2. It reminds one of Einstein, the monument of theoretical physics. When things move, they get heavier.”

“Tommy-sensei, you’re knowledgeable about physics too?” Kanbayashi said.

“No, not at all. I’m just a geography teacher. I only know the two theories: relativity, which deals with gravity, and quantum mechanics, which explains the behavior of matter in the microscopic world.”

“The only one of the seventeen subatomic particles that hadn’t been confirmed, the Higgs boson particle, was discovered in this century. It was called the God particle, and is responsible for giving mass to everything. And I guess there’s also the ‘superstring theory,’” Seiya supplemented. (2)

“Super-string?”

“The superstring theory. It’s a theory that claims that the origin of all things is ultra-small ‘strings’. The theory is that particles are actually the vibrations of these strings. It’s still at the stage of hypothesis.”

“The universe is made up of the sound of strings. I guess it would be too poetic to say that tsurune is the true nature of matter. Sound is the vibrating waves of air. Since it’s said that everything from people and plants to minerals are made up of waves, to say that ‘Nozomi’ is faster than light might not necessarily be wrong,” Masa-san said.

“Wow, tsurune is incredible.”

Tommy-sensei smiled with satisfaction at Kanbayashi, who was blinking rapidly.

“When I hear the word ‘ambitious,’ I think of Dr. Clark’s words. ‘Boys, be ambitious. Like this old man.’ I can almost hear the doctor laughing as he says, ‘I’m an eternal young man.’ Now, there’s still a long, long way to go. Let’s go to the next stage together.”

“I don’t really understand, but I’m going to let the team competition wait and focus on what’s in front of me right now.”

Kanbayashi changed his mindset and practiced dantian breathing as Minato put his hand on his lower abdomen.

As for the results of the individual competition, Kazemai’s Minato, Seiya, and Kaito, Kirisaki’s Shuu, Kabashima, and Kuon, Haneina’s Asahina and Eddie, and Seo from the girls’ division would be advancing to prefecturals.

The second day was the team competition.

The first round. The Haneina team, who were famous as Yotubers, drew a lot of attention for their shooting.

The oomae was Eddie Fox.

His long, blond hair was tied high up on his head, and a headband was tied around his forehead. He looked like an actor in a period drama. Once he gripped his bow, his jokester persona disappeared as his eyes sharpened, his breathing became shallower, and his face became dreadfully serious. A burst of sound resounded from the target area as he took advantage of a momentary gap and got in close to his opponent.

The second target was Matsuda Kotetsu.

He had poor vision, and the world he saw was composed of multicolored balls of light. His hearing was above average, and he had an excellent sense of perception. Whenever he stood before the target, he always stood behind someone else because it was easier to perceive the distance when someone was standing in front of him. Kyudo was a sport that could be played by people of all ages, and physical differences were no handicap. With the use of remote video conferencing, it was even possible to have a match with people on the other side of the world at the same time.

The third target was the naka, Kanuma Nobuhiko.

He was a haiku poet who loved writing haikus. He was staring absentmindedly into space during the middle of a competition.

A staff member approached him and asked him in a whisper, “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“The eye of the snake/the white water surface holds/the golden-scaled fish. I tried to write a poem about carps living in a pond, but I guess it’s too mediocre. On a summer’s day/the koi frolic and a cat/sleeps beneath a tree. How’s that?” (3)

“This isn’t a haiku contest, it’s a kyudo tournament! Concentrate on your shooting!”

“Okaaay.”

Kanuma nocked his arrow. The spectators who had witnessed the scene were taken aback by his lack of nervousness and extraordinary strength of his heart.

The fourth target was the ochimae, Igarashi Shion.

He was the Gardening Prince who loved flowers. Even when he was sitting in his chair in the waiting room, he kept fresh flowers with him and left them with his tsurumaki. Even his bow was decorated with flowers he drew himself, and there were even people who wanted him to sell it to them. His shooting was as sweet-smelling as a flower and created the illusion of a fairy flying.

The fifth person was the ochi, Asahina You.

His red hair symbolized the rising sun. He parted his bow and followed the correct tsurumichi path. What was beautiful was good, and what was good was true. If you sought beauty and aesthetic, you would naturally follow the right path without being aware of it. Far from concepts such as “seeking the truth” and “ascetic training,” and the irrepressible joy that radiated from him captivated those who watched him. He liked to have fun, and believed in fundamentally ignoring what wasn’t fun or changing it to be fun.

The Haneina High School kyudo club was both noble and greedy. They lived not by the values of others, but their own axes. The five of them were comrades and friends who had met each other on their travels. Of course, there were occasional clashes of opinion, but they knew when to quit, so there were no lingering resentments. Making videos was a great way to learn about life and society, as what one said and did was constantly exposed to the public eye. It wasn’t easy to communicate something to others. True expressive people seemed to be free and unfettered at first glance, but they kept their feet on the ground and devoted themselves to their work.

The five of them carved out the Eight Stages of Shooting.

Ashibumi, douzukuri, yugamae, uchiokoshi, hikiwake, kai, hanare, zanshin.

When five circles, a “yoko kaichuu,” were lined up next to each other on the scoreboard, there was an eruption of applause.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, who were watching from the stands, let out sighs.

“It feels really fun.”

“Their shooting was brilliant.”

“They’re formidable opponents. It seems that the boys’ division won’t be so smooth-sailing.”

The members of the Haneina High School kyudo club achieved the high results of four, four, four, three, and four hits each.

Second round, first kyudojo. The champions, Kirisaki High School, were taking their turn.

The oomae was Kabashima. He was particular about his face and form. In the name of Kirisaki High School, he shot so that no one could complain. When gripping the bow, the tenmonsuji should be firmly sticking to the todake, and the skin between one’s thumb and index finger should be rolled up from below. It was no exaggeration to say that kyudo began with the Eight Stages of Shooting and ended with the Eight Stages of Shooting. Originally, it was the Seven Stages, but with the addition of “zanshin,” it became eight. Why did they make it eight? He felt something profound in it. He earnestly, single-mindedly, carved out the Eight Stages and created a matooto. He was intoxicated by the sweet tone.

Senichi was at the second target, and Manji was at the third. Although their time-difference attack was sealed up, the confidence of the Twin Fighters was evident. We stand on the front line, the firing line. Come on, follow us. They looked completely relaxed, as if victory had been decided before the fight had even begun.

The ochimae was Kuon Takumi. Unusually for a high school student, he used a yotsugake. (3) There were slight differences in gripping the string depending on whether you were wearing mitsugake and yotsugake. Originally used in dousha, (4) and it was said that yotsugake was more suitable for people who drew many arrows like the toshiya (5)in Sanjusangen-do or for people with tough bows, but since Kuon believed that yotsugake were more superiorly ranked than mitsugake, he chose to use it. The arrow that was released almost hit the center. A rapturous air exuded from his whole body.

When the ochi, Shuu, started to lift his bow, the entire venue resonated with silence.

Even the sound of his clothes rustling was daunting. He possessed a divinity, as if he had reached a higher level than what everyone called the “Young Lord.” He himself became a bow and emitted a tsurune that soared through the heavens. Shuu’s sound instantly erased the uncanny colors created by Kuon and purified the place.

A true sound.

A good sound.

A beautiful sound.

By the time the people whose hearts were pierced came back to their senses, Shuu had already left.

The results were announced over the loudspeaker.

“The results will be announced now. First shooting range, Team 17, four, four, three, four, four, nineteen hits total. Second shooting range, Team 18, four, two, two, four, 12 hits total. That is all.”

Kirisaki won, and Kazemai went after them.

The oomae, Kaito, drew his bow tightly. He relaxed his hands and stretched his upper arms.

More force, more force. He stretched and stretched—then released. The arrow was sucked into the target while spinning clockwise.

The second target, Ryouhei, didn’t only grow in height. He had the dignity of an archer, and he shot with majesty. He was someone who had love for everyone. He would continue to have affection for himself and others for the rest of his life. The target accurately reflected the archer, and the round target, without deceit or calculation, was waiting to be pierced.

The naka, Seiya, was also clearly different from who he was a year ago. He took off his obstinate armor and stretched his limbs freely. He hated himself. He hated irrationality, fate, all of it. When he became entwined with hatred and fell into a swamp, there was someone who reached out to him. That person said that they didn’t care what kind of person he was.

The ochimae, Kanbayashi, began to carry out his shot. He concentrated on the lower abdomen that Minato had put his hand on before.

The dantian is “here.”

Now, gather the light here.

He threw away all speech and listened only to the sound of his breathing. When the wind calmed down, his arrow flew at high speed.

The ochi was Minato. He summoned the wind that should have stopped. The wind that rushed around the earth was the land’s breath. Once you were able to feel that, you became a wind user. He manipulated the wind at will and connected it to a new era.

The tsurune took everything away.

For the results of the first round, Kazemai had fifteen hits out of twenty.

After the first and second rounds were completed, Kirisaki had thirty-six hits, Haneina had thirty-five, and Kazemai had thirty-three.

All three schools made it through the preliminaries.

After the tournament, the Kazemai second-years and Masa-san waited for a car to pick them up. Tommy-sensei and the first-years went home first. Waves of people came and went to the other shore.

Minato, Seiya, and Ryouhei sat on the edge of a flower bed. Ryouhei immediately started to eat his sweets. Seiya, finding the verse from “Greensleeves” stuck in his head, couldn’t help but hum it.

He met eyes with Masa-san, who was next to them.

“Is that an English folk song? You know a lot of old songs, Seiya.”

“If you know it, then you must be ancient as well, Masa-san. Minato’s mom used to hum it. Oh, it can’t be helped if you don’t know it.”

A bell was rung. Fighters burned with quiet fighting spirit.

Seeing the two jab at each other, Nanao quickly took out his phone. He entered the search words, and the English lyrics and translation were displayed.

Kaito peered at them.

“What’s this? Isn’t this just a guy who got dumped and kept whining about it? Isn’t it too obsessive to say at the end, ‘Goodbye, please come here again and love me?’”

“Kacchan, you don’t understand heartbreak at all.”

“Hah? I don’t need to.”

“Yep, that’s what I thought.”

Ryouhei said that he would eat all the sweets.

“What kind of woman is Greensleeves? He’s calling her name over and over, right?”

Seiya was the one who answered. “I did some research, but the prevailing theory seems to be that it’s a metaphor and not a real name. There are various theories that Greensleeves is a prostitute, a dead person, or a ghost. Also, some people think that Greensleeves isn’t a song about lost love, but more like a hymn.”

For a moment, sound disappeared.

Even though it should have been extremely noisy with all the people around, the area was so silent that it made their ears hurt. Even the birds were quiet.

Masa-san murmured a few words.

“Green kosode—. (6) I think it’s talking about the upper arm.”

“What do you mean?” Minato asked.

“There’s a custom in the West to wear green when one turns into a spirit. When you think of Santa Claus, you think of red clothes, but that was because he was dressed in a company’s image color in advertisements, and in England, he was originally dressed in green. According to one theory, Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, that is, a clergyman. He is a person who seems to have existed, and his name and deeds are passed on to his disciples.”

“What does that have to do with ‘upper arms’?”

“I think ‘Greensleeves’ refers to the arms themselves. It’s ‘green sleeves.’ When you touch the arm of a person, a miracle will occur. That makes them a vessel of the divine.”

Masa-san typed into his phone.

Alas, my love, you do me wrong.

Greensleeves was all my joy.

Greensleeves was my delight.

Oh, my chest feels like it’s about to burst. You who bestow love, how cruel you are.

You let enjoy your love, and say you’ll forsake me. Is this a test of God?

Greensleeves, you are joy itself.

Greensleeves, you are days of happiness.

I was happy just being by your side.

Seiya spoke.

“That sound like words dedicated to God. A somewhat critical song of lamentation and resignation.”

“Greensleeves may have been a person who had a healing hand that could cure illnesses and injuries, or maybe she was a saint. There are even those who say that it is the name of God. It’s distinct from the secular world and doesn’t appear openly. Even if you’re attracted by, yearn for, adore, sacrifice yourself, and give up all your wealth and power for the singing voice that you overhear from the church, you cannot touch ‘it.’”

“I see. In that case, I can at least acknowledge the manly spirit of ‘I’ll stop you even if I have to cling to you,’” Kaito said. (7)

“Kacchan, this isn’t a rugby play. And ‘manly spirit,’ really? You completely ruined the mood,” Nanao said.

 Seiya lowered his eyes and took off his glasses.

“Being abandoned by God might be an indication that humans are irredeemable.”

Shiragiku’s expression clouded over, and she gripped Seo and Hanazawa’s hands.

“How awful…it was such a wonderful melody.”

As everyone fell silent, Minato pondered.

Has God abandoned humans?

Is this really true? Didn’t I forget something important?

“You’re wrong! Such a sad and gentle melody could never be a criticism and lament to God. This is a joyful song for a coming-of-age ceremony!” he started shouting.

Before he knew it, everyone was staring at him blankly. The three girls shrank back while still holding hands.

Masa-san tried to follow Minato’s thought process.

“Coming-of-age ceremony? What’s with this all of a sudden? Where did your thoughts fly to, Minato?”

“I remembered my mother’s words. She said that at coming-of-age ceremonies, it’s a ‘song of naru.’”

“…What do you mean? Did your mother have a shrine maiden disposition?

“No, she was a normal mom.”

“Don’t put too much stock in what Narumiya calls ‘normal.’ By the way, who’s Naru? Is that a new character? Now I’m even more confused.”

Kaito scratched his head.

Previous | Next

[barrenstars]

@mythcaels : “ what are you doing out here by yourself? ” / from shiragiku for mitsuri?

travelling during the night was a stupid thing to do as a slayer, night was when the demons came out to play. but mitsuri was a hashira! any demon that crosses her path would be met with her blade, and it's exactly what happens as her feet carry her through the forest at great speed. her mission had finished a few hours ago, but she's desperate to return to the headquarters as soon as she can, considering the village she was sent to was quite a bit away. that, and the distance between one village to another was too great, she'd have ended up travelling at night either way. but mitsuri was fast, so it wasn't an issue. it's only when she stops for a short break to catch her breath, only when she sits down to rest that it becomes an issue.

turning her head to glance behind her, the dual-haired girl raises to her feet, fingers twitching by her side, only to remember she had set her sword down by her feet - and she couldn't reach down to retrieve it without starting something. gulping, she decides to actually calm her racing mind, trying to put herself out of 'demon-slaying mode'.

" um... no reason at all! i just like to admire the moon. " a smile spreads onto her lips as she spots the figure in the distance, catching glimpses of white hair. " why are you out at this time? it's rather dangerous! if you're lost or need help i can escort you to the nearest town or village! " they were too far away from her for her to be able to tell if it was a demon or not, but she wasn't too sure. normally they didn't talk first, they attacked first. well, most of the lower-ranking ones do. so now she's nervous.

[elendsessor]

hi welcome back to me talking about megaten demon designs and if you follow me or have went through the megaten tags you probably noticed i’ve been on a dsrk kick, specifically with the lone marebito since i unintentionally gave it a reread. i’m sorry if you’ve seen nothing but that shit from me i swear i’m almost done rambling about it.

first time i read it was before i finished dsrk2 so i held off on talking about different designs of reappearing demons since i thought maybe they’d appear in 2 but. nah they didn’t.

a lot of these designs are really cool, redesigns or otherwise.

BRW THIS POST IS LONG I’M SORRY-

i’m gonna toss out a spoiler warning since it’s not likely many people in the megaten community has given the lone marebito a read. there’s an english fan translation here if you’re interested!

quick shoutout to @/eirikrjs since they and @/yamayuandadu made a couple of posts a few years back about the origins of jatou ouhanshin aka this badass motherfucker.

i love giant reptiles in any media and goddamn i love this and yes i want ouhanshin to be included in a future megaten game :D

of course there’s likely some demons i missed/forgot to include so don’t expect every instance.

first up are some redesigns since they mostly appear at the beginning.

now with gremlins! they’re definitely a lot different than any of the previous variations, being a lot more goblin-like + a fat fuck one for good measure. it does more closely represent the pre-soul hackers gremlin design (which is a lot better in my opinion). as silly goofy as they are they do much better fit the general idea of what a gremlin is. this was likely a choice based on the overall tone of the manga, which gets really fucking depressing and a bit more body horror-y/gory than most megaten material, but the smaller gremlins should’ve been the silly goofy with the big boi being the gross monstrosity. idk gremlins are popular enough that having such a vast deviation used in this way doesn’t work.

i think the manticore is actually a complete upgrade from the og designs and is a prime example of the more horror part of tlm improving the original.

idk man i really do not like the og manticore designs. given how the beast itself’s name means man-eater and the fact that it has the body of a lion, the thinner body doesn’t really give that same fear (and the sickly green kinda worsens it). nor does the head??? yeah it’s supposed to be ugly but it looks like a last minute decision and not part of the beast itself. the second one is a bit better but neither of them look that good or scary. (i think they’re more heavily based around a certain latin bestiary depiction but that one sucks too sorry 13th century latin guy.)

even if the manga manticore’s body wasn’t buffer the face is fucking amazing. first it has an actual mane like a couple other depictions do, but turning the normally “ugly” face into a skull is sick as hell. oh and the teeth help it a lot. fantastic demon design all around.

this one is less of a total redesign since it’s character specific. there have been minor alterations made to demons throughout the devil summoner franchise especially with dsrk in order to fit that imperial japan vibe, such as high pixie basically being a pixie wearing a kimono. shiragiku’s design is more based in the soul hackers nekomata design though without being a calico. i wanted to give her a bit of attention on the design part for at least one thing because it’s pretty interesting to me and that’s having a normal cat form. yes because of shiragiku’s backstory it makes sense that she regained her pre-furryfication body. however, when it comes to looking at it from a folklore angle it’s pretty interesting.

all nekomata start off as bakeneko, aka monster cats. they can shape-shift to look either more house cat-like, human-like, and everything in-between. they can also mimic voices. nekomata are basically just stronger bakeneko, symbolized by the split tail (which is how they get their name). in megaten, we don’t really see that often, some of which is understandable. what i find so interesting is that it’s kinda defied in some ways? as in, normal bakeneko are glossed over, unless morgana counts since he pretty much is one. the most commonly used nekomata design in smt is the one from nocturne who only has one tail despite being in a non normal cat state. i’m guessing for the sake of simplicity both bakeneko and nekomata are one in the same due to the heavy similarities. idk it’s pretty confusing but basically this was all an excuse to include cat girls and shiragiku is the closest we’re getting to a truly accurate nekomata.

what if i told you though that behemoth is technically original.

gonna be quick about this since basically aside from devil children behemoth has no original design. it’s mostly just recolors of other demons, mainly elephant/hippo/rhino-like ones. in fairness, behemoth is a warped shouten but it’s so different it’s basically its own demon that goes bye bye before getting any real action. still looks cool af but i’m sorry behemoth.

here’s a weird one. despite maintaining the horn, yato no kami is completely different from the game counterpart and is another much better design (wasted on a character that was pretty underutilized despite the potential). in actual japanese folklore, yato no kami are snake deities (and also some hot anime dude from a game i never heard of thanks google). pointing that out because, while cool on its own, yeah looks too much like a parasite and not what it’s supposed to be.

now for a side note on a couple more demons exclusive to the manga

clarion is interesting to me for one reason and one reason only: it heavily resembles the great will aka the universal will aka existence itself.

this one’s a bit of a stretch but i still find it interesting.

this guy was only in last bible, specifically the game gear version, but is referenced and named dropped a ton. every yhvh avatar is something this thing popped into existence. an equivalent exists in the 4 duology aka the axiom but since both games were a bit of a soft reboot of the traditional mainline style plus is pretty much the exact same thing this counts the axiom. it’s important to note that, as it’s technically a concept and not a physical being, it relies on avatars to get shit done. aside from that, there’s not much info on the great will but it’s considered either equal to or potentially the creator of yhvh.

most of the big time avatars that relate to the great will and yhvh, including yhvh himself, are either a big human face or a circle. while it’s stated in the manga that clarion is a goddamn alien the fact that it keeps so many of the design motifs of the great will, yhvh, and all their ocs, i honestly think it just might be another avatar. i mean it also knows shit like god’s wrath so that has to count for something. it’s just so fucking interesting i love it.

on a final, simpler note, touda is cool. i’m 99% sure it just morphs into ouhanshin but still i love snakes. there are so many serpents n noodly things in tlm it’s cool they’re attached to badass imagery even if they’ll likely never show up in any other official material ever again.

[mythicamagic]

Funeral Flowers: a Sesskag Oneshot

Summary:  Sesshoumaru knows what Kagome's favourite flower is- because it just so happens Forget-Me-Nots have been filling his throat for months. Hanahaki Disease fic. Sesskag oneshot.

AN: for @drosselmeyerwrites​, who is also a lover of the 'suffering Sesshoumaru' trope. She's been a lovely commenter and wholesome person in the fandom ^^

Warning: body horror elements. This is a Hanahaki Disease fic with a twist on the concept.

Words: 10,000

Rated M

@cookieasylum​ drew an amazing fanart for this fic so please check this fic out on Ao3!

Funeral Flowers

It started as a mere flutter. Sesshoumaru could feel it at the back of his throat: the beginnings of something that tickled and irritated his windpipe- not enough to cause anything serious, but just noticeable. This sensation only worsened with time.

Kagome looked at him like he'd grown a second head after hearing him stifle a certain noise clumsily behind his fingers.

"Huh," she mused, peering closely at him. "I don't think I've ever heard you cough before."

After a few weeks, he'd begun coughing. A little blemish that he could easily hide behind his hand. Sesshoumaru had wanted no one to notice such a shameful thing. An unwilling action, but required in order to clear his airways.

"Hn," peeling long fingers away from his down-turned mouth, he looked away. Kagome shifted bare legs in the glittering water, lounging on some rocks by a river while half-heartedly sunbathing in a tank top and shorts. Golden eyes slid back to the slim, pale stretch of her smooth, toned leg as she swayed it.

"Kind of a human action, isn't it? Do demons even get colds?" her concern only seemed to increase. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No," he huffed, adjusting himself beside her. They kept a respectable distance. 'Friends' was what she called them. Sesshoumaru tried and failed to tear his gaze away from the parting of her thighs as she stretched languidly. "I do not get sick," he added, "such a thing is beneath me."

Kagome slid both arms behind her head to act as a cushion, laying down. "A few years ago you'd have said sitting beside a priestess ankle-deep in a river would be 'beneath' you. Things change."

Sesshoumaru tilted his chin up to regard her haughtily and gave a dignified snort, adjusting his rolled-up hakama pants. "It is beneath me."

Kagome rose a brow, fluttering one hand carelessly in a shooing motion, "go on then. Leave if it's so offensive," she sighed, trying and failing to hide her smile.

No.

His body flared alive at the thought, unsettled. Sesshoumaru bit back another prickling cough, settling for clearing his throat. "You should be the one to leave. This one was here first."

"Wha- no! I got to the river before you!"

"I was referring to age. Bratty mikos should listen to their elders."

Kagome burst out laughing, sitting up to lightly bat his shoulder. "That makes you sound ancient! You're such a dork. No one else knows how much of an absolute dork you are, do they? It's a crying shame."

Sesshoumaru did not know what a 'dork' was, but he assumed it to be something unflattering. He should've been annoyed by it, aggravated. Kagome's playful, happy scent made this notion impossible.

Thin lips twitched at the edges, dragging his heels through the cool current. He couldn't honestly put into words why exactly he'd shown up, following her scent. Logically, he knew he should leave her alone.

They fell into an amicable silence again, one that had been born from months of time spent together. Odd snatches of coincidental meetings had flourished into something more, and they'd begun seeking one another out for company whenever he visited the village. Sometimes she even paid him a visit the Western Stronghold. Any demons who complained about it were silenced by how… determined the miko was to make friends. A force of nature. It had amused him to no end watching ancients tripping over themselves to try to avoid her bad books.

He could also deeply understand those who had taken an immense liking to her.

Kagome was warm and teasing, a rare thing not wholly unwelcome. Her stories of the future were interesting, personality vibrant but down to earth and occasionally sassy. He enjoyed her more than he should, a quiet, snarky male by nature basking in her effortless glow.

"What's your favourite flower?"

He blinked, "this is a question belonging to Rin. I do not expect such fanciful notions from you."

Kagome huffed and flicked her hand to splash some water over his knee. "I can talk about flowers if I want to. Shinto asked me what mine were, so I got to thinking. I'd like to know what yours are too- or do pretty dog demons baring flower crests not have an opinion on them?"

He sniffed, bringing down one leg to create a splash that soaked her side. Kagome let out a yelp. "The Shiragiku flower. "

"Oh you can't be serious!" She giggled. "When I asked what your favourite colour was, you said 'white' of all things. White! That's the absence of colour!"

"This one is aware. You kept rabbiting on about it," he wiped some imaginary lint off one shoulder.

"But still! And now you tell me you like flowers that are infamously used for funerals," blue eyes rolled skyward, glittering with mirth. "Why am I not surprised, Mr Killing Perfection?"

Thin lips lifted into a sneer free of malice. "Very well, Shikon miko. What is your favoured flower?"

Kagome hummed. "Forget-Me-Nots."

Letting out a noise between a huff and a chuckle, he shot her an exasperated look. "And you give me grief over mine. Did you not say that blue was your favoured colour?"

"Hey, Forget-me-Nots can be pink, white or blue! I'm not as predictable in my tastes as some people."

That was most definitely true, he thought flatly. She had moved on from her first love, a Hanyou- only to bond with a Daiyoukai, and then…

And then…

Kagome stood, stretching both arms above her head. Sesshoumaru knew what she'd say before she even said it, wincing and bringing a hand absentmindedly to the base of his throat. It throbbed. Now the ache even seemed to seep lower.

What is this pain in my chest? He wondered. What is this strange sensation?

"I should go."

Sesshoumaru slid tired attention up to her and nodded silently. He would not wish her well.

"Shinto will wonder where I am," she needlessly elaborated.

"Indeed."

Kagome glanced at him and dropped her arms. "What's wrong?"

He thought to tell her, not for the first time. But it was silenced by everything else that had come before. Their history. Their species. Her lack of discernible interest, her new flame. A heavy weight pressed down upon his chest. His shoulder ached.

"Nothing. I am fine."

Dark brows pulled together. Sesshoumaru stood and nudged her away with a single palm on her back that lingered too long. "Go. I am… merely hungry."

"Oh!" a look of relief swept over her face. Kagome laughed, "okay, I'll leave you in peace. Happy hunting!"

Sesshoumaru felt his chest ache and constrict while his expression remained a blank mask. He covertly winced after she'd jogged away to a trail within the forest that would take her back to Kaede's village. She stopped to wave, and he quickly wiped his expression clean again, rendering it neutral.

Kagome smiled gently, her face full of friendly affection. Sesshoumaru regally inclined his head, eyes burning.

Do not go.

She left him alone, hurrying away to see her new flame in complete ignorance.

Sesshoumaru coughed and massaged the base of his throat as soon as she was gone, frowning.

Feeling something stuck to the roof of his mouth with his tongue, he curiously parted his lips and reached behind a sharp tooth to pluck the soft, small thing out.

Damp from saliva, a tiny, pretty blue petal caught his attention, clutched between forefinger and thumb. Sesshoumaru stared. A sense of creeping foreboding slipped into the back of his mind at the discovery.

This did not bode well.

---

His affliction made visits to the village difficult. It was easier in the beginning when he could hide a few coughs and tickles of the throat. Steadily, however, the discomfort increased. Sesshoumaru needed to pick out petals from his mouth every day, and the number of them only grew with frequency. He had to remove the irritating little things every hour now.

"Lord Sesshoumaru has been picking at his teeth a lot lately," he heard Rin whisper to Jaken, pausing mid-brush. She had been tasked with caring for the old miko's horse. "Is it a toothache?"

"Shh! Don't comment on such a thing so loudly, girl! If Lord Sesshoumaru wants to do some teeth maintenance, then he may do so!" Jaken squawked, frowning up at her.

Sesshoumaru cut golden eyes to the sky and turned away.

"Ah, I didn't mean to insult you, Lord Sesshoumaru!"

"You're STILL drawing attention to it!" Jaken griped.

Pointed ears twitched, blocking out their animated voices and tuning into a set of quick footsteps. Sesshoumaru inhaled, wincing as his lungs protested- the scent of citrus, summer and home comforts reaching him long before Kagome appeared from around the side of a hut. She beamed. His heart ached.

"Hey," she called, trotting over.

"Hello, Kagome!" the little girl waved enthusiastically, wobbling.

Steadying Rin atop her wooden perch as she continued brushing the tall horse, Kagome flashed him a knowing look. "You look tense. Is it from being near the stables?" she teased.

Rin gasped, "does Lord Sesshoumaru not like horses?"

"It's their smell, you nitwit!"

Kagome frowned at Jaken, before searching Sesshoumaru's face for answers. Obviously his silence and demeanour was starting to worry her. Taking a breath, he tried to ignore the petals stuck in the gaps of his teeth. He could feel more building, pooling in the back of his throat like thick mucus.

"They are skittish and afraid of this one. It is better to keep distance."

Predictably, Kagome gentled- but surprised him by easing closer. She seized his hand, tugging- and he was helpless to do anything but follow. Heat touched his cheeks.

Kagome walked backwards, maintaining eye contact like the femme fatale she wasn't, shifting her soft touch to grasp the back of his hand, lacing lithe fingers through his. She then forced the Daiyoukai's palm to rest against a warm neck. The horse shifted slightly, tail flicking, yet it did not startle. With Kagome's prompting, Sesshoumaru glided the flat of his calloused palm down the length of its powerful neck, the thin layer of brown fur tickling his skin.

"Maji isn't like other horses, he's calm around demons. He has to be if Kaede is gonna ride him to fight Youkai," her voice glided through his ear canals like melted honey. Kagome hummed, "though she said because of her age that he might be mine soon. Weird, huh? It's like she's prepping me to be the village miko more and more."

"It is not 'weird,' it is expected," he uttered, thrilled at the prolonged touch. How foolish. The heat of her palm felt exquisite, hand clasped intimately around his. "You will make an acceptable village miko."

Blue eyes flitted up to him, smiling. She gave his hand a squeeze. "Thanks, but… sometimes I wonder if-"

"Ah, so this is where you escaped to."

Sesshoumaru stiffened. Kagome ripped her fingers away- tearing open a gaping hole inside him. He quickly stifled a cough, but it was larger this time, throat clogged. His shoulders shook, sweat dotting his brow.

Kagome was busy being scooped up by Shinto, a large male. He dressed well, for a human, a jagged scar running over one eye. A momento from his mercenary days, he'd called it, though he was now reformed.

Kagome laughed and swatted his shoulder, demanding to be put down. Jaken piped up, yelling about indecency. All the while, Sesshoumaru fought not to let anything show. To not let the agony out. The jealousy. The consuming desire to act upon instinct and take what he ached for.

He couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand seeing the male's burly, meaty hands drag over her hips to settle at the base of her spine. Like they belonged there. Sesshoumaru coughed again, drawing away.

Kagome caught the action, turning to him. "Sesshoumaru?"

He hated the concern swimming in her gaze. It would be so much easier to despise her.

"I have lingered too long," he said quietly, trying to mask the rawness of his voice. "This one should be going."

Kagome nodded slowly, "do you want some honey to soothe your throat? It sounds a little-"

"No," he quietly snapped, starting to walk away. Confusion immediately curdled in her scent, and he regretted the lapse in control. Now she'd worry.

Foolishness.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken hurriedly ran after him, following his Lord from the village. "Bah, those humans get more presumptuous every day. I don't blame you for leaving in such a hurry," he muttered, keeping up his tangent long after they'd met the treeline of Inuyasha's forest.

Sesshoumaru unexpectedly stopped, slamming claws into tree bark and causing it to splinter.

Jaken yelped, jumping and dropping his staff. "Mi-mi Lord?" bulbous eyes widened upon seeing him stoop over slightly, silver hair obscuring ashen features.

Sesshoumaru's shoulders shook, dry heaving sounds reaching Jaken's hearing. The retainer gasped, watching him cough, gasp and choke. Thick trails of dewy saliva pooled onto the ground. Rasping noises shuddered out from clenched teeth. Trembling claws reached inside his mouth, feeling something at the back of his throat. Grasping it, Sesshoumaru fought not to gag, coughing while removing the thing and looking at it with stinging eyes.

A Forget-me-not flower sat innocently between forefinger and thumb.

Both demons stared. Phlegm soaked petals rested at Sesshoumaru's feet. Jaken stood gravely silent for a while.

"Mi Lord…" he said thinly. "You have fallen prey to something very old…"

"You will not breathe a word about it to anyone," Sesshoumaru coughed, eyes stinging. He straightened and wiped his mouth, collecting himself. He threw the flower aside.

"But-"

"No one, Jaken," Sesshoumaru hissed, molten golden eyes burning. "Or I'll kill you."

Jaken yelped and quickly bowed several times, promising wholeheartedly not to interfere.

"I-I understand! However, if it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could hear out a suggestion?"

Sesshoumaru sneered and started walking again, his breathing slightly hoarse and rasping now, no longer quiet. His lips pressed together, trying to silence himself. It proved painful, and he quickly breathed through his mouth again.

Jaken tentatively continued; "your affliction is something ancient. I know little about it, but I do remember that it's possible to have it removed before it claims your life."

Sesshoumaru stopped, hands curling into fists. Claws scraped palms.

"That will not do, either," came his soft response.

"W-why ever not, milord?! This matter is potentially deadly to demons!"

Sesshoumaru stared ahead unseeingly. He knew of the affliction too. Had recognised what it was immediately. If he removed the flowering bud from within his chest, wiped away all evidence from her from his body, then he'd lose the very thing that had made him catch the illness in the first place.

His feelings for Kagome Higurashi.

"My reasons are my own," Sesshoumaru coughed behind his hand. "I will not die. Do not fuss over trivial matters, Jaken."

His retainer gaped, hurrying after him. Fierce worry painted his features. The infamous and deadly Hanahaki Curse could fell even the strongest of Daiyoukai.

---

It interfered with eating.

Sesshoumaru thankfully did not need to eat too often, but hunger inevitably gnawed its way into his gut. Transformed, he raced through the forest on all fours in a smaller version of his true form. Low-hanging branches lashed at his face. Forget-me-not flowers lodged in his throat conglomerated into a thick mass. They were practically a ball stuck at the back of his mouth. Sesshoumaru managed to ignore it just enough to track the scent of a deer- only to lose it and find a green pheasant within range.

Barely a snack, but it would do.

With a gurgling snarl, Sesshoumaru sprang at some bushes. Squawking with distress, the bird took flight- only to be caught in his jaws. Bringing sharp teeth down elicited a satisfying crunch. The taste of iron filled his parched mouth. Tilting his head back, Sesshoumaru had every intention of swallowing it whole. He'd done so before. The bird was small enough compared to his form. However, this quickly became impossible.

Red eyes widened. The flowers acted as a barrier, preventing food from travelling down his throat.

Spitting out the bird, Sesshoumaru tore into it. He tried again and again, breaking the kill into smaller pieces. He even tried drinking from the river to wash down the flowers. Nothing worked. No food could pass into his stomach.

With a low crooning noise that hissed out between his teeth, Sesshoumaru padded away from his uneaten kill with an agitated flick of his tail.

---

It affected his sleep next.

At his Stronghold in the Western lands, Sesshoumaru set aside his paperwork and retired to bed. Curling into a nest of furs, he stretched out long legs, sprawling on one side.

Only to feel a dull ache thrum from his ribs.

Wincing and setting a hand over the spot, Sesshoumaru frowned. He was unfamiliar with the sensation, however, Kagome had once whined and complained about 'pulling a muscle.' Perhaps the tight, clamping sensation echoed that pain. Deciding to roll over onto his opposite side- he abruptly burst into a coughing fit. The angle had upset his breathing, lungs protesting.

This vicious cycle continued long into the night. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. Even laying still made him feel tense and pained. In the end, Sesshoumaru rose from his futon and began running.

Too tired to think, he transformed, relying on instinct to guide him. He whined softly; the ache spreading. He wheezed a little, breathing constrained despite being physically fit.

The inuyoukai sprinted to the outskirts of Kaede's village. Scenting the air, he caught a welcome fragrance on the breeze.

Mate.

Clearing the hillside with a single bound, Sesshoumaru shrank his form even further to that of a regular dog. Sniffing around the outside of a hut, fluffy ears perked. She was not home.

Where?

Following the invisible trail in the air, he padded around the village, passing by unseen by some villagers. Their lack of vigilance disgusted him. What lax security. Stopping at the Monk and Slayer's hut, he listened, hearing a soft humming from within. The sharp tang of blood, vomit, faeces and afterbirth caught his frayed attention.

The Slayer had been pregnant. From the sounds and smells of things, she had given birth and now slept while Kagome remained awake. He could pick up the faint fussing from a young babe.

Sesshoumaru stayed still, listening to the miko gently hum. Slowly, his body weakened, and the inuyoukai lay down outside the hut, resting a weary head atop large paws.

Something stirred from within, the rustle of covers. "Mn... are you alright? Want me to take over?"

"No, I'm fine," Kagome answered in a hushed tone. "He seems completely zonked out, little cutie-pie."

The Slayer paused, "your head. You said it was aching again earlier."

"Heh, Sango! You've just had another baby! Focus on yourself!" her lovely voice tinged with exasperation. "Really, everything is okay. It just hurts from time to time ever since that night with the boar youkai attack. It's no big deal."

"Prolonged headaches and amnesia does not fall under 'no big deal,' Kagome."

Laughing this off breezily, he could hear the shrug in her tone. "I just blank on a few things from the month prior to the attack. I'm sure it wasn't anything important."

Tired lids slid shut, and Sesshoumaru gained some sense of rest while imagining the woman within cradling a newborn pup instead of a gurgling infant. The two women talked some more, lulling him into a false sense of comfort even as his throat thrummed with continuous pain.

---

Breathing was a struggle.

Every inhale became a wheezing, quivering thing. Like crumpled paper that had been smoothed out and squashed too many times. Mucus constantly filled his mouth, senses clogged. His breathing ranged from laboured to a noisy, rasping thing.

He could no longer afford to visit the village. Sesshoumaru took to monitoring Rin from afar whenever he felt the need to check up on her. Needless to say, he avoided Kagome at all costs. The miko was an infamous busy body who would become a nightmare to deal with if she knew of his suffering.

Yes, that was the only reason.

However, on a random day he briefly let his guard down, the unthinkable happened.

Inuyasha found out.

If Sesshoumaru had comprised a list of all the beings he did NOT want to know about his affliction, Inuyasha would be right up there, along with his meddling mother.

Inuyasha stared, watching him with a complicated, horrified look on his gruff features. Shifting, Sesshoumaru stood from where he'd been knelt by a river.

Forget-me-nots floated downstream.

"... What the hell is wrong with you?" were the first words Inuyasha blurted out.

Sesshoumaru wiped his mouth, sneering. "I need not explain myself to you, whelp."

"Keh, if anything warrants a damn explanation, it's barfing up flowers."

He didn't need to hear anymore, turning with the intent to leave. No doubt the fool would talk nonsense, and he had no patience for such things with his current headache. His temples were pounding, throat parched.

"Why don't you just fucking tell her, you coward?"

That certainly caught his attention. Sesshoumaru halted. "What?" he croaked.

"Ya think I'm that ignorant, huh?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, shoving both hands inside his sleeves. "I know."

"Know what, exactly," silken tones rasped. "You are but an ignorant pup. You were not raised within youkai circles, and so could not possibly understand."

"And whose fault is that?" shaking his head, Inuyasha huffed. "I dunno what crap you're yappin' on about, anyway. I'm talkin' about your secret relationship with Kagome that you had a couple of months ago."

Stiffening, Sesshoumaru felt his bones lock and throat inflame. He swallowed, wincing slightly. He flashed his teeth, "whatever you think you know, it is incorrect. A baseless assumption."

"Bullshit!"

Continuing to walk with every intention of escaping the pending conversation, he stopped dead the second Inuyasha opened his mouth; "I could smell you on her! But that all changed the second she hit her head. Did she forget you or something? You were happy to just abandon her after she stopped being useful for a good time?"

A deafening snarl upset his aching throat, ripping something inside. Blurring through the air impossibly fast, Sesshoumaru snatched up his sibling's throat and slammed him into a tree, causing the trunk to shudder.

"Silence," a blood-curdling rasp hissed out from clenched teeth like boiling steam. Crimson eyes glowed, claws itching to bury into the nuisance's windpipe.

Even while choking, Inuyasha managed to bark out a laugh, grasping a striped wrist. "You really do like her, huh? Never thought I'd see the day, bastard." White ears pulled back flat against his skull. "What's the deal? Just open your mouth and tell Kagome. Then I don't have to smell your pining ass all over the forest while you stalk her."

Burning embers were snuffed out. Sesshoumaru coughed, lifting a hand to his mouth. His shoulder thrummed, aching. "I cannot do that."

"Why not?"

"She does not remember," releasing him, the Daiyoukai stepped back. "The miko fell quite quickly for the male who rescued her that night. The fault lies with me that she sustained injury. If she is content with another, I cannot force her gaze to me."

It wasn't as though he hadn't tried. However, Kagome seemed happy with their relationship as friends. Guilt, stung pride and other such ugly emotions were all tied up with the incident.

Inuyasha blinked with disbelief, sizing him up. "When the fuck did you get so noble?" Sesshoumaru sneered, glancing away as his brother continued. "And anyway, what does that have to do with you coughing up flowers?"

Since he'd revealed more than intended as it was, Sesshoumaru felt no inclination to divulge extra information. He turned and this time; resolved not to stop walking. "Drop the subject, whelp."

"Maybe I'll tell Kagome about it."

Sesshoumaru did not falter, knowing the fool's game by now. "Do as you please," he dismissed in a wheezing, thin voice, stepping under the cool shade of weeping willow trees and leaving him behind.

---

He did not intend to revisit their old rendezvous point. Sesshoumaru had wanted to put it behind him, to let everything that had happened within the cave fade into obscurity.

The second he stepped foot within the mossy mouth of its opening, however, Kagome's lingering scent fanned over a striped cheek like a breathy exhale.

Long white lashes slid half shut. Hooded golden eyes became hazed. The memory of her salty, sweet taste wrapping around his tongue flooded his senses. Claws twitched, recalling the phantom sensation of full breasts falling into his palms as her back arched exquisitely. Her eyes had darkened into a lush, deep blue.

She'd been memorable, to say the least.

Walking further in, so that he stood fully submerged in their love-nest, Sesshoumaru basked in the illicit scents and breathy whispers he could remember caressing his hearing. It hadn't just been about sex. It never was with her.

Kagome had held his demonic hand without fear and stroked his cheek, murmuring ardently or giggling quietly. She told him things he hadn't thought he'd wanted to know before.

'You're nothing like your father' she'd said easily but with a conviction that made the ageless demon believe her. The notion should've been insulting. His sire had been unbeatable in strength, so of course he should wish to be like him.

Yet Sesshoumaru had never appreciated such compliments. He wished to be unique, bold, powerful, walking an entirely different path. Her words had been strangely welcome.

"And yet here I stand, Father," Sesshoumaru uttered to himself. In love with a mortal. Dying, because of a human woman of all things.

Just like you.

"Sesshoumaru?"

Golden eyes snapped wide open. A wave of elation, dread, guilt and longing washed over him. Every fibre of his being flared to life, muscles stiffening, heart racing. His lungs constricted.

Sesshoumaru swallowed a rasping breath, shifting to face the priestess.

Kagome crept closer, glancing around the cave curiously. "Was just in the forest to collect some things. I thought I sensed you close by. Looks like I was right. What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing," he said softly. His voice sounded fragile these days.

He could tell she was confused, radiating hurt. He hadn't visited in so long. No doubt she'd wondered why. The flowers buried within his windpipe felt heavier in her presence. He cleared his throat.

"Oh," Kagome scuffed a sandal over the dirt-covered floor. "Well... I'm glad I caught you-" she offered a tentative smile. "I've missed talking with you."

Sesshoumaru's insides screamed at him. The marks on his shoulder felt like blistering iron tongues being thrust into his flesh they wailed so loud.

Mate.

"I dunno what's kept you away," Kagome continued talking, making her way out of the cave. He followed, "but you haven't missed much. Rin is progressing nicely with her riding though. I'm not too shabby with that thin sword you gave me either, though Shinto says I need more practice."

That very sent icy needles piercing his skin. Stepping foot outside, Sesshoumaru couldn't stop the abrupt bite in his tone; "why are you here, miko?"

Kagome blinked and glanced at him over one shoulder. She then threaded her fingers behind her back, attention sliding away, voice unreadable.

"Shinto proposed to me."

Sesshoumaru stopped. A profound sense of loss rendered him breathless. He anticipated a coughing fit. Wheezing. Pain. But there was nothing, just him and Kagome standing alone in the silent woods. But she'd be beyond his reach for good soon.

He'd tried. He'd tried hard to forget, as she had. To push all the feelings and words right down from his throat into his chest. Maybe that was how the curse had started.

But he'd have kept the curse for good if it meant lingering in the 'almost' fantasy of them.

Now that illusion would shatter.

The very idea of her belonging to another felt like a wound somewhere inside him that he couldn't locate. The sensation of teeth on his shoulder thrummed, and he coughed, snuffing out the sound behind his hand.

"I didn't really know what to say," Kagome was muttering. "A part of me feels like it's too soon. I wanted to talk to you about it-"

"This one is needed elsewhere," he said in a clipped tone, turning on his heel.

He couldn't be her confidant anymore. Not about this.

"What?"

He began walking, trying to put distance between them. He should've known it wouldn't work as Kagome quickly caught up and planted herself firmly in his way, halting the demon.

"Okay, what is going on with you?" she demanded. "Is it the cough? Are you in so much pain that you can't talk to me?"

Sesshoumaru flashed his teeth in a faint sneer, throat protesting at the extended use of his vocal cords. "is it so unthinkable that for once, I may not have time for you, miko?"

"Yes," Kagome planted both hands on her hips. "Because this isn't an isolated thing. I've hardly seen you all month! And besides that, you're my friend, Sesshoumaru. Friends tell each other things. Remember how you talked about the court and how obnoxious General Kito was to deal with? Things like that. I need to talk to you about this- and clearly, you need to talk to someone about whatever's going on with you. I'm worried about you!"

His heart clenched, and Sesshoumaru bit back a hiss at the stab of pain it caused. Thin breathing rasped and rattled. He raised a hand, urging her aside via a gentle grasp on her shoulder to continue walking.

Kagome's grip was not so gentle as she latched onto his arm.

Frustration abruptly burst in his chest and Sesshoumaru snarled, whirling with the intent of spilling everything to her. Ruin their friendship. Burn everything they'd built and admit his failure to protect her-

-only to cough up a mouthful of blood onto her collarbone.

Kagome yelped in surprise, eyes wide. Touching the wet substance dazedly, horror paled her complexion. She looked up at him with palpable fear.

"S-Sesshoumaru?"

Humiliation stung white-hot and burning into his body. The visceral, blinding sensation of being exposed- of being seen- felt like too much. Too raw. As a demon unused to such things, his first instinct was to remove himself from the situation.

Sesshoumaru blurred away from her outstretched hands, putting the length of the clearing between them.

Kagome called his name again with alarm, asking him to wait, but he would not heed her call.

Taking to the skies, he flew fast and erratically, a wobbly figure. Coughing hard and feeling blood clog up his windpipe like mud, Sesshoumaru had no choice but to land not long after.

Within an overcast clearing upriver from Kagome, he steadied himself against a gnarled tree.

"Hah- hah-" he wheezed, doubling over and squeezing stinging eyes shut.

Something suddenly constricted tight around his lungs, around his very ribcage. Bones protested and ached. He gasped for breath, blood leaking from his open mouth to pool on the floor. Forget-me-nots mingled with it, petals stained red.

Jolting and snapping upright, Sesshoumaru arched his back, throwing back his head. A cry escaped him unlike any other. Loud, agonised and roaring in its ferocity tinged with pain.

Stems shot out from within his ribcage, tearing his chest asunder.

---

Her friends made noises of alarm at the sight of Kagome's bloodied clothes, but the miko ignored Sango and Miroku's questions, bypassing them in favour of finding and grabbing Jaken by the scruff of his robes.

"You're going to tell me in 10 words or less what the hell is going on with your lord," she demanded.

Jaken yelped and squinted, hanging from her hold. "Haven't the faintest idea of what you could be alluding to!" he sniffed.

Kagome snarled and bared her teeth, lifting him closer with a menacing expression and gesturing to the red substance marring her priestess robes. "This is HIS blood. He looked awful. Like- like he was dying, Jaken," her voice broke. "Please. I need to know what's happening. He won't tell me what's wrong and I'm scared."

Yellow eyes rounded wider, swallowing the imp's face. He appeared conflicted.

"Kagome!"

Releasing Jaken, Kagome shifted her attention to Inuyasha, who leapt towards her with alarm pinching his gruff features.

Dread dropped low in her stomach. That was never a good sign.

Distant snapping noises like wood being felled reached her ears. From behind the approaching Hanyou within the forest, large vines could be seen shifting and slithering over a portion of the trees.

"What is it?" Miroku gaped. "I sense a demonic aura, but it's distorted."

Kagome shuddered, feeling strange. She recognised that energy. Identified it as easy as breathing.

"Maybe a forest spirit has been disturbed?" Sango guessed, clutching her son a little more protectively.

"It ain't that," Inuyasha dropped from his jump, landing before them. He panted, white hair windswept. Of all people, his gaze landed upon the miko first. "It's Sesshoumaru."

----

Their way became blocked by a thick mass of vines crisscrossing through the forest. It created a wall, preventing any from entering.

"Lord Sesshoumaru must be further in," Miroku observed, leaning to inspect the leaves. "Beyond this 'barrier' I suppose you could call it."

"I wonder what could have happened," Kagome murmured, brows pulling together. "Sesshoumaru doesn't even have nature powers."

"Why on earth did you bring ME along for this?" a high pitched, nasally voice reached their ears. Sango and Inuyasha readily ignored it, while Kagome frowned down at the imp she held by the scruff of his robes.

"Because you're clearly hiding something, and until you come clean, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

His mouth thinned into a stubborn line, glancing away.

Kagome turned her attention back to the vines. Worry took root in her stomach. The memory of the Daiyoukai spitting up blood remained fresh in her mind, evidence of it staining her clothing and plastering it against her skin.

Handing Miroku their son, Sango went first. She swung Hiraikotsu with a seemingly effortless toss- the bone boomerang spiralling, cleaving trees in half but bouncing straight off the vine wall. It didn't so much as leave a dent.

Not wasting another moment, Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga. Everyone immediately gave him a wide berth, watching as he shook the sword out into a monstrous blade. He swung it back over one shoulder, feet planted far apart- delivering a swift blow downwards with a loud cry.

A burst of power shot out, heading straight for the vines. They made contact, and for a moment Kagome thought the consuming golden light might break through, only for it to fizzle out. The insurmountable wall remained intact.

Inuyasha tried again and again, using different techniques. None of them worked.

Nocking an arrow in her bow, Kagome took aim. Pale pink reiki split forth, coating the arrow while glowing ever more blinding until she set it free.

She held out hope as it shot through the vines, managing to burst through the dense foliage- which repaired itself almost immediately, covering up the hole.

"Nothing appears to be working," Miroku muttered, turning his friends. "Perhaps we should seek advice elsewhere first before trying to continue."

Her friend's voices faded into background noise as Kagome approached the vines. Frowning slightly, she stretched out her senses, using her aura to touch and brush against the barrier. It felt like him.

If that were the case, the wall was of Sesshoumaru's own making, whether he'd consciously chosen to hide away or not. Perhaps they were going about things the wrong way.

Thinking back to Maji and how carefully they'd run their linked hands down his neck, she raised a palm. Gradually easing closer, Kagome set it down gently onto the vines, stroking downwards.

Hearing outcries of alarm as the greenery parted, only for swirling stems to curl about her shoulders- Kagome quickly grabbed Jaken.

"It's okay, guys. Just find a way to follow me in later," she met their startled gazes. "I feel like I need to reach him quickly."

"Kagome, wait!"

Ignoring their protests, Kagome lept into the fray. She welcomed the green vines that wrapped around her, enclosing the miko and wailing kappa securely behind its wall.

---

Mercifully the winding tendrils of vines that moved as though infused with a will of their own allowed her freedom of movement. Kagome climbed through their moving, twisting stems, occasionally losing her footing and having to grasp hold of some.

"Again, I ask; WHY ARE YOU BRINGING ME ALONG WITH YOU?!" Jaken shrieked, clinging to her back and looking around fretfully.

"You know the answer to that. Tell me what you know about Sesshoumaru's situation and I'll let you go," Kagome hummed, shielding her eyes and looking up at sprawling branches above where sunlight streamed through. Maybe she could punt him over the treetops.

"I have sworn not to break my vow of silence on the matter!"

Grinding her teeth, Kagome stopped and reached over her shoulder, tearing him from her back to frown at him. "If your silence ends up hurting him, is it even worth it? Which means more to you; Sesshoumaru's trust or his life?"

Jaken clamped up, thinking about this for a moment. His eyes abruptly filled with tears, "fine! But you had best save me from his wrath once this is over."

Kagome grinned and patted him on the head, continuing to walk. "I promise."

He huffed, "Lord Sesshoumaru is suffering from a curse."

Blue eyes widened, and Kagome set Jaken over her shoulder like she would Shippo. He did not appreciate the gesture as the kit would while she minded swirling vines aside from their path and ducked through. "What kind of curse?"

"How much do you know about youkai mates, foolish mortal?"

At that, she tilted her head, noticing a blue flowering bud among the vines and gently touching it in passing. "Very little. I know they're like married couples. They, uh... make love and bite each other instead of having a wedding ceremony and stuff. That about sum it up?"

"Insolent girl!" Jaken griped, noticing the bud she touched opening up into a flower behind them. "It is far more than that! Their energies synchronise, aura's linking. However, it's quite imperative they both bite one another."

"Or else the mating is incomplete? What's so bad about that?"

"The partner that was bitten will consider them mated and suffer a one-sided attachment. This isn't so terrible if they have the bite mark healed and lose their troublesome feelings towards their mate," he continued with a self-important air. Kagome didn't mind it if it meant getting answers. "But... if they choose to linger in longing and are prevented from completing the mating, then their energies become distorted! Their youki takes on a life of its own as flowers."

"That's what these vines are," Kagome mused. She shifted, a strange, unsettled feeling churning in her gut. "You're implying someone bit Sesshoumaru? He'd never allow someone to do that if he didn't want it- let alone not reciprocate. Besides, if he could remove it, he'd have surely done so."

"I agree this situation is unprecedented! Unthinkable! Besides that, ANY partner resisting Lord Sesshoumaru's advances is unworthy of being his mate! AH-!"

Kagome jolted, feeling a weight lift from her back. Glancing over her shoulder, she gaped and strained to reach Jaken. Vines had wrapped tight around his mid-section, lifting him away.

"Hang on!" she shimmied her bow off her arm, quickly taking aim. Releasing the arrow, she watched as it hit the mark, sailing through a vine and breaking it in two. Jaken yelped, falling, only to be caught by another vine that continued dragging him back the way they'd come.

"J-just leave me!" he wailed. "Go save Lord Sesshoumaru!"

Kagome blinked, strangely touched. Nodding with conviction, she turned and hurriedly continued to make her way through the dense foliage.

---

Her breath caught the second she caught sight of the flowers.

Forget-me-nots littered the area, becoming more frequent the further in she ventured. Soon she practically waded through a sea of blue petals. They hugged trees, peppering logs, the ground beneath her feet, even climbing above to hang from branches. The vast mass of familiar flowers eventually opened out into a huge clearing packed full of them.

And there, at the centre of it all, Kagome finally saw him.

Vines had burst his chest open, putting quivering lungs on full display. To her horror, she witnessed them expanding and deflating with each struggling, wheezing breath. His ribcage had been repurposed for a vase of flowers. Vibrant blue forget-me-nots poked out between his ribs, green stems tightly wrapped around his bones, constricting.

Sesshoumaru's body lay tilted back, face turned upwards to the sky. Glassy eyes were vacant, blood caking his chin. His armour and hankimono lay shattered and torn on the ground. Around him, the stems that had spilt forth from his gut propped up his lifeless form, clearly part of the mass of greenery that had hindered her approach. Kagome covered her mouth, hand shaking. Tears pricked her eyes. Blue veins visibly spread over his flesh, causing her to wonder if the stems had buried beneath his very skin.

This was not Sesshoumaru. It couldn't be.

Choking on nothing, Kagome hurried closer with a thin noise. Reaching his motionless form, her hands hovered uselessly over his decimated chest. She didn't know where to start. How could she even help him?

"Who did this to you?" her voice wobbled. Stinging eyes misted over, running over his body. He looked like a corpse that had been picked clean by crows. His moving lungs moving were the only indication he was even alive.

"Sesshoumaru- I don't know if you can hear me," Kagome tried, reaching out and touching his cheek. It shocked her skin, icy to the touch. "But please- let go of the person who caused this," she said, locating what she assumed was the mating mark upon his shoulder. "No one is worth dying over. You could start over with your mate. Ask them out- anything!" she shuddered, looking at the flowers poking out from his ribs.

"Just don't die! This isn't like you!" Kagome snapped, tears rolling hotly down her cheeks to slide free from her chin. "Fight this! Keep living. T-there's still so much I want to talk to you about."

The tears landed upon pretty blue petals.

Leaning against him slightly, Kagome sobbed. She wondered if she could just reach out and rip the awful things free from inside his chest.

Why Forget-me-nots, anyway? Why not another flower-

The mating mark halted her hand, fingers brushing the stems. It didn't look like an animal bite, nor did it belong to a demon.

Kagome's eyes slowly widened. She had a distinct tooth at the back of her mouth.

The tooth marks looked like a perfect mould of her teeth.

"Was it...me?" she breathed, glancing up at Sesshoumaru's features dazedly. "Those blank spots in my memory. Was I... with you?"

The puzzle pieces slotted into place perfectly. Kagome stared, feeling like a fool for having not noticed. She'd just thought, assumed- he would never look at her like that.

But if the miko cast her memory back and pictured Sesshoumaru's lovely features, his honeyed gaze resting upon her face, half-lidded, lips quirked, face soft and drinking her in- maybe he had been looking at her 'like that' the whole time.

Kagome shook her head, feeling frantic. She latched onto his shoulders.

"I-I'm so sorry. I'm sorry! I never meant for this to happen. Why didn't you bite me? Why didn't you TELL me, you stupid demon!" she snapped, cheeks reddening as a fresh wave of tears stung her eyes. "All that time we spent together goofing off and talking- and you were suffering in silence? You're so stupid, Sesshoumaru!"

His anguished face did not stir. Kagome mindlessly wiped away the dried blood from his chin with shaky fingers.

"There's no taking this back now," she said quietly, glancing at the bite mark. "So... I guess there's only one thing for it."

It sounded terrible, but Shinto was far from her mind as she lay a hand over her mating mark and began concentrating. When resolving to save someone, Kagome became bullheaded. Sesshoumaru was all she could see as her aura rose out from her body, seeping into his bloodstream via the bite marks.

"You need to wake up," she mumbled, using her free hand to adjust the parting of her white kosode. Sliding it off one shoulder to bare her flesh, Kagome remained heedless of the vines growing and curling around them. They seeped into her ebony hair, twining into the long locks like a lover's hands.

Kagome straddled the Daiyoukai, shuddering a little at being so close to his bare bones. She couldn't have sex with him, obviously, but she suspected it wasn't truly needed to complete the bond. Feeding her energy into his body, she bit her bottom lip. Sweat beaded on her brow.

She began to mumble and pray under her breath.

When her spiritual energy had spread through most his system, Kagome grit her teeth and hoped he'd forgive her. Laying one hand atop his rib-cage directly over his heart, she raised her voice.

"Wake up!"

A pulse of reiki shot out through her palm.

Sesshoumaru jerked beneath her. A ghastly, chocking noise escaped him. His head lolled to the side as he looked at her unseeingly, a trickle of blood welling from the corner of his pale mouth. Kagome quickly wrapped an arm around him, guiding his head to her shoulder.

"Bite down, Sesshoumaru," Kagome whispered fiercely into his ear.

Sharp canines brushed her skin, causing a shiver. Wet flecks of blood accompanied it as he coughed. Whimpering with desperation, the miko curled trembling fingers into silver hair. She pressed a kiss against his cheek.

"Please- I want this." She'd do anything to save him. Besides that, a small, buried part of her felt strangely at peace with the action and its meaning. "Bite down!"

A blood-curdling snarl vibrated out from his open chest. Fangs sank deep into her shoulder. At once, dark, dominating youki burst through her system like a shot of adrenaline. Kagome gasped, back arching. It turned her heart into a burning star. Sesshoumaru's presence filled her until she practically burst at the seams. She distantly understood why youkai had sex before biting each other, reeling from it. The orgasm probably softened the intensity. Completion was something the mind could fathom, a release, the pooling of cum inside her.

This felt overwhelming. He was everywhere. His energy burned and licked, igniting and soothing her body like burning whisky.

Kagome felt the pinpricks of fresh tears in her eyes, overcome with a hurricane of emotions she couldn't quite name. She could feel his weakness. His exhaustion. The part of him tethered to her became a lifeline between them, feeding him the energy he'd lost.

Sesshoumaru's mouth peeled back from her flesh. He panted, sinking back. Kagome caught him about the shoulders, cradling him close.

A wave of tiredness sent her sinking down against him, lashes falling shut as dizziness spun her vision.

The last thing she saw before surrendering to the lure of unconsciousness was a canopy of Forget-me-nots surrounding their weary bodies.

----

Drowsy lids slowly cracked open- wincing at the setting sun's harsh orange light peeking out from between the trees. Golden eyes averted and Sesshoumaru stirred with a dusty rumble.

Something heavy lay over his bare chest. He lifted his head.

Kagome rested against his shoulder, dark hair spilling everywhere. Sesshoumaru stared, feeling he must be dreaming. They were laying within a clearing together, which looked clear, quiet and picturesque.

Squinting, he sat up, adjusting the woman against him. Kagome sank against his side, revealing a gaping hole in his flesh, exposing his rib-cage.

Ah, that's right.

The flowers. The vines spilling forth from his chest as blood asphyxiated him, making breathing impossible.

And Kagome...

The miko had come for him. Saved him.

Sesshoumaru ghosted stiff fingers over his mouth, dragging clawed nails down to the fresh bite mark branding his shoulder. He then shifted Kagome, running an aristocratic nose to similar marks adorning her shoulder- a tongue sliding out to drag over bloodied flesh. She tasted wonderful.

Kagome groaned and wrapped her arms around him tighter, burying her face in the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

Closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru held her close and revelled in the sensation. However, he soon picked up on the far off shimmer of his barrier enclosing them within their mini safe space. He could sense Inuyasha waiting outside, along with Jaken.

Deciding to lower it, Sesshoumaru rested his lips against the crown of Kagome's head before drawing himself up to stand unsteadily, lifting her into his arms.

When Inuyasha burst into the clearing, leaves scattering and clinging to his thick white hair, he brandished Tetsusaiga, only to lower it with a raised brow.

Sesshoumaru stood clad in his hakama pants, arching a regal brow in return. He approached the hanyou and passed Kagome over wordlessly, ignoring his noise of surprise at the sight of his ribcage.

"It is healing," the demon dismissed.

"Uh, alright," Inuyasha grunted, supporting Kagome. "Should I even ask what the hell happened?"

Sesshoumaru ignored him in favour of looking at the miko. His shoulder ached, and when he drew back his heel with the intention to leave- a fresh wave of discomfort elicited a wince.

Kagome stirred, blue eyes blinking open. She then drew a hand out towards him, "where are you going?"

"This one is..." he trailed off. "I must..."

"No, you don't," she murmured. Patting Inuyasha's shoulder to prompt him to set her down, Kagome flashed her friend a smile. "Thanks for coming for me, but I need to stay with this impossible guy to make sure he heals alright."

Inuyasha eyed the bite mark on her shoulder, nostrils flaring. "You sure?"

Kagome nodded firmly.

"What do ya want me to tell Shinto if he asks where ya are?"

Guilt passed over her face, and blue eyes flicked away, before finding him again. "Just say I'm visiting another village. I need to tell him the truth myself."

Relenting, Inuyasha stepped away, shooting Sesshoumaru a warning look before reluctantly leaving them be again, feeling like the wind had been thoroughly knocked out of his sails.

The Daiyoukai watched her, stunned.

"It's crazy you're even up and walking around in your condition," Kagome rubbed at her forehead, reaching out and seizing frozen fingers. "Come on, let's find a cave to take shelter in for the night."

----

The demon lord stopped and slid unrelenting attention down to her once they reached the mouth of a cave. "What made you choose this place?"

"I dunno, it wasn't far away and it felt familiar," Kagome hummed, meeting his gaze. "Have we... used it before? In the past?"

Golden eyes cracked wider. "You remember?" he asked in a quiet, brittle tone.

She shook her head, "not at all. I just figured it out. Would've been nice if you'd told me," releasing his hand, she wandered inside, finding a bed of furs awaiting them further in, cracks of sunlight streaming in through holes in the rock ceiling. Her cheeks reddened a little, imagination running wild.

"You really scared me back there," she murmured, back turned to him. "I thought you were going to die."

"That is why you completed the mating," Sesshoumaru uttered. To save him, and for no other reason.

A part of him had hoped she'd remembered, but another had immediately recognised the sacrifice she'd made. Kagome was a selfless individual in the face of danger. If Inuyasha were dying, or any of her other friends, he wondered if she'd mate them if it meant saving their lives.

With a benevolence he did not truly feel, Sesshoumaru forced himself to prioritise her comfort. "If this is not something you wish for- there are ways of severing the bond."

"Stop," she grit out, whirling to face him. Flinty blue eyes took his breath away. "Stop lying all the time. I remember valuing your company and opinion because you were always so blunt with me. You never held back your opinions."

"I am not lying, there is a way to sever it."

"But that's not what you want! Damn it- you nearly died because you couldn't open your mouth! Just be honest for once and tell me how you're feeling, Sesshoumaru. What do YOU want?"

Energy lashed at the air, kicking up a breeze that caused dark hair to fly back. Hands closed over the back of her neck, cradling her skull. Lips were shoved against hers, smothering startled breath.

"You," Sesshoumaru breathed in a brief parting, kissing her fiercely again. His mouth slanted ardently over hers, the hint of a fang brushing her lips. "Is it not obvious I cannot abide anything but having you? Foolish woman, it is for your sake I held back. Once you submit, there is no escaping me."

Kagome gaped, unable to keep up with the sheer amount of heated kisses. Her hands settled over his arms, heat igniting her cheeks. She'd never received a kiss like it before and tentatively returned it. A small gasp and accompanying noise from him only confirmed to her how much he wanted it. She could feel the tension in his frame. He was holding back even now.

When he pulled away, she panted, thumb dragging over magenta cheek stripes. "Didn't that feel so much better than burying everything?" she teased weakly. "Even if I'd rejected you, surely that would've been better than regret- than nearly dying."

Sesshoumaru's gaze slid away. He then released a long sigh, clawed hands curling in her hair. "You seemed happy with the mercenary."

"Ex-mercenary," she corrected out of habit, leaning into his touch. "And I was. I like him. But..." Kagome looked at him. Really looked, and somehow it clicked that his face was the only one she wanted to wake up to in the mornings to follow. When had things gotten to that point? Had she wanted this while lazing on the riverbank with him so long ago? Things would've been so much more simple if she'd identified it sooner. If he'd said something.

How foolish they both were.

Stepping closer, she blushed and tilting her head back in order to ghost her lips over a firm jaw. "I like you more."

Power sparked her insides at the ensuing shudder he gave. "Mating entails more than 'liking' one another, miko. Can you deal with my extended company? Being mine?"

Kagome pretended to consider this. "For how long?"

His lips quirked. "Centuries. Possibly thousands of years."

"That's a long time," her eyes danced. "I guess I'm okay with that if you work on your communication skills."

He inclined his head gravely, dipping his nose into her hair and inhaling a lungful. It felt so good to have clear airways again.

"Sesshoumaru, there is something I want to ask you about; Why didn't you bite me? And what happened during that night I lost my memories?"

"I intended to, miko," he said with dark promise. Displeasure curled his lip. "You managed to bite me during climax. I do not think you understood the ramifications of it at the time. I would have reciprocated nonetheless. Unfortunately, my senses- brilliant as they are- sensed a disturbance in the forest. A herd of boar youkai were bolting towards your precious village."

He could scowl all he wanted about it, but Kagome knew of his attachment to Rin. No doubt they'd both wasted no further time in lovemaking and quickly made for the village.

"We fought them, tried to redirect them. You asked me to save a boy that had fallen during the village's impromptu evacuation. Naturally, I did so- but it meant leaving you alone."

Kagome winced. Her hand found the back of her head, remembering waking to a sizable bump and stitches. "They got me, huh?"

"One struck you down," Sesshoumaru uttered with a weary tone. "I did not know where you were, as we had become separated in the chaos. When I eventually found you... the mercenary was nursing your wounds."

"I remember," she said gently. A stab of sympathy clenched her heart. Stroking a hand down his bicep, she sighed. "That must've been awful, to lose me so soon after almost completing the mating. I didn't realise, didn't recall our relationship. I greeted you so casually and didn't get why you were lingering around in his hut."

"The fault is not yours," Sesshoumaru rested large hands possessively on her hips.

Kagome glanced at him, squinting. "Neither is it yours," she pressed her fingers to his lips when he opened his mouth. "Nope! Not yours. I wouldn't have wanted you to prioritise guarding me that night. If you had, that boy you saved might've lost his life. Besides, I can usually take care of myself. They caught me on a bad day."

The two fell into silence. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, resting thin lips against the crown of her head while Kagome leaned carefully against him.

"I find it weird that we've had a whole conversation while you have a massive hole in your chest. At least I can't see your whole ribcage like before. Seems like the skin and muscle are repairing," she mumbled.

"It will heal quickly," he dismissed, palms gliding over her back.

Kagome made a soft noise, basking in his warmth. "It's also weird that this feels so natural to me," she lifted her head, catching his eye. "I might not remember us. Ever. So just... promise me you won't search for my past self in me. I've been through that before."

He swept her down into the furs, covering her form with his own. "Hn, we will live in the present."

Heat flushed her cheeks as she sank into the soft, comforting furs. Her heart fluttered, stomach jumping. "Thank you."

A silver curtain of hair blocked out their surroundings as Kagome pulled him closer, both mindful of his injury. She smiled, searching his gaze and slowly delivering a sweet kiss to his lips.

Sesshoumaru let out a long sigh of relief, their foreheads meeting.

"Hey, on the bright side..." Kagome gave him a cheeky grin. "I get to experience my 'first time' with you again."

Astonishment painted his features. A simmering, darkly satisfied look soon replaced it, transforming his face into something more raw and honest. Kagome accepted his anticipation, his hunger, not dissuading him from it. She endeavoured to encourage even more displays of emotion from him.

"You don't need to hold back," she murmured, accepting his searing kiss. "Tell me everything you've wanted to say to me since losing my memory. I don't mind."

Their energies twined once more, and the miko hooked her leg over his hip to anchor him against her without any seductive intentions. She merely wanted him close, and Sesshoumaru did not argue, burying closer to her the second he healed. Skin met skin, noses brushing.

In the hush that followed, Sesshoumaru took his lips to her ear and began talking.

End

[serenity-writes]

Firstly first, CONGRAAATS for having 300++ followers~!!(*≧∀≦*)♪¨̮⑅*⋆｡˚✩.*･ﾟ And it's kinda obvious but can I request Yasumasa + Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum)? Thank you very much~!( ˃̶͈ ᴗ ˂̶͈ )♡❀.*･ﾟ✿゜:。*

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :D This is the first time I’ve ever written Yasumasa, and I’m so happy it’s for you!! ♥️

As Yasumasa watched the surprisingly tough, endlessly (almost annoyingly) perseverant kitchen-girl stoop by a cluster of wildflowers, he wondered what the hell he was thinking, inviting her up here to his special place. Now there was nowhere he could hide if he wanted to be alone, no place where she wouldn’t be able to find him. Somehow, that didn’t bother him nearly as much as he thought it would. 

“Are you done yet?” He snapped instinctively, feeling the odd need to fix the way he spoke towards her instantly. “It’s going to be dark soon, and I don’t want to help you if you get lost.”

He watched a smile blossom upon her lips, one that had no business being so damn blinding. “Thank you for inviting me! I hope we can come see them bloom again next year, together.” She whispered this wish to the pure petals of the shiragiku, as if they could carry her words to heaven when they finally scattered. Then she straightened up, faced him without a speck of fear.

Yasumasa was afraid his voice would be too harsh against this pastoral scene, so he merely nodded his assent. They began to walk down the rocky path, side by side, fingers not daring to touch, but keeping as close as they could be without contact. Maybe next year, he thought, he would acknowledge the longing in his heart. And maybe next year, he’d finally have the courage to tell her the truth.

[slbp-holiday-exchange-blog]

(For @jemchew, from @regretful-otome)

1. Usagi.

“My name is Yahiko.” The boy beside Lord Kenshin was tiny. Smaller than everyone in the castle, almost the same height as Kanetsugu, but somehow smaller.

In other words, Yahiko was positively tiny compared to himself. He didn’t want to fight the small boy, he would crush him, so Kageie didn’t go out of his way to make friends with the tiny boy.

He… fit in somehow. A bit awkward in the way all growing boys who weren’t quite adults yet were, but alright.

Also, he was very jumpy.

It was like they had gotten a rabbit.

2. Oishī.

A small rabbit that could cook he amended a few days after his introduction. He was much better than the other castle cooks so hopefully, they got to keep him, if only for his food.

He could make kusa-mochi edible. He made Tsugutsugu’s bitter kusa-mochi sweet like they were supposed to be. A relief for his taste buds because Tsugutsugu was fast when it came to making others eat them.

“Yakko, food.” He plopped his head on top of his, his hair was soft, and tossed his arms over those tiny shoulders.

He barely stumbled with his weight this time.

3. Houchou.

Yakko would be very good with a tantou he decided, watching the swift cuts he made to the fish. No hesitation. A good thing on the battlefield.

“Hey, Yakko, want me to teach you how to fight?”

“No.”

That was a shame. He was small. And fast from the few times he had seen Yakko run.

“Are you sure? I’ll go easy on you.” He offered. Tsugutsugu was starting to get boring. And Yocchi never wanted to spar.

He blinked and stared down at the blade that was pointed at his throat.

“No.”

Kitchen knives suited Yakko’s hands more.

4. Kasa.

“You’re so small.” It was part complaint and part… he didn’t mind how small he was, compliment, observation?

But this was starting to hurt his back a little. If he straightened his back, the umbrella would be too high to cover Yakko and the rain was pretty heavy.

Not to mention, both of their feet were already covered in mud and their hakama were getting wet.

“Sorry about this.”

He seemed light enough.

“Yakko, hold this.” He handed the umbrella to him and then picked the smaller man up.

“Kageie-san!”

“Kakki.” He corrected. “We’re friends, so call me Kakki.”

5. Yomu.

Yakko was staring blankly at the scroll. Like he didn’t know what to do with it.

But, he was a commoner. Not a samurai or a noble.

“Yakko, do you know how to read?”

“… no.” Just as he thought.

“I’ll teach you how!” Yocchi popped his head onto Yakko’s and started pointing at the scroll. “This kanji is-”

“Yocchi, he needs to learn kana first before kanji.” His teacher hadn’t been merciful when teaching him the Chinese characters, but he could at least make sure Yakko didn’t suffer too much learning. “I’ll get some books for him.”

6. Okaeri.

“Kakki, you’re super lucky, you know.” He eyed Yocchi as he led him and his group somewhere after their wounds were treated. Rear guard was fun. The injuries not so much.

“What are you talking about? You want to join us?” Laughing, Yocchi shook his head and slide a door open.

A feast. There was no better word for it. It looked good for what wasn’t covered.

And there was a familiar form in the corner, fast asleep.

“When Yakko heard you were coming, he asked Lord Kenshin for permission to make a feast to welcome you back with.”

7. Moku.

“What is this for?” His stare was almost accusing. No doubt he still remembered their conversation in the kitchen.

Yakko didn’t want to fight. But that didn’t mean he should be defenseless.

“You’re too weak.” But still sturdy. “Some defense never hurts.”

A practice sword would hurt, but not in a permanent manner.

Just enough for him to get away.

“I still don’t want to fight.”

“But I won’t always get there in time, Yakko.” Good, Yocchi could do this. “We want you to be able to defend yourself a little, so please?”

He crumpled like paper in no time.

8. Ue.

He woke to a blanket being placed on him and a shadow cast over him.

Wordlessly, he lifted his arm up. An invitation. One he didn’t offer often.

“I have to help with lunch.”

He frowned. Yakko’s food was good and people would get upset if he deprived them of his cooking. So he just sighed and settled back under his blanket which was a haori. But too big to be Yakko’s. Who could have given Yakko one then?

Too much effort to think about he decided, closing his eyes again.

It smelled like sandalwood and felt like sunset.

9. Amai.

The first time Tsugutsugu offered his weapon-grade kusa-mochi, he was unaware. Afterwards, he ran, but that rarely stopped Tsugutsugu. Honestly, they should just equip Tsugutsugu with his food and let him throw them at the enemy. Or feed them. He was such an aggressive feeder.

The first time after Yakko’s arrival, the kusa-mochi was sweet for once.

Just like all the other sweets leaving Yakko’s kitchen.

He wondered what it said about him when he took to napping near the kitchen in order to wake up to a plate of sweets nearby with a pot of tea and a cup.

10. Neru.

He was pleasantly surprised when he woke up in a small human curled up under his haori. Or rather, one under and the other leaning on the wall right by him. It was rare for Yakko to not have a shadow called Ai behind him.

They were both so small that his haori easily covered both of them. It was warm enough he didn’t need it to nap.

Kanetsugu couldn’t scold them. He wouldn’t. He was oddly fond of Yakko though that might have had something with the way Ai followed him around.

A nap would be good for them.

11. Tōrō.

“Kakki-san,” Opening his eyes, he was met with soft lantern light being cast on the floor and Yakko looking down on him. “You missed dinner.”

Giving the smaller man a look, he deliberately dragged his eyes from his to the tray in his hand.

The action got him a giggle and the tray moved in front of him.

“Itadakimasu.”

It wasn’t bad. Eating on the veranda with a lantern’s light and Yakko’s quiet presence.

Perhaps he should keep doing this.

“Kanetsugu-san seemed annoyed with you not coming to dinner.”

Or maybe he shouldn’t. An irritated Kanetsugu was feared by all.

12. Kage.

Officially, Yakko was a page. Kenshin’s page. Or Kanetsugu’s depending on who snagged him first. And a cook.

Unofficially, as in Ai had decided it and no one ever denied her anything that wasn’t dangerous, he was Ai’s main caretaker.

Though, watching the two of them hang laundry up to dry from his spot on the roof, Ai looked like she could have been Yakko’s little sister. Or daughter if he was a little older.

“Nii-san, can we make mochi for Father today?”

“Of course.”

He was good with kids. Did he have a little sister in the capital?

13. Himitsu.

Yakko had secrets. And he wasn’t very good at hiding their existence. He supposedly had an older sister and a mother back in the capital. If anything, Yakko seemed more like Kanetsugu than Yocchi so did he have another sibling?

Not like it was in his position to pry when Yakko was mostly harmless. Unless it involved his kitchen.

Yakko was very good at not revealing his secrets.

“B-b-breasts!” Tsugutsugu covered Yocchi’s mouth before he could get louder.

Except, he couldn’t hide this one after falling into the pond. Then, loud stomps came before them.

“What is going on here?”

14. Shiragiku.

Well, in hindsight, he supposed it made sense. Yakko was built more like a willow and so light compared to even Kanetsugu, he had worried he wasn’t eating enough.

The wet clothes clinging to her frame made it quite obvious a woman had been underneath them.

“You’re soaked!” Grabbing a towel, Kanetsugu started to pat her dry. Not even blinking at her gender. He probably knew from the start.

So why did he let her stay? Did Kenshin know?

“Don’t just stand there! Get me another towel!”

Too troublesome to think about it now he decided, getting another towel.

15. Bijin.

“Yep, Yahiko’s a woman.”

So Kenshin knew too.

“Women are forbidden in the castle.”

“She’s here for Ai. Kanetsugu figured she could use some feminine influence in her life.” Then why weren’t they told in the first place?

The shifting and frowning meant he wasn’t the only one to think that.

“Yakko’s still Yakko.” Yoshichi decided with a firm nod. “So where is she?”

“Lord Kenshin?”

“Come in.”

The door to the main hall slide open.

Her still somewhat damp hair clung closely to her neck and he could see why they felt the need to hide her.

Pretty.

16. Aho.

Yakko, as she didn’t mind being called that, was an idiot, he decided, for continuing to stay when she could have gone home. It was a castle full of men and one girl, and, now, one woman. “No. Spar with me.”

Oh, wait, it was their own fault for making her feel safe enough that staying was an option. There went Tsugutsugu dragging off his latest victim for a ‘spar.’

More like beating him black and blue. In the name of training so they couldn’t get in trouble.

And Kanetsugu seemed to approve of their methods.

Kenshin didn’t mind either.

17. Ku.

“Kakki-san, I made onigiri. Would you like some?” It was nice to hear her normal voice. Pleasant, not at all hoarse like she pretended it was to hide its high pitch.

“Yeah.” He sat up. Taking one of the balls of rice off the plate, he bit into it when something caught his eye.

Where had she gotten rouge? They always went shopping in town together so he would know if she bought something.

Did Lord Kenshin give it to her?

It was a nice shade.

He should warn Yocchi and Tsugutsugu. They were going to have more work now.

18. Namae.

The only people who knew Yakko’s actual name were Kanetsugu and Lord Kenshin. And no one asked her what her name was.

As if, if they did know, Yakko wouldn’t be one of them anymore.

It would be much more real that she was a she and not simply a beautiful man like Lord Kenshin. And happened to dress like a woman.

“Hey,”

“Yes, Kakki-san?”

“Your real name, what is it?”

Looking around and then gesturing him to lean down, it felt like she was telling him a secret.

Something private she was going to share just with him.

19. Nyuu.

It was dumb. It was no secret that Lord Kenshin was fond of Yakko. He doted on her constantly as evident by her growing collection of hair accessories and fine kimono. In addition to his habit to escaping the castle with her.

Lady Uesugi, they whispered in the halls. The rumors were flying around.

Before he didn’t pay attention to them, but these ones irked him.

Now he was downright irritated.

He wasn’t surprised by the fact that Lord Kenshin liked to do her hair.

It was the fact that he minded that surprised him.

It was just a hairstick.

20. Atsui.

Too hot to nap. Way too hot, even in the shade. Especially near the kitchen.

“Yakko,” He whined. From outside the kitchen, right where he could start to feel the heat. It was almost dinner time so it was hot from the flames.

“Yes?” Soft, but quick footsteps signaled her arrival.

… perhaps he shouldn’t have called her outside.

The sheen of sweat on her skin caught the setting sun’s light and there goes a drop down her neck and into… her… cleavage.

She looked good regardless of the weather.

“I want sweets.”

“After dinner if you’re still awake.”

21. Suki.

He wasn’t an idiot. He was very familiar with emotions contrary to what his comrades might think. He was a rather simple man. None of that complicated denial stuff.

The worst that could happen was Lord Kenshin taking offence in the scenario that she was his lover.

He might die.

But that was highly unlikely since she wasn’t the type to get retribution for anything.

Except messing with her kitchen.

“Kakki-san?”

He gestured to the spot beside him on the veranda and waited until she was seated.

“I love you.”

Oh, her surprised squeak was adorable. Along with that blush.

22. Aka.

“You can’t just say that!”

“I just did.”

He could wait until her stammered retorts ended. Except it didn’t look like she would be done anytime soon.

Softly, he called her name, putting a stop to her voice.

“I love you.” He repeated calmly. As calmly as he could with his heart thumping louder than usual. “I liked Yakko, now I love you.”

Well, her blush and attempt to hide behind her hands seemed like a good response.

It wasn’t a rejection yet.

“Well?”

“I… love you… too.”

“I can’t kiss you with your hands in the way.”

[imasallstars]

CINDERELLA UPDATE - Other Possible Surprise Voices??

It seems like Bandai Namco is returning to the era of the CG anime in 2014 and are bringing voice debuts to unvoiced idols through anime cameos, this time making use of the Cinderella Girls Gekijou anime. 

Of course with so many voiced right now, and with the inclusion of Starlight Stage, in where we also got a voice for Mirei, we can right now assume they are making use of the availability of an idol’s SSR as one of multiple requirements for them to be eligible for a voice! Atsumi was an example of this as she gained an SSR in June of this year!

Of course they could have easily chose Atsumi, a cute idol, due to the complete disparity of Cute Voiced as compared to other types - Passion, especially. So right now we can assume they will not be giving out random voices to Passion idols, just yet. BamCo could give us another Passion voiced, but maybe not. Its not called a surprise for nothing.

Of course, they could have just given Atsumi only. That too is a possibility but we all can dream

With that out of the way, here are all the unvoiced idols with SSRs ( excluding the U149 idols: Koharu and Risa, who are confirmed to be getting them )

Cute

Shinobu Kudo

Kotoka Saionji

Kana Imai

Hotaru Shiragiku

Kozue Yusa

Cool

Yukimi Sajo

Makino Yagami

Layla

Passion ( unlikely, but possible )

Hinako Kita ( most unlikely for a surprise voice due to her standing in the 6th Elections )

Sana Miyoshi

Natalia

[treeclimberofhoshido]

Chimei + Subaki Supports

C-S Supports are under the cut! 

Support C

Chimei: Shoo, shoo! Go away! This is off limits, understand?

Subaki: Um...Chimei? Are you fighting with my pegasus?

Chimei: Subaki? This pegasus is yours? It’s trying to eat my flower bed!

 Hmph, the flowers are not even full bloom yet. Nothing tastes good from little sprouts!

Subaki: I’m sorry! I guess lunch was not enough for it, heh. May I ask why you are growing flowers?

Chimei: Because I like it. Like how you love being flawless.

Subaki: I guess that is a reasonable answer...? Then what kind of flowers are you growing here?

Chimei: Secret. 

Subaki: Oh?

Chimei: But I can tell you that it is a flower I used to grow a lot before. They have always been one of my favorite flowers since I was a child. It was my grandfather’s top seller at our shop.

Subaki: Oh yes! I heard that your family was a famous florist shop on the edge of Hoshido that had customers from both kingdoms. 

Chimei: Mhm. Our business all started with my great great great great great grandma or something like that. It’s a shame that it ended with me when it got destroyed by Nohrians.

Subaki: I...I am so sorry to hear that. But you’re not planning to reopen the shop after the war?

Chimei: Not really. I mean, there’s no where I can reopen. My village had the right soil to grow Hoshidian and Nohrian native flowers but it’s all ashes now. 

Subaki: Chimei...Surely it can be rebuild somehow.

Chimei: ...Can we drop the topic now? I don’t want to get personal. Actually, I have other things to do. Bye.

Subaki: ...She sounded upset. Perhaps I was a bit too nosy...

Support B

Subaki: Chimei! The person I was looking for! 

Chimei: Yeah. It’s me. Watering flowers. At my flowerbed. It’s not really hard to find me.

Subaki: Ahaha…Anyways, this is for you!

Chimei: Hyacinth flowers?

Subaki: Yes! 

Chimei: …

Subaki: …

Chimei: …

Subaki: Um…I got the correct flowers, right?

Chimei: Excuse me?

Subaki: Er…I noticed that our last conversation made you upset… So, I wanted to apologize through the language of flowers. 

I read through many books about Hoshidan hanakotoba and even Nohrian floriography. Took me a couple days, but I believe I achieved the message I wanted to put through. 

Chimei: Purple Hyacinths huh…In both kingdoms, purple hyacinths symbolize sorrow and is also a way to say “I’m sorry.” Impressive.

But you didn’t have to go this far to apologize.

Subaki: But I must! After all I offended a comrade and more importantly, a friend.

Chimei: Subaki…You didn’t really offend me. 

To tell the truth, I’m scared of reopening my family’s business. I’m the only one left in my family at the moment so no one can help me when things get rough. Rebuilding my village is also another big problem...

I guess when you asked, it reminded me of reality and my responsibilities. I’m not a brave person like you. It was not your fault. You didn’t know anything about that and I shouldn’t have act harshly. 

Subaki: Then, shall I get to know more about you? I want to know so that in the future I won’t hurt you. I want to help you as much as I can, Chimei. 

Chimei: Wow. Someone wants to know about me? That’s a first. People think that I’m just a lazy person who does nothing but sleep in trees and eat. 

Subaki: I’ll be honest. I was one of those people, haha.

Chimei: Fair enough. But I don’t want to tell you personal sob stories…

Hm, I could talk how it was like working at the shop with my grandpa when he was still alive.

Subaki: I would love to hear about that. 

Chimei: Alright. So, there was this one time where my grandpa thought a frog was a flower vase…

Support A

Subaki: *yawns* Night patrolling can be tiresome. However nothing suspicious seems to be happening. 

Ah. That flower on the ground…It’s a shiragiku. If I remember correctly, Chimei said it is called a white chrysanthemum in Nohr. 

Hoshidans give these flowers when they are about to tell someone the truth while Nohrians use it as symbol of loyalty or devoted love... 

It is quite interesting and fun to know that plants can say so much. I should thank Chimei for teaching me. Perhaps through bluebells? 

???: AHHH!

Subaki: Huh? That voice!

Faceless: Hnnng…

Chimei: Get away! *casts spell*

Faceless: Hrghh! *ready to hit Chimei*

Subaki: Chimei! Look out! *stabs the Faceless*

Faceless: Argh! 

Subaki: Chimei, are you hurt?!

Chimei: Subaki…my tsubaki…

Subaki: Huh?

Chimei: My tsubaki got hurt…

Subaki: …M-My Subaki? 

Chimei: *sniffs* It’s all my fault…If only I got here before that stupid Faceless…*sniffle*

Subaki: Ah! Don’t cry! I’m fine, it didn’t scratch me at all…

Chimei: My lovely tsubaki…dammit! 

Subaki: Chimei?! S-She ran away… B-But why did she refer to me as “My Subaki”? I’m a bit flustered… 

Oh? Isn’t that Chimei’s flowerbed? Oh no! It’s ruined…Could it be the faceless’s fault…?

Support S

Subaki: Chimei! I know you’re up there in that tree!

Chimei: I don’t want to get down. 

Subaki: That leaves me with with no choice then.

Chimei: Whoa! Unfair, you can ride your peagsus up here! 

Subaki: What can I do? You’ve been avoiding me ever since that night.

Chimei: Can you blame me? I said and did some embarrassing stuff…

Subaki: Such as saying “my Subaki”?

Chimei: H-Hey! Don’t get the wrong idea! When I said that, I wasn’t referring to you. I was referring to the tsubaki flower.

Subaki: Oh. I forgot I was named after a flower. 

Chimei: Those were the flowers that I was growing in that flowerbed. They were red Tsubaki, or as the Nohrians call them, camellias. 

I forgot to water them so I sneaked out to do so. Unfortunately that stupid Faceless was roaming around and stepped on those tsubaki flowers.

Subaki: Even so, it was reckless and dangerous to fight it by yourself.

Chimei: I know, I know…But those flowers were dear to me. Tsubaki are my favorite flowers…Especially the red ones. 

Different colors have different meanings in Hoshido. White means “waiting”, yellow means “longing”…and...in Nohr, red means “excellence.”

Subaki: Huh? But what does the red ones mean in Hoshido?

Chimei: ....L-Love...

Subaki: Y-You were growing red tsubaki flowers…

Chimei: Yeah…And…and I was planning to give them to you…

Subaki: Oh…Chimei…

Chimei: Haha, it’s funny. Never thought I would fall in love with a man who bears the same name as the flower I love. Oh man, this is embarrassing…

Subaki: I... I’m so glad! Chimei. I love you!

Chimei: Okay, enough joking. Get off my tree.

Subaki: But I’m serious. I accept your feelings as I fell in love with a woman who is passionate with what she loves. It’s a shame that everyone cannot see it but...I want to be the only one to know. 

When you accepted those hyacinths and told me about your experience as a florist…I loved seeing the sparkle in your eyes and the sincere expressions on your face. 

Chimei: A-Are you sure? You who is a perfect warrior from a perfect noble family loves me? A useless lazy bum with no home or family…?

Subaki: In my eyes, you are a bouquet of beautiful flowers with different meanings that I wish to know of. 

Chimei: Stop being cheesy or I will push you off this tree…

Subaki: Only if you say those four words, my Chimei. 

Chimei: You’re quite the charmer. Fine then. I love you, Subaki.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune: Irodori no Issha Episode 6: Shiragiku-san Goes to Karaoke

Tsurune translation masterpost here

Translation notes

1. Shiragiku is doing some exercises to memorize verb conjugations in classical Japanese

Shiragiku: This is...this is...

Shiragiku: This is a karaoke room, isn’t it!

Hanazawa: You’re way too impressed by it

Seo: Oh? Is this your first time being in one?

Hanazawa: No way!

Shiragiku: Of course it’s my first time! The first time in my life!

Hanazawa: Noa-chan, before, you also said that it was your first time eating okonomiyaki

Shiragiku: Okonomiyaki! That was wonderful as well.

Shiragiku: The spicy sour-sweetness of the sauce. The dancing katsuobushi (small slices of dried bonito). And, the fluffy, melting...

Hanazawa: Okay, that’s enough of your okonomiyaki hymn. Anyways, let’s get our textbooks out, okay? 

Shiragiku: Um, um...I heard that at karaoke places, food and drink are transported to you automatically, but is that really true?

Seo: The automatic part is a bit ambiguous, but if you order on that phone over there, a staff member will bring it to you.

Shiragiku: ! How revolutionary! 

Hanazawa: I’ve always wondered about this, Noa-chan, but just how detached from the real world is your family? Could it be that you’ve never fought over fried chicken or anything like that?

Shiragiku: Why would we fight over it? It’s all distributed onto everyone’s plate equally and lined up on the dining table

Seo: They don’t pile up all the fried chicken on one big plate at your house, Noa?

Shiragiku: Did I say something strange?

Hanazawa: Nope. Actually, it’s what I expected

Seo: Well, what we’re here to do today is to study for exams. Let’s start now

Hanazawa: I wish they’d open up the school library to everyone. During this time, you have to book it

Seo: If they do that, there’d be too many students wanting to do study sessions like us

Shiragiku: As a result, I was able to experience the new world known as a karaoke room, so perhaps you could say that fate is unpredictable

Hanazawa: You’re so positive! I should learn from you

Seo: Okay, okay, let’s study now

Hanazawa: Yes, ma’am

Hanazawa: Seo, you’re really good at English

Seo: It’s more like I really like it. I want to get a job that has to do with English in the future

Hanazawa: You’re already thinking about your future?

Seo: It’s just dreams. Like wanting to study abroad or how to do simultaneous interpreting, stuff like that

Hanazawa: That’s so cool, Seo. I feel like you’d be good at it. Being able to do kyudo and good at English, you’re awesome! 

Seo: I don’t know about that, but I feel more confident when you say that, Yuuna.

Hanazawa: Huh~~? Wait, wait. For me, when I get lectured about the differences between transitive and intransitive verbs, or present perfect tense and progressive present perfect tense, I just think, “What is this? Who cares?”

Seo: Increasing grammar and vocabulary is the key to improving

Hanazawa: I know that

Shiragiku: Ari ori haberi ima sokari (1)

Hanazawa: Eh, what? What’s that?

Shiragiku: Nani nunu runu renu (1)

Hanazawa: Hey, Noa-chan, stop that! 

Shiragiku: Koki kukuru kure koyo (1)

Hanazawa: The English that I finally memorized is getting pushed out of my brain!

Seo: Noa. If you do too many irregular verb conjugations, you’ll be charged an extra fee

Shiragiku: Eh!? It’s a joke...right?

Seo: ...Is that what you think? 

Hanazawa: Actually, it’s not done often outside of study sessions and karaoke. It's an optional fee

Shiragiku: Is that so...my apologies. I was jealous of you two talking about your futures, so I couldn’t help but...

Hanazawa: We were kidding.

Shiragiku: Eh?

Hanazawa: There’s no optional fee or anything

Seo: Noa, you should learn more about the world

Hanazawa: I wanna hear about your dreams for the future, Noa-chan. What is it?

Shiragiku: For me...it’ll probably be something decided by my parents.

Hanazawa: Eh? In this time and age?

Shiragiku: Yes. I have my own personal ideas, but I am also a member of the Shiragiku family, so I believe it’s only natural to do what my parents want. 

Hanazawa: I see

Seo: But, it’s not like they’ll go against what you want, right?

Hanazawa: Do they properly respect you?

Shiragiku: Yes, they do.

Seo: Then, you should broaden your knowledge of the world

Seo: And find what’s best for you in it

Hanazawa: Seo, that’s a cool thing to say!

Seo: No, I’m also admonishing myself

Shiragiku: I understand. I’ll also study even harder 

Hanazawa: Yep, yep

Shiragiku: First, since we’re here

Shiragiku: I want to learn how to do karaoke!

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 1 - Eccentrics (Part 1)

Translating this chapter gave me flashbacks...everyone get your kyudo glossary out, you’re going to need it (I should really figure out a better balance for what to keep in Japanese and what to keep in English)

Also, please pray that I get book 3 by the end of this year

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Binzuru-san is the “Japanese embodiment of Pindola Bharadvaja. Pindola is an Arhat, one of the spiritually accomplished followers of the original Buddha, who asked them to remain in the world for eternity to propagate the Dharma, or Buddhist law.” Billiken-san is a charm doll made by an American teacher. Apparently there’s a statue of one in Japan where people rub its soles for good luck

2. Seiya refers to the Japanese saying “ 右に出る者はない “ which means “being second to none” and refers to the custom of the rightmost seat being the seat of honor

3. I don’t actually know what this word “下座心” or gezashin means. I guessed that it had something to do with being humble since 下座 means “lower seat” or “getting down from your seat to prostrate yourself”

4. These are changed references to real Japanese snacks. “Tocchan Ika” is “Yocchan Ika,” (a type of squid snack) “Baby Moon ramen” is “Baby Star ramen,” and “umainbo” is “umaibo”

5. This took forever to look up but I think it’s a reference to a kyudo song/chant? Basically it means “practice as if you’re in a tournament and act like you’re practicing when you’re in a tournament”

Previous | Next

“E-Excuse me, Narumiya-senpai, can we touch your forehead?”

“…Huh?”

Young maple trees announced the arrival of spring. Brand-new rubber bows were piled up on the shelves of Kazemai High School’s kyudojo.

Narumiya Minato’s hands were on the cord of his hakama. He couldn’t understand the words of the jersey-clad new student.

The first-year, Kanbayashi, was reservedly smiling and nodding next to his friend, but his eyes were blinking at high speed.

“Um, what’s with this all of a sudden? Is this a punishment game or something?”

“No, it’s not. We asked Kisaragi-senpai what we should do to become better at kyudo, and he told us to pat Narumiya-senpai’s forehead.”

Minato glanced at Kisaragi Nanao, who was talking with Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo. Nanao, who sensed his gaze, held up three fingers and waved them with a “Merha.”

“Nanao, you’re telling people nonsense again.”

“Don’t make that face, Minato. I didn’t lie. I just told them my personal opinion. Come on, you have to listen to the request of your adorable kohai.”

Hearing this, Ryouhei’s eyes sparkled.

“Me too, me too! I wanna get better!”

Ryouhei quickly went in front of Minato and started patting his forehead. Imitating his senpai, Kanbayashi also rubbed Minato’s forehead. Minato was speechless as he stared at the two, who looked satisfied from accomplishing their goal. Pressing his hand against his bangs, he stepped back and bumped into something.

It was Seiya.

“I heard that it’s the head that makes you get better.”

Next to him, their coach Masa-san, a.k.a. Takigawa Masaki, was also there.

“Seiya, that’s not true. You have to touch the soles of his feet, not his head, for your wish to come true. C’mon, Minato, put out your foot. Thank you, thank you.”

“Stop it! I’m not ‘Binzuru-san’ or ‘Billiken-san’!” (1)

Despite Minato’s shouts, Masa-san had his hand to his mouth, chuckling. Just as he was thinking about grabbing his hair whorl and rubbing it, another new student stepped up to him.

Keyaki had thick, strong-willed eyebrows and large, dark eyes with a sharp gaze clearly indicated where he was looking.

“Senpais! Please stop fooling around and start practicing!”

Kaito also spoke after him.

“Keyaki’s right. Masa-san, what are you doing?”

“Fufu, sorry, sorry.”

Masa-san clapped Kaito’s shoulder.

Minato and the others had become second-years, and the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club welcomed twenty-two new members this year. There were ten boys and twelve girls. Among them, two of the boys and three of the girls had experience. Kanbayashi Hikaru had experience, and Keiyaki Keima was a first-timer.

Practice began.

The kyudo glove, the “yugake,” was put on the right hand.

That hand took a “hitote,” or two arrows, and the left hand held the bow.

Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao, and Minato stood at the entrance.

Kyudo was a type of budo, and it was the art of shooting a bow. Budo was the way of the warrior. Eugen Herrigel called kyudo “the warrior’s way of shooting,” and Miyamoto Musashi taught that “a warrior is simply one who has a taste for the way of death.”

For competitions, there was “kinteki” (short-distance) and “enteki” (long-distance), and they did the former. They shot arrows at the thirty-six-centermeter diameter kasumi-mato at a distance of twenty-eight meters. At Inter-High, each team consisted of five people called a “go’nin-dachi,” and each person shot four arrows called “yotsuya” for a total of twenty shots.

At “honza,” the archer bowed and stepped forward. If they sat on their heels at the shooting line, turned to the side, stood, performed ashibumi, and shot, that was called “zasha.” If they remained standing at the shooting line and performed ashibumi, that was called “rissha.” The left and right hands were called “yunde and mete” or “oshide and katte.” The process of shooting an arrow was divided into eight steps and given names. This was called the Eight Steps of Shooting (Shahou Hassetsu).

The Shahou Hassetsu was as followed.

First, Ashibumi (Stance) – The feet’s position. Determining the position of the target and self.

Second, Douzukuri (Set) – Preparing the foundation for shooting. Readying the body. Adjusting it.

Third, Yugamae (Bowset) – Nocking the arrow on the bow. Prologue to the confrontation with the target.

Fourth, Uchiokoshi (Set up) – Lifting the bow and arrow.

Fifth, Hikiwake (Drawing) – Pushing the raised bow evenly from both sides.

Sixth, Kai (Fulldraw) – Unification of the target and self. Drawing the bow to its limit.

Seven, Hanare (Release) – Letting the arrow go. Releasing it. Setting it free.

Eighth, Zanshin (Follow through) – Following through to the end. Fully extending yourself.

The five glided into the shooting area, lined up in front of the targets and began shooting in order starting from the front. When the bow with nocked arrow were raised up high and pulled to its limit, bow and archer completed a beautiful cross. After the other four finished shooting their haya and otoya arrows, Minato was the only one left in the shooting area. When his right hand flicked back, a pleasant matooto (sound of arrow hitting the target) was heard.

They went to collect the arrows and bring them back. On the arrow-collecting path, they walked with the arrow feathers pointing at the lawn.

Tommy-sensei spoke.

“Now that you seemed to have learned that the fundamental forms equal taihai, let’s continue with the rubber bows today.”

Just because you joined the kyudo club, it didn’t mean that you would be able to immediately hold a bow and arrow. First of all, you had to imitate the action of shooting a bow without holding the tool, which was called “empty-handed archery.” It was like air kyudo. Tools such as rubber bows were lent by the club.

One of the girls spoke up.

“Coach Takigawa, could you take a look at this?”

“Okay. Seo-san, will you help me?”

Seo and the others corrected the girls’ shakei by putting their hands on their arms and backs in accordance with Masa-san’s observations. Shakei referred to the form.

When practice ended and Tommy-sensei and Masa-san had left, Keyaki let out a big sigh.

“Onogi-senpai, when will I be able to hold a bow? Stretching, taihai, empty-hand practice, rubber bow—that’s all we’re doing. We can’t even wear hakama.”

“Don’t whine. That’s how it is for beginners.”

“Beginners?”

“When I started kyudo in middle school, all I did was collect arrows, paper the targets, and shout ‘Yes.’ It wasn’t until the third-years retired that I was able to stand in front of the targets. The first thing we learned was how to clean the kyudojo.”

“When exactly are you talking about? It’s very old-fashioned to start with cleaning. It is inefficient and meaningless. The common sense here is questionable.”

“Cleaning is a basic part of life, you know? What’s inefficient about learning the basics. Even chores are a fine job.”

“You’re obedient, aren’t you. People like that who only do what they’re told without using their brains will only be used by others. If something is necessary, those who are in charge should be the ones to take the initiative.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Budo begins and ends with etiquette.”

“To be honest, I’m disappointed. I thought that a team with only first-year students had adopted a revolutionary training method since they won second place at Nationals, but Coach Takigawa just has the female members correcting the shooting forms of the newcomers.”

“Hah? That’s enough, you.”

Seiya cut into their conversation.

The smile on his face made those who have known him for a long time freeze.

“I understand Keyaki’s desire to draw a bow as soon as possible. The empty-handed practice and rubber bows are a program for you to learn the Eight Steps of Shooting. If you suddenly pick up a bow and arrow, it is dangerous because you might hit your face with the bowstring and hurt yourself, or the arrow might fly off to somewhere else. It’s a practice method designed to minimize injuries and accidents.”

“I know the Eight Steps of Shooting from watching the video sharing site ‘Yotube.’ What I lack is practice and experience.”

“Have you learned how to move your feet?”

“There’s sashinutai and kashinjoutai. When advancing, you move your left foot first, and when moving backwards, you start from your right foot. Or, when moving forward, you start with the foot closest to the shimoza, and when moving backwards, you start with the foot closest to the kamiza.”

“You seemed to have read the textbook thoroughly. Just like the saying ‘There is no one who can appear on the right,’ (2) in Japan since the olden days, the right is the upper seat and the left is the lower seat. In other words, the Minister of the Right is more important than the Minister of the Left.”

“Isn’t it the other way around in international etiquette? Everything needs a change. Aren’t kyudo uniforms too conservative, like using white only for tournaments? Aren’t you just sitting back and doing nothing by using the word ‘tradition’ as a shield? If you do nothing, you won’t fail or be beaten.”

“I think it’s hard to draw a line between which colors are okay and which colors are not. If everyone wears the same color, it would be difficult to see the economic disparity between them. Apparently, the kendoka of the Imperial Guard wear white dougi and white hakama, originally for hygienic reasons. Keyaki, you’re aware that you lack practice and experience. I think sometimes you don’t understand the meaning and reason of things unless you try doing them. It’s shallow to assume something in this way before you try it.”

“I’m not making assumptions.”

“If you think you can start a revolution by yourself, you’re being too arrogant. Do you have any like-minded comrades who agree with your words and sometimes admonish you? Kazemai’s leaders are always updating their information. When coaching, they always do their best to keep men from touching women—unlike in the past.”

Next to the silent Keyaki, Kanbayashi’s gaze wandered around.

Minato raised his voice.

“Wait, Seiya! Even if it’s obvious to us who have been in the kyudo club since middle school, there must be a lot of things people who pick up a bow for the first time in high school don’t know about. I think this is due to a lack of communication. Before, Onogi got angry because ‘I didn’t hear any of that!’, right? He said we hid things from them because we didn’t trust them. ‘Please understand’ doesn’t tell people anything. I’ve watched you, Seo-san, and Masa-san having discussions until it’s late. I know you bought new rubber bows from the small budget of the club.”

Seiya took a breath and ordered everyone to clean up. People scattered. Keyaki, perhaps frustrated that he was backed up by the person he had told off for messing around, didn’t even make eye contact with Minato.

After checking up on Keyaki, who had gone to get a mop, Kanbayashi ran up to Minato and Nanao.

“I’m sorry, senpais. This is all because I got excited over something that had nothing to do with kyudo before practice… Keyaki is just impatient. He wants to draw a bow as soon as possible.”

Nanao answered.

“Mm, I understand. Kacchan’s always like that, and Seiya isn’t angry either.”

“He’s always like that?”

“Yep, that’s normal for him. Seiya’s slightly sadistic, and Kacchan’s an extreme masochist. I’ll talk to Tommy-sensei, so don’t worry about it. Do you wanna touch ‘Minahead’ one more time?”

“Minahead?”

“Minato’s forehead.”

Both Kanbayashi and Minato blinked at the same time.

---

The silhouettes of five boys and their bicycles stood out cleanly against the backdrop of the setting sun.

Minato was in front of a candy store by the bus stop. Usually, he commuted to school by bicycle and ran to the supermarket to get groceries after club activities, but on this day, everyone was making a side trip together. A sweet smell wafted through his nose, and somehow his cheeks were dyed red as well. He could hear the sound of children spinning for capsule toys.

Ryouhei snapped the popsicle in his hand into two.

“Minato, I’ll give you half. I feel like my head is full of words today. Um, you step forward with your foot that’s farthest away from the gods, right? I was doing it without thinking all this time.”

“That’s gezashin, the mindset where you do something humbly. (3) The fact you can do it unconsciously is proof that your body remembers it. Ah, this is a nostalgic taste.”

“Isn’t it tasty?”

“Ryouhei, where’s mine?” Seiya urged.

“I always give you one, so none for you for today.”

While he was saying this, Ryouhei finished the popsicle and opened the seal of the next sweet. Tocchan Ika, Baby Moon ramen, and umaibo (4) were put away into his stomach one after the other. Nutritional supplements were essential to his growing body.

The two cousins were sitting on the edge of a flower bed. Nanao was playing with a frog key chain hanging from his bag, and Kaito was stretching himself out.

“A real pain-in-the-ass joined the club.”

“Don’t say that. You’re a pain-in-the-ass too, Kacchan.”

“Hah? That ain’t true.”

“I think it’s good that he’s enthusiastic. But he might also get over-theoretical. It doesn’t have to be so excessive that it’s a revolution, but it might be good to think about improvements. It’s also true that we want as many new students as possible to stay.”

Seiya sensed Nanao’s gaze and smiled. Giving the two of them a sidelong glance, Kaito raised his stretched-out body.

“By the way, the Nanao Fan Club is being pretty quiet even though they’re always so noisy.”

“Apparently, the first-year girl members made it clear to my girls that they didn’t join the club for me. They purely wanted to do kyudo.”

“That’s good.”

“And to tell you the truth, it’s also because we got a great coach here.”

“Oh, so they’re more interested in Masa-san, if anything.”

Nanao followed the clouds in the distant sky with his eyes. The clouds, which looked still, were slowly drifting, like phoenixes crossing the sky.

“Let’s stand on that stage as the five of us this year too.”

“That’s a given.”

The corner of Kaito’s mouth raised.

A bus passed by as the boys talked with their heads together. A red vending machine, a box of popsicles, and a poster announcing a summer festival. The capsule machines were filled with treasures. Rainbow-colored circles lit up in the outdoor lights, and crows cawed from the mountains.

Seiya sent a text message to Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo. The wind blew.

---

A few days later, the members of the kyudo club gathered.

The club president, Seiya, spoke.

“Everyone, thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey. The first-years are now practicing entering and exiting the kyudojo, so today we’ll do rubber bows and subiki, and tomorrow we’ll be facing the targets.”

The first-years were flustered. They hadn’t imagined that they would be standing before the targets so soon.

The curriculum was as followed. The scoring target for long-distance competitions, which was about twelve meters from the shooting position, would be placed. The diameter was one hundred centimeters. After that, they would learn how to use a yugake and try shooting at the makiwara. Running concurrently, they would enter the arrow path and stand five meters, then ten meters, from the azuchi, and finish off by shooting from the shooting position.

Seeing the smiling faces of the new members, Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo shook hands and said, “Alright.”

Tommy-sensei continued.

“We had a class for the general public, but our club was short of weak bows for beginners. Incredibly, the kyudo equipment store gave us five bows. Thanks to Yamanouchi-kun.”

Ryouhei rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger.

“You don’t have to rush out to buy a bow until you’re comfortable with the bow strength, but please come to the store when you’re ready to buy.”

“In three months, you’ll be able to shoot in a tournament format. However, you must be careful to avoid danger and take safety into consideration, and you’re not allowed to practice alone unless you get permission. You may only nock arrows in the presence of the advisor or the coach.”

Keyaki put on a muneate and put on a cotton glove on his right hand. Subiki was drawing a bow without nocking an arrow. The right hand gripped the bowstring, and you drew the bow to its limit and returned it to its original position without letting it go. There was the risk of snapping the bowstring if you let it go without any nocked arrows.

The big target was a great success. It was a bit intimidating to hold up the bow and arrow, but it felt better to actually shoot an arrow than to imitate drawing a bow. The vibration was felt throughout his body, and he was enveloped in an indescribable sense of freedom.

Facing the target. Once you heard the sound of the bowstring, you could no longer escape from the bow.

The next step was to practice shooting arrows at the thirty-six-centimeter kasumi-mato from close to the azuchi. Since there would be people entering the arrow path, the second-years weren’t allowed to stand in front of the targets while the first-years were using it. They concentrated on makiwara practice.

Seeing that, Keyaki pursed his lips.

“Coach Takigawa, we didn’t mean to take away from the senpais’ practice time…”

“Makiwara aren’t just for beginners. It’s a very important practice for archers. Those guys are serious about training their juniors as well. I myself have been invited to Kazemai High School as a reverse mentor.”

“A system in which young people give advice to their superiors. I’m worried about how long this will last.”

“People are anxious about what they don’t know. It’s hard to wait a long time without knowing what to expect. Even if it’s hard, if you know how long it will last, you can be more patient than you think. It wasn’t my intention, but I left the newcomers out of the loop by not sharing information with them. I’m sorry about that.”

“No…I didn’t understand the situation either.”

Masa-san called Seiya over.

“From now on, the club president will contact you every month with the schedule.”

“I want to make things better together. Honest young people are more trustworthy than shady adults who are always laughing.”

“I wonder who you’re talking about.”

“Who knows.”

Masa-san stood next to Keyaki and stared in the same direction.

“There may be one fact, but there are as many interpretations as there are people. The origin of the word ‘togaru’ (to become sharp) is ‘toga,’ and it’s a companion word to ‘togabito’ (criminal) and ‘toge’ (thorn). The ancient Japanese believed that to be ‘togaru’ was a sin, breaking the harmony of the group. So, ostracization and harassment will continue for a long time. Are my opinions guided by someone else? Am I guessing the thoughts of those in power? Did I become arrogant because they were praised? On the other hand, am I harboring resentment because I’m being treated unfavorably? It’s necessary to ask yourself these questions.”

“What should I do?”

“Have fun. Become someone worthy of trust. Increase your amount of experience, carefully examine the information, and increase the number of friends you have. Then you’ll be able to face the true boss.”

In front of Masa-san and Seiya, who had turned away, Keyaki bowed his head and said, “Thank you.”

---

He could hear the awkward cries of a lesser cuckoo coming from somewhere.

A yawatashi was being held at the Kazemai High School kyudojo. The archer was Masa-san, the first kaizoe was Seiya, and the second was Ryouhei. They were respectively wearing lapis-lazuli blue, dayflower blue, and amber-colored kimono decorated with family crests. They were prepared by Keyaki, who apparently collected old kimono under the influence of the Yotube channel, “Yumihiki Douji.”

When Masa-san and the others exited the dojo, Keyaki, seated in seiza, was waiting for them.

“Masa-san, your shooting was full of dignity. Your kimono suited you so well as though it was made for you.”

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

It seemed that the newcomer had taken to him quite a lot.

The five first-year students with kyudo experience were also wearing hakama. They had decided to hold a match within the club. It was thirteen mixed male and female students, zasha, and four arrows for two rounds for a total of eight shots. The order of shooting was two first-year boys and three first-year girls for the first group, the five second-year boys for the second group, and the three second-year girls for the third group.

Kaito was staring at his arrow. He beckoned Minato to him, tapped him on the forehead, and walked away with a face of feigned ignorance.

The match began. The very first oomae was the first-year boy, Himuro.

He was a somewhat mysterious boy, so taciturn that one might forget that he existed, and with his bangs long on one side, it was hard to read his expression. But when he stood on the shajo, the atmosphere changed completely. His eyes, which peeked out slightly, didn’t blink. His bow was raised high in the air. His arrow flew sharply. He hit the target.

Next was Kanbayashi. Although he was a little awkward, it was clear that he wasn’t a beginner. He drew his bow to its limit and the tip of his arrow caught hold of the target. He opened his body up in a broad stance, and the arrow hit the target at the nine-o’-clock position. His first arrow hit the target, and the look of relief on his face was evident.

The three first-year girls followed, and the results ended up being two, three, one, zero, and two hits.

The second group consisted of Minato, Seiya, Ryouhei, Kaito, and Nanao.

Minato spread his legs open. He inhaled the breath of the earth through the soles of his feet and conveyed it through his trunk to the branches and leaves.

The two masters were sitting at the judging table in front of him, but he must not be distracted. I’m just a tree, a big tree. I simply breathe quietly while watching people’s activities leisurely.

He raised his bow. He stretched his arms towards the sun. As he opened his body wide and basked in the sunlight, he could feel his cells begin to dance. After he abandoned himself for a while, he heard the sound of his arrow hitting the target.

Meanwhile, Nanao’s feet hadn’t grabbed hold of the earth. His heart was beating wildly. Where’s the danten again? What’s the center of the body? As he repeatedly answered his own questions, he no longer knew where to release the arrow. The arrow made a dull sound after it was released. After that, only one of his arrows hit, and his shooting became indecisive.

For the third group, the final ochi was Seo. She was the tallest amongst the girls, and her tightened body and dignified form was beautiful. After she released her arrow, there was a shout of “Yes!”

For the results, Seiya was in first place having hit all eight of his shots, and last place went to Nanao with five hits.

Nanao’s back was heavy. As it turned out, there was a large boy clinging to his back.

“It’s rare for you to hit only just over half.”

“I’ve been watching a lot of videos recently and tinkering with some things, so I can’t hit as much now.”

“You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

“Right you are.”

After lining up, Tommy-sensei gave an announcement.

“I’ve kept this a secret from everyone, but today’s match was actually the intra-school selection for the district tournament.”

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo widened their eyes.

“Doesn’t that mean that this is a pop quiz?”

“How terrible of you, Tommy-sensei.”

“We were testing you to see if you were practicing the lesson ‘Practice as if you’re in a tournament, and make your tournament into practice.’” (5)

A paper was put up.

Previous | Next

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 5 - Marebito (Part 2)

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. The joya no kane, or New Year’s Eve bell, is a tradition in Japan where temples ring a bell 108 times on the New Year to get rid of evil desires and thoughts, and 108 is believed to be the number of these thoughts.

2. Kin-teki and sen-teki are targets that are used for entertainment on special occasions. And yeah a sen-teki is actually a folding fan.

3. Zenkyuuren, short for Zen Nippon Kyudo Renmei (All Japan Kyudo Federation) is the main organization that oversees and promotes kyudo activities in Japan, including organizating tournaments. University students have their own organization that is not affiliated with Zenkyuuren.

4. A shigetou-kyuu is a lacquered bow wrapped completely in rattan strips. Only high level archers may use one.

5. Anatta is a Buddhist term that refers to the doctrine that states humans do not have a permanent, underlying substance that could be called the soul.

6. Shikoku is one of the five main islands of Japan and the second smallest.

7. This is actually the second time the Shikoku Pilgrimage is mentioned in the series. The Shikoku Pilgrimage is a pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kuukai. There are also over 20 temples that are not associated with the pilgrimage.

8. Zouri sandals are traditional flat sandals made of rice straw that look like clogs.

9. Green foxtail is called nekojarashi in Japanese, which is also the name for the cat toy that resembled it.

Previous | Next

“I'm going first!”

“Do it, Minato!”

After Ryouhei shouted, Minato jumped into the river with his back facing the sun.

A powerful splash went up, and Minato came up from the water after a pause. Ryouhei and Seiya also dived in the same way from the rock that was jutting out over the river.

It was the afternoon of the second day of training camp. They had finished morning practice, and were immersed in playing in the river.

Just a short walk away from the inn, there was a river with a gentle current that was suitable for swimming. Hearing about the local children diving into it, Minato, Ryouhei and Seiya eagerly changed into their swimsuits. It was hot today as well, and there was a thin sheen of sweat covering their limbs. Since the river bottom was filled with rocks, they fully prepared themselves for it by wearing trekking sandals so their feet wouldn’t hurt.

The rock didn’t look very tall when seen from a distance, but when one stood on it, it had a height that made one hesitate to jump from it. However, the three dived without any hesitation, and were bathed in cheers from the local boys who had done it earlier.

There was no trace of it nowadays, but the three of them were actually mischievous kids when they were little. They also did things that gave scares to the people around them—getting lost in the mountains behind their homes on their “heroes’ adventures,” building a little house on top of a tree and called it their secret base, then falling through the floorboards when they tread through it, and other such things.

The cousin duo of Kaito and Nanao were enjoying a different kind of play. Nanao sat down in a swim ring and floated along with it. Kaito overtook him, swimming in front crawl. He was swimming in earnest, wearing goggles. The two reached a part of the river where it would be dangerous if they went any further and walked upstream against the current. Then, once more, Nanao rode on his swim ring and floated off, and Kaito swam down the river.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo were preparing to enter the water on the riverside. Hanazawa tied twintails beneath her ears, and Shiragiku gathered her hair on top of her head. Their pale skin stood out.

“I was quite surprised this morning, by Onogi-kun’s scream.”

“Oh, that. It was probably Kisaragi-kun who scribbled on his cheeks with permanent marker, right? Thank goodness Takehaya-kun was able to erase it with a cooling spray for him.”

“It sure was a bold prank,” Seo replied as she was looking at their feet.

“Oh? You got a pedicure? That pink color is so cute. It really suits you, Shiragiku.”

“I am so happy that you noticed, Seo.”

Hanazawa took off her back-strapped shoes and stretched her foot in front of the other two.

“Ta-da, look at mine too!”

Hanazawa’s toenails were painted white, with three black circles drawn on each of them.

“Kasumi-mato!? Did you do them yourself, Yuuna? If you don't hide your feet, you'll get targeted, won't you?”

Seo and Shiragiku were hugely impressed. They had Hanazawa promise to help them do the same for their nails tonight before they went to bed.

The three placed their clothes on a rock by the riverside and then slid into the water.

“So cold! The boys just go into cold water like this a lot, huh?”

“I can just barely soak my feet.”

Seo went all the way to around the middle of the river and submerged herself all the way up to her head. After she rose from the water, she combed back her wet hair. Since she was a handsome girl, it was strangely picturesque.

“It’s cold at first, but once you’ll get used to it once you take a soak.”

“If Seo says so…”

Hanazawa and Shiragiku clasped hands and went into the water, submerging themselves up to their shoulders, and screaming, “Kyah, it is cold!” When they were about to get up, water was splashed onto their backs.

“Seo, stop that!”

“Fufu.”

The three had a water fight, running through the water and trying to escape each other. They had fun throwing a beach ball around and swimming breaststroke, but suddenly, laughter turned into screams.

Two boys, lying face down, were floating away from upstream.

At the girls’ screams, Kaito cut around to in front of two boys, striking their heads. Upon doing that, the two planted their feet on the river bottom and raised their heads.

“What’s up, Kaito-kun?”

“Ryouhei, Narumiya! You guys scared us. You looked like corpses floating away. Stop playing like that.”

Ryouhei scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, sorry. We were looking underwater. There’s fish there.”

“…You guys really are wild children. I wanna see your childhoods.”

Without noticing the sarcasm, Minato answered him seriously, “Should I recreate it for you? In the past, if there was a shallower area, we’d often pile up rocks to dam up the stream and make it like a pond.”

“Oh, do it, do it. If we put in the fish we caught, the water turned into a hot soup by the heat of the sun, and then the fish became boiled fish,” Ryouhei added to the topic, and Kaito’s eyes also became like those of a boiled fish.

After Seiya and Nanao joined, the eight left the water temporarily. They covered themselves in bath towels while repeating, “So cold, so cold.” They were in the water for too long, so their finger and toes became swollen and pale white.

Tommy-sensei and Masa-san handed out cups of hot coffee. They stuffed their faces with sandwiches and yakisoba bread, and warmed up their cold bodies around the fire pit.

Minato finished drinking his coffee and placed his cup on the ground.

“Masa-san, you dive too.”

“I’m an old geezer, so I’ll have to pass on that.”

Minato was about to say that he wasn’t an old geezer when he quickly realized something.

Even though Masa-san’s head wound had just been completely healed, wouldn’t it be dangerous if it reopened while doing something like diving…?

After he realized the insensitivity of his words and shut his mouth, Masa-san spoke.

“When you all finish eating, shall all the boys have a race? I’ve put a towel on that rock that looks like a frog downstream, and whoever grabs it first is the winner. The winner will have more meat added to their dinner.”

“Alright!” Kaito said, quickly standing up and beginning warmup exercises. He was so enthusiastic that he even put on a swimming cap. The others also put on goggles and entered the water.

Tommy-sensei raised his hand up high.

“Take your marks, get set, start!”

Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao, Minato, and Masa-san simultaneously kicked the water.

The distance was about twenty-five meters. Their arms rotated in huge circles from their shoulders and they paddled against the water, stretching their knees. Six flexible bodies glided through the water. Kaito, Minato, and Masa-san were neck-and-neck, and in the end it was Masa-san who arrived at the goal first. With a calm smile, he held the towel in his hand and went up to the riverside.

Nanao also got out of the water and protested.

“Masa-san, it’s not very adult-like to swim seriously, you know?”

“Everyone, you’ve misread the current. It’s faster at the edges.”

“Shit, one more round! And this time, let’s change the lineup,” Kaito said.

The six once again submerged themselves in the water. This time, it was Seiya who won. “One more round!” Kaito shouted. It didn’t seem like this competition would end until he won.

The laughter of the ten people continued into the evening.

On the third day of training camp, they decided to hold a competition.

Tommy sensei spoke, “Let us do a ‘hyakuhasshakai’. It is patterned after the ringing of a temple bell for one-hundred-and-eight times on New Year’s Eve (1), and it’s common to do it at the end of the year for kyudo. The way to do it is with teams of five in two shajos. First, you shoot two arrows in zasha, and then you shoot four arrows in rissha for twelve rounds for a total of fifty shots, and this is all done twice. However, the first-year students from Tsujimine High School will finish with fifty shots. Your advisor is right next to you, so I want you to shoot with peace of mind. This is an individual competition, not a team competition, so those who feel that can’t shoot anymore may drop out midway. Why the hundred shots are finished, the remaining eight shots are open to all, so look forward to it since the kin-teki (gold target) and sen-teki (fan target) will be prepared. (2) Item prizes will also be prepared.”

A kin-teki was a three sun (9.1 cm) target with gold painted, and a sen-teki, as its name suggested, was fan-shaped. Both were used for celebrations and events.

The girls from both schools made a merged team, and the total of thirty people were made into six groups and divided into the two shajos. Nikaidou and Minato’s team were in the second shajo.

The team that finished shooting their four shots would have the oomae and second archer watching the targets, the third archer would be recording the results on the blackboard, and the fourth archer would be writing the results down in the books. When one team finished, they would switch roles with the next team. Since it wouldn’t be fair to have only the same person retrieving the arrows, of the five people in a team, they would change the order by having everyone shift forward one spot for every round of shooting. For that reason, the record-keepers needed to pay close attention.

Nikaidou looked at the profile of his advisor.

It was unusual for him to watch over his students without leaving. He wondered what kind of magic the Kazemai advisor used on him. It might have been that he just couldn’t excuse himself from it because an elderly teacher gave him a talk.

The Tsujimine members also exchanged words with the Kazemai coach and members. It was motivating to shoot with archers from another school. It was a fresh surprise to compare the differences between shamen uchiokoshi and shoumen uchiokoshi, especially.

There was someone who felt the same way. Ryouhei spoke to Tommy-sensei.

“What kinds of shooting methods and schools are there?”

“Well, the main organizer of Inter-High is the All Japan High School Athletic Federation, and now what high schoolers are taught in club activities and the like is the same style as the ‘Zenkyuuren’. (3) The rules are slightly different if the competition is sponsored by a university or a company. Zenkyuuren is the abbreviation of the All Japan Kyudo Federation, which is also abbreviated as Nikyuuren. It is roughly categorized into three groups.

“Shoumen uchiokoshi in reishakei.

“Shoumen uchiokoshi in bushakei.

“Shamen uchiokoshi in bushakei.

“Kazemai and Kirisaki shoot in the first category, and the Kirisaki twins shoot in the second category. Tsujimine shoots in the third category. Since kyudo schools are different from Zenkyuuren in things like taihai, it is common for many people to belong to a school and Zenkyuuren. I myself belong to Zenkyouren and Ogasawara-ryuu hosha.”

"Whoa, that’s pretty complicated."

"Even for shoumen uchiokoshi, between reishakei and bushakei there are differences in the spot-the-difference levels, such as the way you hold your arrows and the movements of nocking an arrow, right? For shamen uchiokoshi as well, there are differences such as the one between the methods of not stopping midway during hikiwake and 'sanbun no ni.'"

"Ooh, that's really interesting. Thank you for the explanation."

"Ho ho, was I a little bit helpful to you?"

Fuwa, who heard the two’s conversation by chance, also murmured "Whoa" in his mind.

He remembered that the cheering for university matches was very lively, but conversely, the average kyudo match organized by the Zenkyuuren banned vocal cheering, and showing support was limited to applauding when there was a kaichuu. The way things were done changed with the place. It wasn’t an argument of which was better or worse, but a difference of tone. The variety was very interesting.

The competition continued after that, and when fifty shots were finished, they had a lunch break.

Ryouhei and Nanao were obsessed with Ootaguro’s huge bow and got him to let them hold it. Kaito and Seiya were checking whether or not the records were correct. Seiya was also inputting the records into a self-created smartphone app. Among the Kazemai boys, Ryouhei had the least number of hits with thirty-six, and Kaito and Minato had the strong results of forty-two hits.

Masa-san sat next to Minato, who was drinking barley tea.

"Minato, if your wrist hurts again, don’t overdo it."

"Got it. I really am okay. I’m doing great."

"It's true that you aren't bending your left wrist anymore. You're stretching it straight."

"When I was conscious of not bending my left thumb and pointed my thumb at the target at kai, I didn't bend my left wrist anymore. I think that maybe the line above my arm went straight by me stretching my thumb, and the line below my arm went straight by tensing my little finger."

"You've discovered it for yourself. You probably won't forget what you understood by yourself."

"Yeah, I'm kinda happy."

Minato smiled.

When the call came for the resumption of the competition, he put on his yugake again.

For the second half, the five Tsujimine first-year students and the five girls refrained from shooting, and it became a match with a total of twenty people. The ones who refrained took on the roles of checking the targets.

As expected, perhaps due to exhaustion, the ones who did well in the first half missed a lot. The number of hits had gone down considerably, but the starting members displayed their willpower and produced a hitting ratio of seventy to eighty percent. A dragonfly stopped on the tip of a leaf, as an arrow crossed over the pond, and the sounds of "All right!" came flying.

The results after the hundred shots were over were as followed.

Nikaidou had eighty-two hits, Fuwa seventy-nine, Ootaguro seventy-seven, Higuchi sixty-nine, and Aragaki seventy-four. A total of three-hundred-and-eighty-one hits.

Kaito had eighty hits, Ryouhei sixty-seven, Seiya seventy-seven, Nanao seventy-three, Minato eighty-two. A total of three-hundred-and-seventy-nine hits.

The top two were Minato and Nikaidou with eighty-two hits out of a hundred shots. There was a loud round of applause after the results were announced.

The last eight shots were with the kin-teki and sen-teki.

The targets were changed from a thirty-six-centimeter kasumi-mato to a nine-centimeter kin-teki. Since the sen-teki was just as small, they were hard to hit. In addition to the products, the people who hit them could also get a set consisting of the kin-teki they hit and a small decorative arrow. It was a shooting side-show rather than a competition, so there were lively conversations from the stands while they watched the game.

In the midst of it all, Nikaidou had a grim expression on his face. His usual hitting rate was over ninety percent, but he was lacking life and vividness on this day. Something was getting in his way and his right hand couldn’t move as sharply as usual. When he turned his face towards the azuchi, the kin-teki glittered like it was laughing at him.

Shit, I don’t wanna lose. He’s the only I absolutely do not want to lose to――.

Just when Nikaidou was thinking that, he noticed a defect in what he was holding.

There was a gap in a part of his bow’s yazuridou.

A yazuridou, as its name suggests, is a piece of rattan (tou) wrapped around the part of the bow that the arrow rubs against (sureru) that was just above the grip. Japanese bows were usually wrapped with rattan in three or five places. Bows that had more places wrapped were high-caliber objects, and required a suitable location and level of ability to use. For example, the shigetou-kyuu (4), which was wrapped entirely in rattan, could not be used without a license in the Ogasawara-ryuu school.

The "aim" of the Japanese bow based on the yazuridou, and it was said that the aim was a few notches above the rolled rattan, but as the width of the rattan was only a few millimeters, it was easy for it to result in a deviation. This deviation of a few millimeters was a deviation of about ten centimeters at the target, so there were methods such as making a mark on the bow to make it easier to aim, but that was prohibited.

The place where the gap was located was exactly where his "aim" was.

If that was matched up with the center of the target, the heights would line up exactly…

That’s right, this wasn’t intentional; this was a natural phenomenon. I should just pretend not to notice it. This isn’t like an official tournament where there are equipment checks, and no one looks at other people’s bows in a festive atmosphere.

It’ll be good if I hit. I will hit.

Nikaidou made a grinding sound with his yugake. He took four arrows in hand. It happened when he stepped forward with a heart that was beating with an unsettled rhythm.

"Your yazuridou has a gap in it. Shall I fix it for you?"

He could just barely withstand the feeling of his heart nearly leaping out of his mouth. His trademark amiable smile did not appear on his face.

Following Masa-san, who headed towards the shajo as though he was gliding, Nikaidou headed for the waiting room.

Even from inside the waiting room, he could see what was going on outside. It seemed like the competition still hadn’t started yet, since it was noisy with the sounds of everyone talking.

Masa-san got a bottle of wood glue and a small spatula, used for repairing, and skillfully filled up the gap.

"Wait a little bit longer. I'll be done soon since it's only a little bit dislocated."

"…Did you notice it, sir?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"If it weren't for me being called out by you, then I would have intended on going out to the competition as I was. While the yazuridou had the aim marked on it."

"Today's competition is an interschool match, but well, if I had to say it, it's for fun. Why are you so obsessed over whether you win or not?"

"It's because once you lose, you'll get into a habit of losing. I will continue to win, during this summer…"

"During this summer? It's okay to not win after that?"

"I don't care about next year. I don't plan on continuing to do kyudo for a long time like everyone else. …It's stupid, getting all worked up and emotional over such a simple sport."

Nikaidou smiled. Even though it should have been his usual smile, for some reason his face was strained.

Masa-san then spoke, like he was addressing the bow in his hands.

"There's a story that goes like this. There was a warrior who got hayake and was told by his master to stop practicing archery. Resolving to cure himself by any means necessary, he placed a kimono that his daimyo gave to him in front of his aim, and challenged himself to commit seppuku if he let go of his arrow, but as expected, he shot through the kimono. Also, two university students were worried about hayake, and when they attempted to not let go of their arrows by facing each other and drawing their bows, both of them shot their arrows at the same time. Those are anecdotes that really cannot be imitated."

"Really… So what? What do you want to tell me? If it is that you get hayake when you're obsessed with hitting, or that I should sympathize with those who have it, or something like that, then I am afraid those stories have nothing to do with me."

"Since hayake is the condition of releasing your arrow against your own intention, what about its opposite? It is your body moving naturally without you thinking about anything, and all of your released arrows hitting the target——. What do you think the state of reaching that superhuman level, the opposite of hayake, is called?"

"I don't know, the state of selflessness (anatta)? (5) Pretty mystical, isn't it."

"It's called 'the zone.' Achieving the best level of physical activity in the ultimate state of concentration――. Don't you want to experience that sort of state just once?"

For a fleeting moment, the sounds were interrupted.

The sounds that should have been so noisy didn't reach his ears at all.

The buzz of cicadas sounded from a distance.

"When Mr. Eugen asked Awa-hanshi to 'please teach me Japanese archery,' Awa-hanshi replied with, 'Don't think about hitting the target.' If they only heard that, most people would be puzzled, wondering what he was saying, but that was only a conclusion, and the process of reaching that conclusion was omitted.

"Why don't you think about hitting the target.

"How do I avoid thinking about hitting the target.

"Awa-hanshi was speaking about those parts with a Buddhist mentality, so it might sound like something from the other side of the clouds, but it does in fact tell you how to enter the zone. Wouldn't you like to revive the secret techniques that Eugen Herrigel left behind in the modern age?"

"…You're telling me to do that?"

"A high school archer who's able to do kakehodoki is the rarest of the rare. Is it okay for that skill to end with only you? There are some who may admire your shooting. As well as those will evolve further."

"You are the coach for Kazemai High School, aren't you? Is it okay to give your enemy such important information? "

"Even if they know it, no one can do it right away. And, just as you cannot learn a lot by completely copying the answers in a workbook, the answers you derived from the questions that you yourself asked, worried over, and suffered over are more memorable. Rather than just listening to what other people say, there is nothing better than what you gain from experience."

Nikaidou took a breath. There was too much information and his thoughts couldn't catch up with it all.

Masa-san continued to speak.

"Some parts of you overlap with how I was just a little while ago. I can't win more, or hit――. Wanting to win, wanting to hit—those are primitive feelings that we have by nature without requiring training for them. It's fine to set winning as your goal, but if you make it your ultimate goal, then you would definitely suffocate. You need five, six, ten years to be able to boast a high-level hitting rate. So then, when your physical strength and ability decline, what should you do?"

"…You should quit. A person who hadn’t hit a hundred targets doesn’t have any persuasiveness, you know?"

"I have. Since I did it when I was practicing by myself, I can’t provide evidence, but I have continuously hit two-hundred-and-eleven targets."

"…Heh, congratulations."

"I thought that a brilliant future was waiting for me after hitting a hundred targets. That an unknown power would awaken within me, and I would reach a superhuman level. However, in actuality, nothing happened. I was satisfied for only a moment, and just a quiet time passed."

Masa-san narrowed his almond-shaped eyes and smiled.

He looked beyond the door, towards the shajo.

"Now, I am very satisfied. I have fun shooting my bow. And so, I wanted to pass it down. It would be inexcusable if I was the only one who used up what my ancestor left for me and it became lost. I want to hand over all the power I have now and see even more new ways of shooting."

"…Everyone at Kazemai must be truly excellent. Since they keep listening to your sermons."

The call for convening sounded. Masa-san handed the bow to Nikaidou and returned to the shajo.

Nikaidou gripped his bow tightly.

The kin-teki competition began.

The target was small, so there wasn't a lot of hits, but many arrows landed right next to it. Those were places that would have been considered hits if it were a normal target. Since this was different from a regular competition and there wasn't a ban on chatting, things like, "Ooh, what a shame" and "Whoa, so close" could be heard, along with laughter.

In the second round, Fuwa hit the target, and there was applause along with the sounds of "Alright!"

In the third round, a first-year beginner also landed a hit, and he couldn't stop grinning. It was something that came from being genuinely happy when one hit the target. Kaito and Seiya both hit the target in the fifth round, and the gold targets were replaced with new ones.

Fuwa said, "Nikaidou, go and snatch some items."

"Ha, don't boss me around. I'll be hitting next."

And just as he declared, he shot the target.

Thus, Nikaidou carried out all the steps of shooting in order and conquered the hyakuhasshakai. Minato missed all his shots since the kin-teki were brought on. Nikaidou hit half of the eight kin-teki shots and ended up with a total of eighty-six hits.

>

After the competition, Kaito went to the inn's lounge.

There was a bookshelf in the lounge, and besides books about kyudo, there were also books such as a field guide on wild grasses and flowers and a travel book with information on nearby places. Kaito, surprisingly, happened to be an avid reader. Beneath the bright red sky, he sat on the porch and was reading a book when Masa-san visited the room.

"Masa-san, there's some old kyudo magazines over here."

"Those are pretty valuable."

Masa-san sat down next to Kaito. Kaito looked at him.

"During the shakai, you were deep in talk with Nikaidou, but you weren't talking about arrows going missing or anything like that, right?"

"Oh, there wasn't really an issue. It's more like he got annoyed with my unwanted butting-in."

"…Also, Masa-san, to tell you the truth, on the day of the Yata Shrine festival, I heard something that has to do with your privacy. Sorry."

"Was it really something that would make you look so ashamed?"

"I heard from the parishioner's conversations that Ren-san and you aren't blood-related. I thought I was the only one there at the time, but the other club members might have also heard it."

"Oh, that? I wasn't really hiding it, so there's no problem."

"I see. That's good."

During the night festival, Narumiya had said that he had met Ren-san just now and then got really talkative, so Seiya got suspicious, wondering if something happened. Ren had the glamour and appeal of an adult man, or rather, a shadiness to him that gave off a wild allure, and he was no doubt an unreadable person, even for Kaito.

As he was thinking that, cats appeared from out of nowhere and snuggled up to him. One of them looked a lot like his own cat, Lucy.

"You guys again? Well, there's nothing to do about it."

"You're popular no matter where you go, eh, Kaito. You were even mobbed at Shikoku."(6)

"Oh, did that happen?"

Masa-san beckoned over a cat who was sizing him up from a short distance. He rubbed the chin of the cat that approached him quietly, and it closed its eyes in bliss. He held it up when he saw that its wariness was dispelled, and the cat curled up on his lap. Seeing the two of them, it could be thought that Masa-san also had the qualities of a cat-seducer.

Kaito and Masa-san met at a night festival at Yata Shrine. Some bothersome people picked a fight with Kaito, and it was Masa-san who saved him. This was when Kaito was a first-year middle schooler and Masa-san was a third-year university student. At the time, he hadn’t known Masa-san did kyudo. When he was on a family vacation in Shikoku, they stayed at the lodgings of a temple that wasn’t included on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. (7) The chief priest there was an archer, and he unexpectedly ran into Masa-san, who was in the middle of an archer’s training pilgrimage. He learned that Masa-san’s grandfather, who was his kyudo master, had passed away, and that he himself was also a master archer.

It had only been a few months since Kaito joined a kyudo club. He requested that he be allowed to watch them, but the two of them spent nearly all of the time having a question-and-answer session rather than shooting arrows, and furthermore, the contents of their conversations was almost incomprehensible. The priest was a stern person who also had a kindly face, and a dignified atmosphere drifted in the kyudojo.

A boy about two years old lived in the temple, and he had frequently curled up on Masa-san’s lap in the exact same way as the cat was doing now. And nowadays he wondered if it was Masa-san who had been the one to have a relieved and easy smile rather than the toddler.  

When they returned from their trips, they were emailing and going to meet each other. They even went to a Japanese rock concert together. For Kaito, who had two older sisters, Masa-san was the coolest big brother ever. It felt somehow refreshing whenever he talked to him. Masa-san was a real charmer—in a good sense—since back then, and had many friends. And yet sometimes, he would look up at the sky with a gaze that screamed, "I can't take this anymore."

He gave off such an unsettled air, like he was perplexed about how to deal with a concealed blade――.

He never talked to anyone about this, and didn’t plan to.

He had only seen Masa-san shoot at Shikoku, and because he was allowed the chance of practicing at a private dojo back at home, he wasn’t able to get him to tell him details like its location. That was why when he learned that Narumiya had Masa-san teach him in kyudo, he was furious. The time when Kirisaki High School's Fujiwara entered Kazemai was no match for it. Even though he never even taught me, why did he teach you, who ran away from kyudo?

"Kacchan, Masa-san, there you guys are!"

It was Nanao's voice. Ryouhei , Seiya, and Minato were also behind him.

"It's a bit early, but Tommy-sensei and Hanazawa-san and the others went for dinner. Aah, kitties! Masa-san isn’t hated by cats either, I see. Must be nice."

"They might see you as a rival. Wait here a little bit."

Masa-san placed the cat on his lap on the balcony, put on zouri sandals (8) and went out into the yard. When he returned, he was holding green foxtail, also known as the cat teaser. (9)

"I think this is just the thing?"

When Masa-san lured it with the cat teaser, the cat crouched, and then jumped at it immediately. While it batted at the tip, it approached the knees of Nanao, who was crouching. Around when the cat was stepping on Nanao’s hand, the cat teaser was raised, and the cat jumped onto Nanao’s knee. He immediately tried to hug it, but was hit with a barrage of cat punches.

"Ow ow ow!"

Next to Nanao, who was pressing his hand to his face, Seiya spoke.

"Masa-san, let's leave it to those two this time."

Ryouhei and Minato held cat teasers in both hands. The two were shaking the tips to attract the cats’ attentions, but they ignored them. Ryouhei tilted his head.

"Why's it not working?"

"Give that to me for a sec?"

The cats approached Masa-san when he had a cat teaser in his hand, so Ryouhei, Minato, and Nanao were strangely not good enough. Kaito held the cat that looked like Lucy and stood up. With a book in one hand, he went back to the bookshelf.

It's pretty irritating that Narumiya is so attached to Masa-san even though he showed up later, but well, there's nothing to do about it. It's probably just as Fujiwara said—Masa-san's shooting can shoot through the hearts of almost any archer. There are tons of skilled archers, but Masa-san's shots have a feeling of depth to them.

Masa-san, if you only pay attention to Narumiya, I’ll kick you hard.

Because you’re our big brother.

Kaito parted with the cat and said, "Masa-san, it’s almost time. Let’s go eat."

"Alright."        

Previous | Next

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 5-Marebito (Part 1)

In this chapter: the Kazemai gang heads to an inn for their summer training camp, and coincidentally meets a certain school with a certain drama-starting guy there.

I made a note about this for the last chapter, but a marebito is a supernatural being from afar that visits villages bearing gifts and good fortune. Maybe I should have changed the title to “aliens” lol

Also the line break is gone???? wtf tumblr

Glossary here

List of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Yakisugi is a traditional Japanese method of wood preservation. Lots of old traditional buildings have walls made in this way.

2. Beanbags, or otedama, are used in the game of the same name where they are tossed and juggled, similar to jacks (according to Wikipedia). The coin shaped pieces, or ohajiki, are used in a traditional children’s game that’s similar to marbles.

3. They are mentioned in the first book, but the Raiki Shagi and Shahoukun are two very important kyudo texts that convey the values and technique of kyudo.

4. Yadokoro refers to where the arrow lands, which can be used to determine how and at what angle your arrows landed. Steady shots mean that the yadokoros of the two arrows are close together and not in disarray.

5. A kouyou kasane no tenouchi literally means “red-leaves-piling-up tenouchi” . It’s a type of grip that’s used for shamen uchiokoshi apparently? For this grip, your little finger gets as close to the thumb as possible and the other three fingers are inserted into the gap between them.

6. Uwaoshi is where the left hand (the gripping hand) is bent pushing the bow from above. This is an incorrect method in some schools.

7. An oobanare is a large release of the left and right hands.

8. Hosha is a general term for kyudo that takes place on the ground, not horseback. The Ogasawara-ryuu hosha tradition shoots in shoumen style.

9. The hagiito is the lower feather binding. Fun fact: one of my translations is the second result if you search up “hagiito kyudo”

10. Tezutsu fireworks is a type of traditional hand-held firework where a bamboo tube filled with gunpowder can shoot sparks and fire up to five meters high. You can see pictures here

11. A black snake firework is a type of firework that doesn’t create sparks or sound, instead emitting ash that looks like snakes. Read about them on Wikipedia

---

Previous | Next

They were now in summer vacation, and the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club was holding their summer training camp.

The eight club members, plus Tommy-sensei and Masa-san for a total of ten people, rode the minibus prepared by the inn and got off in front of there. The old fashioned Japanese-style building was impressive with yakisugi walls (1) and a steep roof, and the reception desk was decorated with tops, beanbags and coin-shaped glass pieces that invited nostalgia. (2)

Nanao took two beanbags.

"I feel like you can summon a zashiki-warashi with these."

"Are you still bringing that up?"

Kaito squinted. There were a lot of furry balls nestling up to him at his feet, and since they cried out to be stroked, he was beaten by their persistence and lifted a cat up.

"You guys really are everywhere."

"Well you are a cat seducer, after all."

"Am not. They approach me themselves."

"That's what a seducer says. Right, kitty?"

When Nanao reached out for the cat Kaito was holding, its hair stood on end. Apparently he was being treated as a natural enemy. Nanao surrendered and left the place.

In the lobby, there was a girl from another school who was carrying a lot of luggage by herself. She stumbled many times due to getting obstructed by the walls. Nanao was also carrying luggage, but he was unable to just watch and ran up to her.

"Are you okay? I'll help."

"Oh, I'm so sorry about this. I overestimated myself and carried too many things."

Seeing this, Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo murmured amongst themselves.

"Kisaragi-kun is such a quick worker."

"But, I know from practicing together in club activities that he is not only nice to girls."

"Yeah, that's right."

Kaito put the cat on the floor and took the luggage that Nanao was halfway in carrying.

Minato, Seiya, and Ryouhei carried everyone's equipment and headed for the kyudojo behind the inn.

As soon as they went in, Minato exclaimed, "Whoa, what is this place?"

"It’s pretty rare, isn't it? But I think beginners would turn it down." Seiya, who was in charge of looking for a place to hold the training camp, said proudly.

The yamichi was not a lawn, but a pond abundantly filled with water. The sight of plants such as cattails and arrowheads growing thickly, and golden-ringed dragonflies flitting over them could make one mistake this place for a Japanese-style garden.

"When we miss here, would our arrows fall into the pond?"

"It'll be fine, none of us do hakiya anymore, right? And this place is big enough for ten people to shoot together, so it'll be split into two shajos and we'll be using it jointly with another school."

"Which school?"

"I asked when I made the reservations, but it's a school that I've never heard of."

From behind them, there came the voice of someone. "Whoa, what is this place?" They said the exact same words as Minato did. Minato looked back and saw a boy with large eyes.

"Nikaidou-senpai..."

"Oh my, why are Minato-chan and Seiya-chan here?"

"Could it be, Nikaidou-senpai, that you're having your training camp here?"

"That's right. We'll be looking forward to working with you guys."

"We will also be looking forward to working with you."

The corner of Nikaidou's mouth lifted, as though he remembered something.

"Could it be that the guy who started talking to the girls from my school in the lobby is your friend?"

"Yes, he is."

"That's what I thought. He's a good boy like the two of you, after all."

Minato whispered to Seiya.

"What's happening?"

"The school that I heard might have cancelled. Got it, Minato? Just ignore Nikaidou-senpai. You can't react to him."

"Got it."

Knowingly or unknowingly perceiving the tricky atmosphere between Minato, Seiya, and Nikaidou, Ryouhei cheerfully greeted him.

"Hi! You were the one who helped me pick up what I dropped at the last tournament, right? Thanks for that!"

"Don't mention it," Nikaidou answered.

"I'm Yamanouchi from Kazemai High School. I'll be in your care. Huh? That person over there caught a summer cold? I'll give you my grandma's secret wonder medicine I always have with me!"

Because he was aiming his words directly at the mask-wearing Aragaki, Fuwa let out a muffled laugh. Aragaki, of course, made no comment.

As Fuwa pressed his cheeks, which were about to loosen into a smile, he commented for Aragaki.

"Oh, thanks for your concern. He didn't catch a cold, so we appreciate the thought."

"Really? Oh, I saw that huge bow at the last tournament! So cool! Can I touch it?"

Ootaguro held out his bow with a smile.

"The height (urazori) is incredible! I can't believe that they sell giant bows like this!"

"It’ll have to be a custom order, but you can buy one. I inherited mine from my grandpa."

"What, your grandpa can shoot with this giant bow?"

"When he was young. It took a long time for me to be able to draw this bow. It's my treasure."

"Whoa, your treasure? That's really cool."

"Right?"

The two, who were as frank and straightforward as children, got completely excited about the topic of the large bow.

Behind them, Higuchi was moving at his own pace. He walked slowly, and when he reached the edge of the shajo, he murmured "Heave-ho" and squatted down. He yawned while gazing at the pond. In this excessively tranquil state, the flow of time seemed to slow down around only him.

Nikaidou probably thought that they were wasting time. He quickly moved to the second shajo. Minato and Seiya also pulled themselves together and resumed preparations.

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

After they made their preparations, the members of Kazemai High School and Tsujimine High School faced each other. Tommy-sensei made his greetings after Tsujimine’s sensei.

“It must be fate that we are meeting our opponents from the regional tournament here. I hope you will all make use of this fate without fail. Be plenty careful about accidents and injuries, and hydrate frequently so you will not be exhausted by the summer heat. I look forward to seeing everyone’s progress.”

Under Seiya’s leadership, they chanted the “Raiki Shagi” and “Shahoukun” (3) in unison and performed their warm-up exercises. After that, they were divided by their schools. Kazemai was in the first shajo. Overworking was forbidden, but those who could shoot one hundred times in a day aimed for two hundred times. The reason they chose to do joint practice with another school was because of Tommy-sensei’s intention to have them get used to a place with a large number of people, since they usually shot in an environment with not a lot of people.

For a while, at the beginning of shooting, Minato was more unused to the fact that the yamichi was a pond rather than the practice with students from another school. The golden-ringed dragonflies flying by the waterside zoomed towards the shajo, colliding into the fluorescent lights and making clicking sounds. His mind went to the plants and water surface, and he fell into the feeling that he was about to release an arrow into the pond.

Masa-san went around to watch each person’s shooting. Kaito was showing off his steady shots (yadokoro). (4)

“You’re able to make your bow turn completely nowadays, I see.”

“Thank you very much.”

Nanao asked him a question.

“Masa-san, I can also make my bow turn recently, but right after I release my arrow, my bow slips down, and I’m holding the yazuridou instead of the grip.”

“Since the bow turns in your hand, it’s normal for it to fall by about a finger, but why do you think it fell down so much?”

“Ummm, why?”

“Everyone, pay attention to Nanao’s tenouchi.”

As Minato watched Nanao’s shooting, he noticed something.

“Is it when his hand suddenly opens for just a moment at hanare?”

“Yeah, I saw that too,” Kaito said, backing up Minato’s diagnosis.

Masa-san spoke.

“Exactly. There are people who want to make their bow turn and do it on purpose, but there are also many who do it unconsciously. The bow slipping down so much is because of the left hand opening for an instant and the tension of the little finger being weak.”

“I see. Now I understand why you put so much emphasis on the left pinky, Masa-san.”

“Although, there is actually also a shooting method that places a lot of importance on the actions of the middle finger. What I’ll be doing now is the difficult method of gripping the bow with my middle finger, and then at hanare, remove my middle finger while at the same time tensing my fourth and little fingers. Now, let go for a minute and watch.”

Masa-san took the bow and arrow in his hand and parted the bow, then let go of the arrow.

For a moment, the bow tended towards his back.

At the same time the arrow was released, the bow also left Masa-san’s hand and was blown towards his back. For a moment, Minato and the others had no idea what happened, and stood stock still.

The arrow reached the target. Startled by the loud sound of the bow falling, the Tsujimine members looked over towards them, but Masa-san merely picked up the bow like nothing happened.

“In an anecdote of Awa-hanshi and his disciple, he once threw his bow along with his arrow and scarred the floor of the dojo. Apparently, everyone except for the archers thought he went mad when they heard it, but it was probably his process for training his tenouchi, for the sake of creating a sharp hanare. The body is used completely differently for the ‘mistake’ of dropping his bow on the spot and the bow jumping out of your hand from a sharp hanare.”

Ryouhei’s eyes were sparkling.

“That’s so cool! I want to see it one more time! Can I do it too?”

“This is a Honda-ryuu technique that I learned by myself, so I’m still not at a level where I can teach it to people. Everyone, you first aim to not separate your left thumbs and middle fingers so that you won’t drop your bows.”

Minato sighed at the shooting technique he was seeing for the first time.

He read about Awa-hanshi in books, but because they never wrote about what kind of intentions or the kind of methods he went by, he always felt some doubt. The essential parts were not conveyed with only the outcome or a summary. No doubt the true value lied in the process, in the individual episodes.

After they finished shooting four arrows, Ryouhei and Nanao went to retrieve the arrows. They finished collecting the arrows for the first and second shajos and put all of them in the arrow box.

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

Meanwhile, Nikaidou was straining his ears to listen.

There were many differences between shoumen uchiokoshi and shamen uchiokoshi. As a matter of fact, during middle school, Nikaidou shot in shoumen for club activities and shamen when he was with his uncle Shigeyuki, so that caused confusion for him.

Nikaidou’s current way of shooting involved gripping his bow with a kouyou kasane tenouchi (5), creating an uwaoshi. (6) At kai, he shifted his thumb, made a grinding noise with his yugake as he untied it, and then at zanshin his bow fell forward and it became an oobanare. (7)

This was the first he was hearing about a practice method where one threw away one’s bow,

Kazemai’s coach might be very interesting…

He thought, and compared him with his own advisor. As one would expect, he did show his face at the kyudojo today, but it looked as though he had almost no interest in the states of the club members or anything like that. At first, he had been chatting with Kazemai’s advisor, but now he had already vanished. He might have shut himself in his room and went to sleep.

Nikaidou clicked his tongue.

He didn’t mind if he wasn’t able to coach them in shooting, but he wished he could pose as an advisor at least. The motivation of the members could be raised just by him saying something to them. Zealous and extreme instruction could have harmful effects, but a club could not be established without an advisor. Their advisor’s favorite saying was, “I’m a teacher and being the advisor for a club is volunteer work, so this is work without pay,” basically telling them not to ask him for too much. That was probably a sound argument.

As a result, Nikaidou took the place of the advisor. He had the longest kyudo career in the Tsujimine High School Kyudo Club.

For beginners, they wouldn’t know anything like the differences between the shooting postures of A and B. After a while, they could see the things that stood out, but didn’t know how to fix them. Identifying the root cause of distortions and slackening required a wealth of knowledge and a high amount of experience. To speak to others of something is to expose one’s own true ability and humanity, as well as an act that carries responsibility along with it. By all rights, one should not speak thoughtlessly.

Since Tsujimine wore shoes in their schoolyard as they shot, they were not used to bracing their legs in tabi. Nikaidou saw to it that his fellow members would learn that sensation of the soles of their feet at this training camp.

After some rounds, Nikaidou and Fuwa went to retrieve the arrows. They carefully wiped clean the arrows with dirt on them.

“I wonder what school that Kazemai coach belongs to.”

“His master was from the Ogasawara-ryuu hosha tradition (8), but he himself doesn’t belong to any school, apparently. He was taught by teachers from all kinds of schools and mixed it all together. His current master is the advisor, Morioka-sensei. He’s a sixth-dan kyoushi, I heard.”

“That old man teacher is a sixth-dan kyoushi…?”

Nikaidou felt anger.

In spite of being a weak, puny school with few members, how was it that they even had a coach besides having an advisor? Furthermore, there was a good balance between having a skilled master and a young person. He knew it was an irrational anger for the other person, but why was only Minato so blessed?

I feel so envious, so jealous. I don’t want to see that guy.

“By the way, Fuwa, how do you know all that?”

“When we were checking in, I heard the innkeeper questioning that coach.”

“Amazing. I’m so impressed by your ability to gather information, Fuwa.”

“Well, excuse me for having long ears.”

Nikaidou at that moment had intended on his remark being praise, not sarcasm.

“Hey, Fuwa, you get what I’ve been telling you? Are the things you’re hearing from Uncle Shigeyuki being conveyed properly to you guys?”

“Hmm? They are.”

“It’s not like I myself understand them perfectly, so I feel like I’m telling it all wrong. Also, don’t you hate being spoken in such a sloppy way by a guy the same age as you? And from the perspectives of Aragaki-senpai and the others, I’m an underclassman.”

“If a stranger suddenly told you something like, ‘Your shooting form is not good. It is wrong,’ you might think, ‘Who the hell’s this asshole, makes me sick,’ but I kinda feel like Higuchi-senpai and Aragaki-senpai are waiting for words from you?”

“Both of them react so dully, I really don’t get what they’re thinking.”

Fuwa was wondering what the true meaning behind his words was. Didn’t Nikaidou saying so much after such a long time meant that taking the place of the advisor was becoming a burden for him?

It was the fear of making decisions.

The anxiety of wondering whether or not it was really okay like this, of wondering if this was wrong.

“Even if you did something wrong, you can just correct it, right? It’s not like it’s a serious case that involves the life or death of people. What are you trying so hard for? It’s not like you at all.”

“It’s not like me?”

“Generally, you can’t convey exactly the taste of an apple to someone who hasn’t eaten an apple before, and so when they can eat one, they’ll know, ‘This is an apple.’ You trying to explain and convey everything is ridiculous from the start. Trust the other person a little and leave it to them.”

“Yeah, sure, you’re as wise as ever, Fuwa.”

“What a pain in the ass. To sum it up, I have no complaints or requests for you.”

As Nikaidou was talking with Fuwa, his anger subsided a little. Even if their advisor was absent and they didn’t have a kyudojo, they had an uncle named Shigeyuki, so they were still saved. In the first place, the Tsujimine High School Kyudo Club had many eccentrics in it, and it wasn’t in their natures to be intimate friends with one another.

However, there were no doubt relationships of mutual trust.

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

The setting sun shone over the kyudojo, and practice ended. Tommy-sensei and the others left first, and the Kazemai and Tsujimine girls moved to the changing room together.

When the male members finished changing into their regular clothes, Higuchi idly whispered to Nikaidou about something.

“Your arrow is missing?”

“Yeah, I was looking for it earlier but…”

It was guessed from the sight of Higuchi still in his kyudo uniform that he had been searching for them for a long time. In the past, there was an incident where an upperclassman had made fun of his extremely slow pace and hid his arrow. Nikaidou remembered that and felt angry.

Since they checked all of Tsujimine’s quivers and didn’t find it, they asked Kazemai to check theirs as well. Upon doing that, the arrow was discovered in Ryouhei’s quiver.

Ryouhei bowed his head to Higuchi.

“I’m so sorry. I took your arrow. I will pay more attention from now on.”

“It’s fine--, it’s nothing—.“

Ryouhei’s arrows were longer than other people’s, so he hadn’t noticed Higuchi’s arrow buried among his bundle of arrows at all. The reason for that was him shirking off the work of counting his arrows.

Nikaidou stepped in front of Higuchi.

“That’s not right, Higuchi-senpai. If this was the last day, he might have took your arrow back with him, you know? There are people who would bring it home by mistake and neglect to go and return it because it was too much work for them.”

“No, in that case I would properly go and return it. I’m truly sorry.”

“You’re Yamanouchi-kun, right? You were also very interested in our Ootaguro’s bow, eh? If it’s a high-grade bow, there are likely also people who would bring it back with them on purpose, right? I think you’re different, though.”

Nikaidou’s tone was sharp. His irritation was obvious to everyone.

Nanao stepped between them.

“He found it right away, so can you forgive him for that much at least? People retrieving the wrong arrows happens a lot, right? In the past, I’d been mistaken for a girl and taken away with someone. The patterns of the feathers and the colors of the hagiito (9) were exactly alike.”

Nikaidou got even more displeased at Nanao’s interference.

“You’re the kid who carried our girls’ luggage, huh? Even though the high school generals are right around the corner, you have the time to hit on girls from other schools. As expected, schools with blessed environments are different. Even though since being able to use a kyudojo in itself is so precious to guys like us, we don’t want to waste even a second. I really am so jealous I can’t stand it. Right?”

“What? I don’t think I was really hitting on anyone.”

“Oh…is that so?”

Seiya stopped Minato from arguing against Nikaidou. If he defended them poorly, then it would be adding fuel to the fire.

However, Kaito couldn’t take it anymore. He walked right up to Nikaidou and thrust his nose into his face.

“I’ve been listenin’ for a while, but how do you keep going on and on about bullshit? He said it wasn’t on purpose and apologized, ain’t he? And, Nanao wasn’t hitting on anyone back there.”

“What’s with you? Why are you so tanned? Are you, like, a helper from the soccer club or something? You must be having such a hard time, what with being teammates with the airhead and the playboy and all.”

“What did ya say!”

Right when Kaito grabbed Nikaidou by his collar, there was a clattering sound.

A pair of glasses with bent frames was rolling on the floor. They were Seiya’s. He had been trying to stop Kaito and got his glasses hit by Kaito’s raised hand.

Seiya was pressing his hand to his eyes. His hidden mole became exposed.

“Ah… Seiya, I’m sorry.”

“—Kaito, pick them up.”

The place became completely frozen.

Seiya’s moment-freezing gun wasn’t only activated when he said lame jokes. Rather, it was stronger when he was angry. Kaito hurriedly went to pick up the blown away glasses. Nikaidou also seemed to have recovered himself with the sound of the glasses falling to the floor.

Seiya issued instructions without a moment’s delay.

“Nanao and Ryouhei will close the shutters. Minato will go and check that the doors to the equipment storehouse and the arrow retrieval path are locked. We will be doing the final locking up, so everyone from Tsujimine, please go on ahead and leave before us.”

Fuwa had been watching on the sidelines until then, but he judged that it would be better to go with Seiya’s plan.

“Are you okay without your glasses?”

“I have contacts, so there is no problem.”

“I see. Well then, we shall be leaving first. Good work today. Nikaidou, we’re going.”

“Good work today.”

After they could no longer see Nikaidou and the others, Seiya beckoned Kaito over. Leaving cleanup to Minato and the rest, the two headed back to their room first.

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

The room the five boys were lodged in was a Japanese style room about twelve tatami mats wide, with a single low table placed in the center of the room. When the window was opened, the laughter of children blew in along with the refreshing wind of the plateau.

Kaito sat in seiza in front of Seiya, looking small.

“You know what I want to say, right? If you raised your hand at Nikaidou-senpai, you’d be doing exactly what he wants.”

“I’m sorry, Seiya. I’ll pay for your glasses.”

This scene was exactly like a child being scolded by his parent for making mischief.

Seiya narrowed his naked eyes.

“I was thinking about changing my glasses soon anyways, so it’s not a big deal. But wearing contacts for a long time is tiring.”

“I’m sorry, that was really inexcusable of me.”

“Kaito, I’m thirsty.”

Kaito poured barley tea into a cup and presented it to him.

“I really want my shoulders rubbed. That place between my shoulder blades got way too stiff.”

“Yes.”

“I wish someone would fill out the accommodation survey for me.”

“Yes.”

Giving a sidelong glance at Kaito, who turned towards the table and eagerly filled out the form, Seiya suppressed a laugh. An excessively obedient Kaito was hilarious to see, and he couldn’t help but mess with him. He felt that he truly understood Nanao’s state of mind.

Should I forgive him soon?

Seiya thought, and left Kaito in the room.

Seiya returned with a tray of watermelon slices. He remembered that it was a complementary service of the inn, and that they said, “Please tell us if you need some.”

He placed the tray on the table and sat down. Since he can’t see well without glasses, he brought his face closer to his target objects.

The curtains were swaying.

Soon, there came the quiet breathing of someone asleep beside him.

While Seiya left his seat for a little bit, Kaito had laid down and fallen asleep.

He must have been so tired that even when Seiya brought his face right up to his, he showed absolutely no signs of waking. His sleeping face was like that of an angel. One wouldn’t think that this is the very same boy who normally pointlessly intimidated his surroundings.

“Kacchan, huh…” Seiya murmured.

Well, even he can feel sleepy. Even though he always, always protects Nanao with all his strength. Kaito says I’m overprotective, but he shouldn’t talk.

Seiya leaned against the window where the wind blew through.

He listened to the quiet sound of sleep breathing until Minato and the others returned to the room.

After a short time, Kaito was awoken by Nanao.

“Kacchan, wake up. We left some watermelon for you.”

“…’kay. Huh, where’s Seiya?”

“He went to the baths. We’ll go too after you eat.”

Kaito bit into a watermelon slice.

After they finished bathing and eating dinner, the Kazemai ten gathered at the open space before the inn.

Seiya lit a candle for ignition and handed out hand-held fireworks to everyone.

Minato lit his firework at once, and a long firework, like the head of a zebra grass, sprouted out. The crackling sparklers and the tezutsu fireworks (10) were both staples for home use. Tommy-sensei was saying how nostalgic this all was while gazing at a black snake firework. (11) Kaito drew figure-eights with the flame of his firework, and Nanao and Ryouhei were running around while holding their fireworks.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo called to the two of them.

“You guys, you’ll fall if you run!”

“We’ll be fine!”

Seiya handed more fireworks to Kaito.

“Thanks. Don’t just watch us, join in.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t use the candle to light his firework, but ignited it by directly accepting the fire of the firework in Kaito’s hand.

“It’d be nice if a zashiki-warashi shows up.”

“I told you to stop talking about that.”

“Kaito, could it be that you’re scared?”

“Hell no!”

Seiya chuckled.

When there were no more hand-held fireworks, Masa-san lit a bunch of ground fireworks. The fountains of flame brightly illuminated everyone’s faces. Then, parachutes were launched from them with a popping sound. Ryouhei was the first to pick one up and held it up high, and Nanao performed a hip-hop dance.

And so, the lively fireworks display continued late into the night.

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

It happened after they all went to bed. A shadow crept into the sleeping room.

The shadow roamed inside the room without making even a footstep, and when it found its target person, it stopped near their pillow. It peered into their face, then slowly climbed on top of it. Kaito tried to cry out about the weight on his chest, but couldn’t do it for some reason.

Suddenly, Nanao woke up feeling something unusual. Looking next to him, he saw a cat curled up sleeping on top of Kaito. Because the room’s door was kept open, it freely came in.

Nanao whispered, “…You sure are sneaky. Even though you’re always so cold to me.”

He thought about driving it away, but it was the middle of the night. It was inexcusable to wake everyone up with by making a racket. Leaving the cat where it was, Nanao also used Kaito as a pillow and fell asleep again.

Kaito was the one who was misfortunate. Because he did not wake up from sleep while feeling a weight on his body, he could not move as though he was suffering from sleep paralysis.

The one who was woken up with Kaito’s groans was Seiya. When he narrowed his eyes and checked out the situation using the moonlight, the cat and Nanao, using Kaito as their pillow, were sleeping like logs.

Seiya sighed.

Good grief, there’s on helping it. This is the punishment for waking me up in the middle of the night after all—.

Seiya moved the cat and Nanao, who were on top of Kaito, out of the way, and took out a certain something from his bag. And then, he went back to sleep.

The next morning. Minato and Ryouhei, who were the first to wake up, desperately suppressed their laughter.

——There are “cat whiskers” drawn on Onogi’s face!?

Is this the prank of a zashiki-warashi?

Seiya and Nanao were still sleeping.

Kaito, while thinking that Minato and Ryouhei were acting strange, went to the washroom, got in front of the mirror and screamed.

---

Previous | Next

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 4-Unsolicited Statement (Part 2)

The only thing worse than kyudo terminology...is Shinto and Buddhism terminology.

In other words, please enjoy this long-awaited continuation of the chapter, where the boys go to the Amatsu Star Festival in their fancy getup and we learn that Ren is actually Masaki’s stepbrother (not like the anime didn’t already spoil that for us). Also Nikaidou and Fuwa show up (not at the festival)

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. A sekitori is a sumo wrestler ranked in the top two professional divisions.

2. A multi-tenant building here ( 雑居ビル) is a building that houses a mixture of businesses, shops and residences

3. Aratama and nikitama are parts of the spirit (mitama) of a god in Shinto belief. The aratama is the rough and violent side of the god that must be appeased while the nikitama is its normal state. (Thanks yugioh wiki for leading me to the right place)

4. The jousou of a priest is worn at regular festivals. A kariginu is a traditional hunting robe worn by Heian nobles. Basically, what Masa-san is wearing here is what he wore in Episode 10 of the anime (when the boys visit the shrine) except it’s all white.

5. Issun-boshi is a Japanese folktale about a one sun (3cm) boy who kills an oni. It’s similar to Tom Thumb and you can read the gist of it here

6. Jaki (邪気) means maliciousness or evil spirits, and mujaki (無邪気, literally “no jaki”) means innocence.

7. So apparently tsumikegare is a complicated term. Tsumi is sin and kegare is impurity, but sometimes tsumikegare happens to you without you doing anything wrong. In any case it taints your energy and you have to cleanse yourself of it.

8. The ritual Masa-san’s mom is doing is the shubatsu, a purification ritual that takes place before a ceremony. Also, ooasa is more commonly known as onusa, apparently. See one here. The sakaki tree is an evergreen that’s sacred in Shinto and used in many rituals, as well as salt water (entou), which is rock salt dissolved in water.

9. The term kaji ( 加持) is used here. In Buddhism it corresponds to  Adhiṣṭhāna, which refers to receiving blessings from the Buddha. On a side note I pretty much had to guess the translation of this passage lol

10. Joue ( 定慧) is two-thirds of the Threefold Training of Buddhism.  定 is “right mindfulness” and  慧 is wisdom. The third one is  戒, which is virtue.

11. Momote Shiki is a kyudo ceremony performed for those who are turning 20 and becoming adults. It is conducted by the Ogasawara-ryuu, who dress in formal kimonos and shoot two arrows at a target. You can read about one in more detail here

12. A naorai is a banquet during a festival where the offerings made to the gods are eaten. It marks the end of a ritual. Read more about it here

13. A goldfish with protruding eyes is called a telescope goldfish or demekin

14. Nanao makes up the word pazarinko in Chapter 3 of Book 1, where apparently it’s supposed to mean “you’re welcome” It’s the furigana for “了解” which means “got it”

15. Yo-yo scooping is a popular festival game where you fish for small balloons with a paper string and a hook. The balloons you get act like yo-yos I think? 

16. Yakitori is skewered chicken that’s grilled over a charcoal fire.

17. A marebito is a word that refers to a divine spirit or being bringing gifts of luck and happiness from afar. They are usually welcomed with festivals. It’s lso the title of the next chapter

Previous | Next

Countermeasures against the heat were necessary for summer exercise. Kyudo was no exception.

Kazemai High School was located in a relatively cool region of Japan, and kyudo was blessed compared to outdoor sports, but it was still hot during daytime. Although there was a fan, the wind almost never reached them, and so the fan head desolately turned.

In summer, the kyudo equipment also changed due to the heat. Because it was easy for the bowstring to stretch and for the draw strength to weaken if it was a bamboo bow, one used different equipment for summer and winter. The heat had little effect on glass fibre bows, but one needed to be careful as they could deform if one left them inside a car under the blazing sun.

For kyudogi, there were ones used specially for summer in addition to year-round. As the kyudo uniform must not be directly worn on bare skin, an undershirt must be worn, and the style for the bottom was a hakama that completely covered the feet. It was difficult to say that it was a cool getup. People who sweated a lot and the like had their sweat dripping onto the floor during zasha.

At break, Ryouhei and Nanao flapped the sides of their hakama.

“Ugh, it’s so humid since there’s no wind today.”

“The floor’s so steaming hot it’s like there’s indoor heating. My hakama’s getting stuck to my feet with all the sweat, you know.”

“Can you wash hakama?”

“The hakama and obi we wear for practice are made of synthetic fibers, so you can put them in a laundry bag and wash them with a washing machine. If you take them to a dry cleaner’s, it’ll be expensive since they’ll undergo the traditional clothing treatment. Though, the hakama Masa-san wears when he needs to wear kimono is probably made of silk or wool, so I don’t think he can use the washing machine for that.”

“My underglove is also really damp from all the sweat.”

“I hate having a sweaty yugake, so I’m going to air it out when I get home. Although when I say that, I’m just going to spread it out in my room and turn it over. Apparently, it’s also good to put a drying agent in it.”

The two replaced their undergloves that had become damp with sweat with new ones. In the case that one’s grip became slippery with palm sweat, one could also use rice chaff ashes, called fudeko, or one’s own white powder on the left hand.

Seiya handed Minato a towel and a water bottle. The ice made a cool, rattling sound, and the barley tea disappeared in an instant.

“Minato, if it’s not enough I can give you more.”

“Ah, thanks. I’ll have more later.”

“Are you suffering from heat fatigue? It looks like your dad has a lot of business trips lately, but are you eating properly?”

“Mm, I’m fine.”

Kaito, who was next to Minato and Seiya as they talked, knitted his brows.

“Are you mothering Narumiya again, Seiya? Leave him alone, he’s not a little kid.”

“Isn’t it fine? It’s not bothering anyone, and it’s my purpose in life.”

“So you finally got serious.”

“What? Do you want me to mother you too, Kaito?”

“Not a chance!”

“I also don’t want to take care of a child with such a bad expression.”

“I’m not a ‘child’ with a bad expression!”

Kaito finished his water bottle in one go.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo had on dumbfounded expressions that said, “Ah, here we go again.” They were completely used to seeing the sketch comedies that Kaito was associated with.

Tommy-sensei asked them to gather around.

“Were you all able to hydrate? Takigawa-san explained this the other day, but what is the method of breathing while shooting?”

Ryouhei answered.

“If you’re concerned about your breathing, it becomes more difficult for you to know how to shoot. Or rather, you can’t do both at the same time.”

“Exactly so. Since the way of dantian breathing used in kyudo is slightly different than the commonly stated dantian breathing, and it is difficult for those who hold the bow and still have a few years to go, it is good to store it as knowledge in a corner of your minds right now.”

“Yes.”

“If I have to be extreme, Japanese archery is lifting the bow up, parting it in both directions, and waiting to release the arrow—that is all it is. Even though just that should be good enough, people do unnecessary and pointless actions. First of all, let’s correct the major causes that produce difficulties for hitting the target. Because when you covet this-and-that, you will not be able to understand why.”

Ryouhei nodded deeply.

“Now then, it will be summer vacation soon and there will be a training camp, but before that, I will give everyone a mission. The gentlemen will be time warping back to the Heian era.”

“Heian era? Time warp? What does that mean?”

“For that, go there and enjoy what happens. The girls will be in charge of seeing that with their own eyes.”

Minato and the others blinked rapidly before Tommy-sensei, who was chuckling.

“Ah.”

Tsujimine High School’s Fuwa let out a sound without thinking.

The person before him was clicking their tongue.

Fuwa was at the bus stop in front of the hospital with his phone in one hand. A man with a muscular figure, on par with a sekitori (1), was in front of him in line, but he seemed to have decided something and left the line. Just when Fuwa was about to close up the gap and lifted his head, he saw Nikaidou right in front of him. They couldn’t see each other due to the large man hiding them.

Nikaidou opened his naturally large eyes even wider. Since their eyes met perfectly all the way here, his face that screamed, I didn’t know you were there at all, was extremely transparent.

He muttered to him, as though resigned to the situation,

“The bus is here. Let’s get on it, Fuwa.”

“…Right.”

They did not talk to each other even as they sat next to each other in the two-person seat. Fuwa still had his phone in hand, and Nikaidou was vacantly staring out the window. Neither of them said anything like, “What a coincidence,” or “What happened?”

The bus arrived at the nearest station fifteen minutes later.

Although Fuwa intended on naturally parting from him in this way, Nikaidou indicated his destination with his chin.

“Come.”

Without saying “What a pain,” he followed Nikaidou to the fast food restaurant on the first floor of the multi-tenant building. (2)

Nikaidou silently lined up at the register.

"Welcome. Will you be eating here today?"

"Yes."

"Then, may I take your order?"

"I'll have one of whatever is the most expensive thing in this store."

"Okay?"

The cashier was immediately bewildered.

As he was getting second-hand embarrassment from what he was seeing, Fuwa went to the second floor seats.

After a while, Nikaidou showed up carrying a tray. Apparently he couldn't carry it by himself, as employees were following him. The tray was piled high with food, so it did not look like it was for two people at all.

When the employees left, Nikaidou sat in his seat and spoke.

"Here, eat."

"Is that how you offer food to someone?"

"Just shut up and do it now!"

Forced by pressure, Fuwa reluctantly took a bite of a hamburger.  He had actually snatched food in the hospital room he had visited, so he was not at all hungry. When Fuwa finished eating one, Nikaidou looked relieved. He himself finally took the food as well.

Ah, so this is hush money?

Fuwa guessed.

It probably meant that he was not allowed to reveal that they ran into each other at the hospital. He couldn't ask anything about this matter. Furthermore, he is telling him to infer all of that. What a self-centered guy, he thought, but he stopped pressing it. Having him be quiet with this signified that Nikaidou trusted him greatly.

Nikaidou was hiding the fact that his uncle Shigeyuki was in hospital from the club members. Perhaps Shigeyuki asked him not to tell anyone. And Fuwa knew that Nikaidou had been visiting him frequently. That kind of thing would be divulged by someone close to him, and that information source was Nikaidou's younger brother. Because he knew, he was careful not so that they would not meet, but they ended up doing that regardless. In that sense, this whole situation was Fuwa's mistake.

Fuwa had a certain special quality.

It was the ability to get information even without seeking it.

Even though he wasn't extending an antenna from himself and collecting information, the things the people around him hid or wanted to hide entered his ears. He noticed that when he received a piece of coloured paper from his homeroom teacher at his elementary school graduation ceremony.

It was a collection of messages for the graduation ceremony, but among the trite and hackneyed phrases like "I'll do my best even after I graduate," he was unable to take his eyes from the words written by one girl.

Fuwa-kun has long ears, so bad things about Fuwa-kun are the only things I was afraid to say—.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he first saw that. He had no interest in the conversations of girls, so he never strained his ears for them. And in the first place, saying that he had "long ears" was in itself a loose-tongued thing to do. It may have happened that he did not notice the girl was hiding something and inadvertently said it aloud.

From then on, he began to be careful about his speech and conduct. He avoided topics that seemed like they would infringe on privacy as much as possible, and did not left out anything that he heard. It felt like the number of people who one-sidedly talked to him excessively increased, perhaps because he devoted himself to the listener's role. There were many people who wanted to talk, even without him asking. They could not help but vomit out the words that they kept close to their chests.

In addition, there were also many times when he accidentally overheard and learned something. The other day, he learned why Nikaidou often wore a white hoodie. When he went to the school infirmary, there was a health report there forgotten by the nurse. It was written that Nikaidou Eisuke was hypersensitive to light, and that if he was exposed to ultraviolet rays for a long time, it would cause skin inflammation.

And, there was another thing. He knew Nikaidou's secret—.

Ootaguro had also vaguely perceived it, and only Nikaidou himself thought it had not been found out. Ootaguro was not as meatheaded as Nikaidou thought he was. Nikaidou was smart, but lacked objectivity. He couldn't see himself very well.

Fuwa stuffed his mouth with his last bite, then washed it down with coke.

"Alright, it's all eaten."

"Ugh, I'm not gonna be eating hamburgers and fries for a long time."

When they exited the restaurant, Nikaidou pointed above his head.

"I'm gonna be stopping by the store up there."

"Oh, then see ya."

Nikaidou smiled, looking satisfied, and climbed the steps to the store.

Fuwa looked up at the sky.

The sound of a flute could be heard, and faint lights emerged.

At Yata Shrine, the summer festival called the Amatsu Star Festival was currently underway. Along the long stairs that stretched from the torii gate to the front shrine, bamboo tubes with the tops diagonally cut were arranged with lit candles inside them. The swaying flames were like whispers, enticing people to where the sounds were.

Sway, sway.

O marebito, o heretic gods.

Are you aratama tonight, or nikitama? (3)

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, dressed in yukata, stopped at the top of the steps.

"Wow, the stairs of light are so beautiful!"

"Look at the interior. It's still continuing."

"Let's go."

The lights flickered, as though beckoning them. They passed between the bamboo tubes and looked back, and saw a river of light.

"Are the boys going to be here soon?"

Hanazawa confirmed the time.

"I wonder if they successfully completed the time warp."

"The girls' mission is to see it with our own eyes, after all."

The three giggled as they headed for the front shrine.

The five boys of Kazemai High School were also visiting Yata Shrine, but they could not afford to enjoy the festival. They first thing they did in the morning was to do an ablution ceremony by bathing in cold water (misogi). They also refrained from eating meat and fish since yesterday.

On this day, Minato and the others were wearing colourful kimonos and hakama, looking just like Heian nobles. Masa-san was dressed all in white. The ordinary vestments (jousou) of a priest was a dyed and patterned kariginu, a hakama in a colour that corresponded to the priest's social position, a cap called a tateeboshi, a ritual baton (shaku), and shallow clogs (asagutsu), but the kimono was all white with only a little decoration at the cuffs. (4)

In actuality, Yata Shrine was reviving the ritual "matoi" (target shooting), which had died out, and the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club boys were serving the roles of the archers.

Minato moved awkwardly in the clothes he was unaccustomed to wearing. The weights of the pure silk kimono and the practice clothes he usually wore were different, and he took care not to make it dirty.

"Masa-san, are we really going to be okay? We're wearing these flashy kimonos and hakama, and shoes made of wood. We're doing rissha, aren't we?"

"The target is big, and you'll be fine if you move as you practiced this morning. Exposing your chest in summertime is troublesome since your kimono sticks to you with sweat, but it works as a natural cooler."

"In the first place, why is it that except for the one priest, everyone else are boys from ages twelve to eighteen?"

"In ancient times, Yata Shrine was a shrine thatwas connected to the practitioners of Shugendou, and the purpose of 'matoi' was to exorcise vengeful spirits. As you can see from folk tales like Momotarou and Issun-boushi (5), 'douji' (boys) are said to have the power to exorcise demons--evil spirits. And in the ancient documents left at Yata Shrine, it is written that the archers are chigo, that is, young trainee monks with unshaven heads at Buddhist temples. The discussion of wanting to revive it has been brought up by the parishioners for a long time, but I only got enthusiastic about it when I talked about it with Tommy-sensei."

"So 'innocence' is the opposite of 'vengeful spirits'. (6) But why would there be young monks at a Shinto shrine?"

"Before the Meiji era, there was the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, in other words, Shinto and Buddhism weren't distinctly separated. Apparently, it wasn't unusual for priests to double as monks."

"Oh, I see."

When the festival music (matsuri-bayashi) ended, the archers and parishioners, with Masa-san at the head, stood before the shelves that held rice, salt, water, sake, fish and other offerings to the gods. The parishioners were serving as the kaizoes. The target (oomato) was made of flattened reeds that were woven together, and a piece of paper put on top of it had the character for "demon" written on it.

They received a purification rite from Masa-san's mother, who was a priest, to purify their sins and impurities (tsumikegare) of their mind and body. (7) She shook the ooasa, a rod of plain wood with shide (zigzag paper streamers) attached to it, left and right and left again, and then a sprig of sakaki tree was dipped into entou (salt water) and sprinkled. (8)

Masa-san walked a few steps ahead of the line, and then knelt (kiza) with a bow and white-feathered arrow in hand.

He chanted with a resonant voice.

Upon careful consideration, what one would call a treasured bow of divine empowerment (9), is something that strenuously exerts the virtues of joue (10), clears away the mob of hindrances,

And defeats the evil forces that block the way to samsara. Indeed, there is nothing that surpasses a divine bow and secret arrow for a vessel of expelling evil forces.

Now, the five great dragon kings have descended upon this dojo and will establish barriers that will block these evil spirits…

When he stood up, he had his bow and arrow in his right hand, and exposed his chest by slipping his kimono from his left shoulder. With both hands, he reverently held the bow parallel to the ground and then pointed it towards the target (mato-tsuki). He gripped the bow in a slanted position and drew it back to its limit, and then released the arrow.

His next arrow also hit the center of the target.

When Kaito, the oomae, lifted his bow, Ryouhei also lifted his own bow without missing a beat. After him, Seiya, Nanao, Minato and Masa-san imitated Kaito’s movements.

Kaito slowly brought the head of his arrow close to the target.

“Aiiiiiie!” After he shouted his yagoe, his arrow flew towards the target.

After him, Ryouhei also released his arrow with a “Yah”, and Seiya, Nanao, Minato and Masa-san followed.

Aiiiiiie, yah!

Aiiiiiie, yah!

The yagoes crawled along the ground, the sounds that violently cut through the wind being linked together.

When the six shootings were over, there was a big round of applause from the spectators.

“What was that? Were those Kazemai students who were shooting?”

“Holy crap, that was amazing! We can take pictures, right?”

The female high school students who were watching as a way to kill time were in high spirits. Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, who were watching over them, were also leaning forward in excitement.

“Since they called it a ritual, I was wondering what they were going to do, but wasn’t it pretty cool?”

“It really did feel like we time-warped back to the Heian era.”

“They were moving similar to the Momote Shiki of the Ogasawara-ryuu school.” (11)

While the worshippers were chattering noisily, Kaito drew his bow tightly once again. There was a dignified air surrounding him.

The yagoes were shouted one after the other.

Six voices.

When the last shot brought down the demon, a thunderous round of applause arose.

After they finished their greetings, Minato and the others changed into their regular clothes.

Tommy-sensei met them with a smile.

“You’ve all worked hard on your mission. Congratulations to everyone for safely returning to present-day. You all looked very handsome.”

The parishioners also gave them words of appreciation and gratitude.

“What a mystical ceremony it was, as though we became lost in an older world. Many of us parishioners are getting on in years, but the ones who will create the future are you young people after all. Now, now, eat up.”

“Then, itadakimasu.”

They took the food before them. At the naorai (12), Ren was also there along with the parishioners, going around pouring alcohol for each person. A naorai also had the meaning of cleansing the body obtaining the offerings to the goods through eating and drinking the offerings and sake at the end of the ritual, but at Yata Shrine it had a strong sense of a party given in recognition of a person’s services.

It was a long-awaited and precious festival. They also wanted to go around to see all the stalls.

After talking for a while, the boys stood from their seats, leaving the adults who were drinking.

It was a complete transformation from that refined world, and they flocked to the area lined with red lanterns. The scents of sauces and sugary things mingled together. Nanao was called out to by girls as they passed by him, and he answered them with smiles. They went halfway down the row of stalls, when Minato and Ryouhei decided to take on the target shooting stall.

“I think I’ll aim for the sweets on the right. What about you, Ryouhei?”

“I see. I’ll be aiming for that mascot ‘Reclining Kaehru-kun.’”

“Alright, then, it’s a match.”

The two carefully aimed and pulled their triggers. Despite Minato bombarding it with bullets, the small box of sweets did not fall down. He persistently continued to shoot, and when he thought that it finally fell, he was disappointed when he was told that “it doesn’t count if it doesn’t fall behind the shelf.” As Ryouhei declared, he got the “Reclining Kaehru-kun,” and handed it to Nanao.

“Oooooh, this is amazing! Thanks, Ryouhei. Let’s go over there next.”

The group went to the goldfish scooping stall next.

Nanao and Seiya, with Kaito between them, were standing by.

“Seiya, Kacchan is a master at goldfish scooping.”

“Oh really? Show me what you got.”

Kaito’s eyes glinted. A daring smile appeared on his lips.

He readied his scoop in his right hand and the bowl for the goldfish in his right, and then passed his scoop under the water. He quickly slid it sideways and got one fish at the start. He then got a second one, a third one, a fourth one, and then the bowl was filled with goldfish before they knew it.

“Good job, Kaito. Alright, I’ll try too.”

Seiya gently put his scoop in the water and chased the swimming goldfish, but the fish escaped before he could put them in the bowl.

“Aaah, it got torn.”

“Seiya is surprisingly crap at this.”

“Sir, one more turn.”

Seiya paid the fee.

“Kaito, teach me your secret.”

“Watch closely, okay? First, you gotta put the whole scoop into the water. You should scoop by aiming for the fish at the surface and moving horizontally as much as possible, and making sure that the tail is getting on the paper.”

As he was saying that, he caught another one. Even the man at the stall said, “Give it a rest, kid,” with a wry smile.  Perhaps because he listened to Kaito’s advice, Seiya got two fish this time.

Nanao kept aiming for the bigger fish, but at the end he did not catch a single fish. He returned his torn scoop to the man and pointed at one spot where the goldfish were crowding together.

“Kacchan, get that black fish with the stuck-out eyes buried under those red goldfish.” (13)

“Hmm, it’s big, and that location is ugh.”

“You can still do it, can’t you? Get it, get it!”

“Can’t be helped.”

Badgered by Nanao, he reluctantly attempted it, but his paper scoop got torn when he got close to the fish.

“Ooh, what a shame, kid,” the man at the stall said with a pleased face. They decided to bring back only three fish, and Nanao chose a fish to his liking. In the meantime, Minato and Ryouhei went to take a look at the neighbouring stall.

After they received their goldfish, Kaito looked around.

“Narumiya and Ryouhei aren’t at the stall next door at all?”

“Aah…, this happened a lot back then. Whenever those two are at a festival, they really get into it and disappear before you know it. Well, it’s fine.”

“Huh, it’s really ok? You not clinging to Narumiya, I mean.”

“Yep. Today, I’m sticking close to your side.”

Kaito recoiled from Seiya, who was smiling with his eyes narrowed.

“Hah? Why’s that?”

“In this kind of place, the possibility of you rather than Minato getting caught up in trouble is much higher. And you have even less self control when it comes to Nanao. As you wished, I shall specially take care of you today.”

“When did I wish for that!?”

Next to Kaito, who was scratching his head, Seiya was ready to burst into laughter.

“Okay, I texted Minato and Ryouhei our meeting location and time, so let’s walk around together.”

Nanao responded, “’Kay, pazarinko (14). Where should we go next? The turtle scooping stall?”

“Turtles, huh…those things get huge in the future. We can’t bring them back with us.”

“I wanna get big too.”

“Then, milk scooping?”

“Ooh, maybe! Moo-moo scooping~.”

“That’s not even a thing! If you’re talking about scooping, there’s yo-yos and gemstones.” Kaito answered, getting worked up and taking the joke seriously. (15)

The three disappeared into the crowd while jostling.

At the same time, Minato and Ryouhei had also noticed that they had lost sight of their friends, and looked at their phones.

"So we're meeting in front of the shrine office. There's still time until then. What do you want to do, Ryouhei?"

" I wanna eat yakitori. (16) You mind if I line up at that stand over there?"

"It's cool. I'll wait under this tree."

Minato left the lively avenue lined with stands, heading for the zelkova tree.

The rhythm of the festival music could be heard in the distance. Since from the morning he had been busy with the setup of the oomato and learning how to strip during a rissha ceremonial shooting, observing the festival from a little further away also wasn't bad at all. The flickering of the river of light pierced his eyes.

Just when he was about to twist off the cap of the plastic bottle in his hand, someone with their hand raised approached him from the front. At first he couldn't recognize their face since it was lit from behind, but it turned out to be Ren.

"Hey, Minato-kun. We sure do meet a lot."

"Ren-san, is it okay for you to be here?"

"Trying to drive me off, eh?"

"Ah, no, I was just wondering if it's okay for you to not be at the naorai."

"Oh, it's already in the final stage, so they probably wouldn't know if just one person is missing."

Ren stood next to Minato and similarly twisted the cap off his plastic bottle.

"How's it going with kyudo practice?"

"Thanks to having Masa-san teach us, I think everyone improved, as well as me."

"I heard that you were taught by a sensei who is famous in the kyudo world. Aren't you unsatisfied with Masaki?"

"That absolutely isn't true! Saionji-sensei and Masa-san are both my precious teachers. If I never met them both, I might not be shooting a bow today."

Ren suddenly laughed, but there was something cold about the way he did it.

"Really, that's good to hear. Masaki had been worried for a while. He told you that 'If you don't fix that bad habit, the more you shoot, the more it will hurt,' but he worried that he should have said, 'Once you fix that bad habit, you will get even better,' and that he made a mistake in how he should have said it. Thinking that there’s nothing good about a coach who lowers his athlete's motivation."

"Eh, he was?"

"Even for those who teach, there's actually a real anxiety about whether or not what they are doing is really okay. Masaki did kyudo for many years, but as a teacher, he's a beginner. Everyone's an amateur for the first time they're doing anything. Studying, exercise, the arts, work, raising children—everything has a first time."

"—That's true."

People wavered whenever they are doing something. Even if they weren't aware of it, even if they weren’t in pain or suffering, they were always making choices. Even after the time of the initial resolution, in the end they still didn't know what was the correct answer. One could only cast away doubts such as if there was another choice, and go the way one believed in.

Minato asked something he had always been curious about.

"Ren-san, you don't do kyudo?"

"Yeah, I don't. There was a time when I thought I'd try it, but I missed the timing."

"So Yasaka-sensei didn't encourage you to do kyudo."

"Uh huh. I was already a full-fledged adult, and I was the child of his daughter's second marriage partner, so he probably refrained from doing that."

"...What?"

"You know Masaki's mother remarried, don't you? I'm the kid from my dad's previous marriage. I'm not related to Mom and Masaki by blood."

The wind blew, and the flames swayed all at once.

The leaves rustled and wriggled.

Minato groped for something to follow up with.

"Ren-san, are you trying to surprise me again? Even I won't fall for it anymore."

"Oh, so Masaki didn't tell you. Well, maybe he didn’t bother telling his student about it. It's about unrelated people after all."

Minato very much remembered his thirst. The scar on his left flank ached.

Ren always spoke like there was a hidden meaning in his words, but he really couldn't see his true meaning this time.

"Minato-kun, I actually hate you a little bit. I thought that when Masaki finished his ten-thousand shots, he could be freed from our grandfather's binding spell, but he relapsed back into being bow-crazy. He was about to go on the same path as the grandfather he avoided so much."

"Is it bad to love kyudo?"

"I don't think it's bad, but I do think it's constricting and uncomfortable."

Minato wanted to refute him. No, you're wrong.

Masa-san, Shuu, and Minato were certainly struggling, and might be suffering, but those shouldn’t be all that there was.

"Masa-san's tsurune is really beautiful. I don't believe it's the sound of someone who is shooting in suffering. I enjoy shooting a bow. It's frustrating to not be able to do things as they go in my mind and not getting considerably better, but even so, I love kyudo."

Ren's eyes stayed the same, with only his mouth smiling.

"It is said that Yata Shrine's Amatsu Star Festival is perhaps for appeasing Amatsu-Mikaboshi, who is branded as a malevolent god. For my home, you are a marebito—a guest. Nobody knows if you are a good spirit or an evil spirit." (17)

"Ren-san..."

"Fufu, you are too amusing... It's a joke, I'll be leaving my little brother in your care."

Ren lifted a hand and left.

Ryouhei showed up in his place, bringing along Seiya, Kaito and Nanao.

Minato blinked his eyes from the dazzling, diffusely reflected light.

Previous | Next

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 3-Bow-Crazy (Part 1)

In this chapter: Everyone gets to touch Masa-san’s belly (except Minato) and we get a random genetics lesson

Since it’s Motomura’s birthday today, it’s only fitting that I release this chapter where he is a Very Good Boy

The twins may be obnoxious and rude, but their concern for Shuu is really adorable

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. The word for dance here is “buyou (舞踊)”, used to refer to traditional Japanese theatrical dances like in kabuki. There’s a pun here where Masa-san says the “bu (武)” of “budo (武道)” leads to the “bu (舞)” in “buyou (舞踊) ”.

2. Monoecious trees are trees that have both male and female reproductive organs

3. Seiya refers to dojo yaburi, which was a thing in martial arts like kendo where someone would go to another school and challenge everyone there

4. The abdominal rectus muscles or the rectus abdominal muscles are the abs basically

5. Yuuzen is a dyeing technique for fabrics. It is now mainly used for kimonos.

Previous | Next

Afternoon classes during the rainy season. Standing next to the students who were reading their textbooks aloud, even the teacher was yawning. Minato watched the raindrops running down the window.

He loved the sound of rain. The falling drops drew ripples, the transparent living creatures jumping and dancing. A gentle melody enveloped the town, but if one was listening carefully to the sounds of the rain beating down on the ground like rage itself, one would feel like it was erasing a great number of words in one's head.

He could hardly wait until after school, but there was no helping it. I want to shoot. I want to face the targets much, much more.

I have to get better quickly——.

After they lost at the regional tournament, Tommy-sensei spoke to them.

"Well, I'd like to say how unfortunate it was, but even if everyone hit at this competition, I might not be able to praise you."

They had never heard Tommy-sensei's candid thoughts even once, and Minato and the others kept silent at those unexpected words.

Ryouhei asked him straightforwardly.

"Why, sir?"

"The answer to that is what you all need to find out. Everyone, think about it."

After Tommy-sensei left his seat, the five boys sat on the floor. Masa-san still hadn't shown up.

Ryouhei smiled bitterly.

"It's all because I missed… Saying that he couldn't praise us even if we all hit, is he saying that we don't have enough skill?"

"No, we had seventeen hits out of twenty shots, so as a competition result it wasn't so bad. There's also random chance involved in quickly facing a strong team in the tournament matchups, so I think there's some things that just can't be helped."

Seiya answered, and next to him, Minato also nodded.

As it got gloomy, Nanao spoke as brightly as he could.

"Well, first of all, we shouldn't be dwelling on our defeat, so let's focus our energies on the national tournament in the summer. Anyways, we're still first years, so we can challenge it again next year."

"That's right, there's nothing we can do about our loss this time. Anyways, all we can do is practice."

Kaito backed Nanao up.

However, Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, who were listening from nearby, joined the circle, and then Seo spoke.

"Sorry, but I was listening to you guys, and I understood the reason why Tommy-sensei is grieving. What is it? You're all responsible. But you're still archers? So uncool."

"What are you talking about? Don't talk like you know something we don't. What do you think, Seo?"

"Didn't Tommy-sensei say that you guys are the ones who have to come up with the answer?"

"Aah, good grief."

Kaito was frowning and pondering on it, but Minato wanted to get to practice soon rather than think about a competition that had already ended. It seemed that there were competition matters that Tommy-sensei couldn't accept, but he hadn't missed in any case. Even if they didn't get perfect scores, it shouldn't have been bad.

Minato spoke.

"Let's leave checking answers with each other later and get to practicing. We're wasting time."

"Right. Let's go through with shooting a hitote in zasha."

At Seiya's voice, the five boys rose with heavy feelings and began to practice.

Masa-san showed up when the five had finished exiting, and called Minato to a waiting room. Minato wanted to continue practicing as he was, but he reluctantly took off his yugake.

"Minato, you're banned from practice for a while. That includes entering the kyudojo."

Distant thunder sounded.

He was so shocked that he couldn't say anything.

The rain was intensifying. The sound of the rain drowned out voices, so he couldn't make out the continuation of the conversation very well. Minato moved his ear closer to Masa-san's mouth once more.

"This is based on a discussion with Tommy-sensei."

He finally opened his mouth.

"How long is a while?"

"One week, or more."

"No way. We won't be able to defeat Kirisaki or Tsujimine if I take a break for that long. Wasn't Shuu first place and Nikaidou second place in the individual competition?"

"Are you yourself aware that your shooting lately wasn't good?"

He knew that he was shooting like he was ignoring his teachings. He didn't stretch his left elbow when he was protecting his hurting wrist. Because of that, he had to shorten his kai, minutely adjust his right fingertips and release his arrow. The shooting method that made him rely on his intuition could go amiss at even a little break in between, but this time he should have survived it.

"But, didn't I fulfill my duties as ochi properly?"

"Is it the duty of an ochi to get a four-arrow kaichuu? So, as long as you hit, it doesn't how unsightly your form is, and your shooting quality is inconsequential?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Minato, at that time you were a slave to hitting. Kyudo is tainted by your heart in that state, and you won't be able to make a beautiful tsurune once more. I'm not telling you a metaphor, but the facts as they are now. If you shoot badly, your bow will show deformations, and if it's a bamboo bow, you won't even be able to use it. Warning you against 'uchikiri'—not doing yugaeri on purpose—is because that way of shooting will crush the futures of the bow and the archer."

Yugaeri was the act of the bow turning in the hand when the arrow is released, and the string rotates to the back of the hand. It would not turn when one was gripping too hard.

"I know that, you don't have to tell me. Don't treat me like a beginner!"

Minato shouted. He felt that the issue at hand was quickly getting off-point, but he did not know how to return to the main issue.

Masa-san suddenly grabbed Minato's left wrist.

"Tch…."

"Does it hurt? It hurts this much, and you're making light of me?"

"Let, let me go!"

Minato shook free of Masa-san's hand and backed up to the wall behind him.

I don't know this high-handed Masa-san.

"So that you won't secretly shoot at another dojo, I will hold on to your bow and arrows. I actually wanted to keep your yugake too, but it is your tranquilizer after all."

"…That's cruel!"

"This is the 'Kazemai High School Kyudo Club.' For many people, high school kyudo is their gateway to kyudo, and the 'martial' in martial arts leads to 'dancing.' (1) If you are not a beginner, you have to refrain even more from dances that makes the people watching uncomfortable."

Minato clenched his left hand hidden behind his back.

Don't take the bow away from me.

Of all people, why is it Masa-san who…

"What's wrong with you, you shitty, perverted old geezer!"

Minato flew out under the pouring sky. Noticing that, Seiya and Ryouhei looked between Minato's back and Masa-san.

"He'll get soaked again. What would he do if he caught a cold…"

The man with an iron-plate smile hid his eyes.

A severe earthquake ran through Kirisaki High School as well.

"Shuu will be absent from club for a week!? Why!?"

Senichi's and Manji's voices overlapped. The students walking in the hallway were turning their heads at the high synchronicity rate of the two.

Before going to club activities, Motomura and Sase invited Senichi and Manji to the terrace in the back yard. The school building after the rain was dyed in amber, and four long shadows grew. It was slightly late for afternoon tea, but on the table there was a teapot and cups, snacks served on the cake stand, and so on.

Motomura spoke.

"As the regional tournament is over, he would like to recharge alone in preparation for the national tournament. That is the official explanation."

"You said 'official explanation,' so what's really going on?"

"Fujiwara-kun is going to Kazemai High School."

"…Huh?"

Senichi's and Manji's mouth hung open.

"Eh, eh, what does that mean? Why is Shuu going to Kazemai? Isn't this weird?"

"Right, right! It's exactly as Sen-nii said!"

"Motomura-senpai, was it alright to let Shuu go? No, no way, does he plan on transferring to Kazemai High School… Were we abandoned by Shuu——?"

Sase flicked Senichi's and Manji's foreheads one after the other, as they were having stage-actor-worthy reactions by clutching their heads.

"Owww… What are you doing, senpai!"

"You guys are overimagining things. Nope, nope, it's not that at all."

"Then, why is Shuu going to Kazemai?" Senichi asked.

"It seems that he is going there to meet their coach for some reason. The coach over there is close to Fujiwara in physique, and apparently he's the grandson of Yasaka-hanshi, so he probably thought he could learn something? Besides, his two former teammates are there, after all."

"That's why, I hate this! It isn't like Shuu to hang out with old friends who never know when to let him go!"

I—we—want to support Shuu. I thought that Shuu responded to our feelings. Even though we should have become one at that moment in the regional tournament…

I knew that we lack ability. But, I didn't that he had so little confidence in us that he had to go to another school. After all is said and done, Shuu didn't even speak a word of it to us.

So frustrating. I'm so frustrated that I want to cry.

What's up with you, Shuu. What was that huddle with our shoulders joined together? Even though I was so happy that even Shuu could do such an enthusiastic, fervent thing.

I want to hit him.

Senichi bit his lip.

Motomura poured black tea into the teacups while everyone else was talking. The rich scent tickling their noses, the four brought their cups to their mouths before uttering another word.

Senichi and Manji also reached out for the sandwiches on the bottom of the cake stand. Feeling that they could not have this conversation unless they were eating something, they also stuffed their mouths with the scones on the second layer. Choosing to do it when the cookies and fruits on the top layer disappeared, Motomura spoke.

"Fujiwara-kun's master is still Saionji-sensei. However, when it comes to Fujiwara-kun's level, his master no longer makes any comments on his shooting technique. He would not tell him even if he asked. Furthermore, as it seems that Saionji-sensei currently cannot hold a bow, he cannot acquire new skills by watching anymore. He can search for a new teacher, but basically, people who are attempting to master something can only study it by themselves. They can only open up a path by——"

The fallen leaves scattered with the lukewarm wind, carrying the fragrance of the trees and flowers. Senichi covered his mouth at the grassy scent that was characteristic of monoecious trees. (2)

"What an outrageous thing to say… I feel like there's nothing at all we can do for Shuu."

"Is that so? Fujiwara-kun needs a place where he can return to with ease. We can watch over him and wait for him to return. Are those not things which only comrades can do?"

"I…might not be able to wait. I'm not that patient."

"I think that's fine the way it is. You may act according to your judgement."

"I will do so."

Motomura smiled gently at Senichi's words.

He had the same way-seeker's face as Shuu.

It was after school of the next day.

There was an unusual crowd seen around the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club. Female students filled up the area around the fence that surrounded the range, scrambling with the Nanao Fan Club for spots. As the Nanao Fan Club had rules such as not making any noise during their viewing tour of kyudo practice, and for how many minutes each day, so it was a scene that would be impossible normally.

Nanao whispered into Kaito's ear.

"Hey, hey, Kacchan. How did this happen?"

"No idea. But I feel kinda irritated when I see Masa-san teaching him."

Shuu was there.

He went before the targets along with Ryouhei, and Masa-san was coaching them. Thanks to the considerable dignity and curiousness of three men using yobisun-nobi—two-hundred-and-thirty-three centimeter—bows, even Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo were watching in fascination. Since the sounds of the arrows flying were loud and the time it took for them to reach the targets was short, it was impressive to see.

Ryouhei turned to Shuu with a smile.

"Shuu-kun, your shots are so majestic, they're super cool! I can't believe that we're both high schoolers. I'll practice a lot too, since I want to catch up to everyone soon."

"There's no need to rush. Although you can't improve in one bound, if you do practice that fits your current level and do your very best at it, you will be surprisingly successful at kyudo."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's easy for taller people's upper bodies to go off-center, so the open width between your feet is important. Ryouhei, you often correct your stepping at ashibumi, but it looks nicer if you do it in one go. Since you can't look at your feet in reishakei, I marked the length of my arrow (yajaku) on the floor at home and practice that way."

"I'll try doing that too! Tommy-sensei and Nanao also talked to me about ashibumi."

Through Ryouhei, Shuu was reminded of when he himself began kyudo. He was happy just being able to shoot a bow, he had fun, and he was impatient for the seemingly distant days of practice. When shooting became an everyday routine, he had forgotten the elation of those days.

After Ryouhei left the targets, Kaito drew closer to Shuu.

"Oi, Fujiwara. I'm only gonna say this. Masa-san is our coach."

"It seems that Kazemai's coach is good at shooting through the hearts of archers, since he's adored by even you."

"I didn't say anything like that!"

At almost the same time as the ban on entering kyudojos was handed down to Minato, Shuu appeared, as though to replace him. The club members, who had no way of knowing the promise between him and Tommy-sensei, were constantly tilting their heads in confusion at the student from another school who was called the Young Prince.

Seiya put his elbow on Kaito's shoulder.

"I also want to ask you about what you came here to do. Did you come here to challenge us or something like that?" (3)

"I've never heard of challenging other dojos in kyudo, but I did not come here to do such an anachronistic thing. My advisor just had me come to join your practice, as there was an introduction from him. But it's a shame that Minato is taking a break."

"His wrist will get better faster if he doesn't use it. My dad wrapped a bandage around it. I asked him to walk Bear in the meantime, but it seems like he didn't go for some reason. Aah, he's really sulking a lot."

"…Could he be nearby?"

Outside the fence, in a corner of the group of female students, there was a male student crouching down to hide in the shrubbery.

Even though Minato was ordered to not attend club and that there was absolutely no use arguing about it, far from walking Bear, he did not feel like going out with his classmates or relaxing at home either, he ended up coming to the kyudojo.

He got emotional and called his master a shitty old geezer. He might not teach me anymore. On the contrary, he might not even speak to me… To begin with, why is Shuu at Kazemai in the first place? Could it be that I was in the way of Masa-san teaching Shuu?

His head was in a state of going around in circles with speculations and delusions. If he watched for a while, he then stood up and walked back and forth in front of the kyudojo entrance, so from an outside point of view he looked like nothing but suspiciously behaving person.

Just beside Minato, there was a shady duo who were also crouching down. They were dressed in uniforms that could be recognized as belonging to another school, and they were creating a perfect symmetry.

Senichi and Manji were whispering.

"Oi, Narumiya. Why are you here?"

"That's supposed to be my line. Since Kirisaki has a semester system, now the club activities are being stopped before the tests, right? I'm banned from entering the dojo, though."

"What's up with that?  So laaaame."

The two said at the same time.

Senichi and Manji were not able to wait patiently for Shuu's return. They investigated the advisor for the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club, snatched permission for entering the school, and started off by scoping out the lay of the land.

"So, Sen-nii, what are we going to do now? March into the kyudojo and bring Shuu back?"

"It'd be better to not do such aggressive things." Right when they were having their strategy conference, the two's shoulders were suddenly joined from behind.

"Gyaaah, let me go! Don't touch Sen-nii either! Oh, aren't you Ryouhei?"

"You remembered my first name."

Behind an astonished Minato, there was another boy.

"Kyaaaa, Nanao-kun!"

The Nanao Fan Club simultaneously clasped their hands together, as though praying.

"Sorry, everyone. We're doing combined practice with a student from another school for about a week, so could I have you all refrain from visiting? If there's so many cute girls here, I feel like I'd get too nervous."

"Alright! Everyone, disperse, disperse!"

At the words of the leader of the groupies, the girls dispersed. Nanao then winked at the three who are left.

"Gentlemen, come. Tommy-sensei said to come learn by watching the practice. Come on, you too, Minato."

Nanao forcibly made Minato stand up and pushed his back. Senichi and Manji also passed through the entrance of the kyudojo while being held from behind by Ryouhei, and they greeted everyone inside.

Masa-san appeared in Minato's field of vision. Normally, it would have been a situation where Masa-san would grin at him, but he felt a little sad at his weary expression.

Shuu and Seiya held back a laugh at seeing Senichi and Manji with Ryouhei hanging from their backs.

After Minato, Senichi, and Manji sat on the raised seating area in the judge's area, Masa-san turned his back to Minato.

"Since Fujiwara and Nanao asked me to teach about 'breathing method (ikiai)', let's talk about that today. Let's start with you, Nanao. What are your questions?"

"The Kyudo Textbook says that 'ikiai is respiration that results from the stimulation of bodily activities along with the activation of the consciousness, not physical breathing, and it becomes the driving force of the invocation of fighting spirit, especially in regards to kai and hanare,' but could you elaborate on that?"

"There are two kinds of breathing. The normal, physical breathing we do unconsciously, and the breathing in which we consciously stop and take deep breaths. The latter is called 'ikiai.' I think those who do yoga know this, but when we exhale, our muscles relax. To prevent the collapse of our postures, in archery we begin all our movements with breathing in."

"Hmm, I see."

"Although you can move your lungs consciously, there is no force to move the lungs themselves, and it is the external intercostal muscles and diaphragm that move them. Abdominal breathing, where you breathe using the abdomen, is done by lowering the diaphragm and taking in air."

"Oh, I saw the mechanism of that breathing in a science experiment at cram school!"

Ryouhei exclaimed excitedly.

"In order for your arrows to fly where you are aiming them at, first make sure your feet and your torso, which become the main axis, do not deviate. Kyudo emphasizes that vertical line, and one of the most important parts for maintaining that upright posture is the abdominal rectus muscle. (4) For 'holding your breath in your abdomen' and 'putting your sentiments into your dantian,' it is important to not relax the abdominal rectus muscle, or in other words, to exhale so that your abdomen will not cave in. At that moment, clench your butthole tightly."

Masa-san turned his gaze to Shuu.

"What did you want to ask about, Fujiwara?"

"It's not that there is an organ called dantian, but it is to create a 'place' or 'state' by breathing, correct? I seem to lack the feeling of having this dantian. How much breath are the senseis actually holding in their abdomens?"

"Well then, let's try it a little. Fujiwara, put your hand in the front sash of my hakama, and feel my abdomen."

"Huh?"

"There's no way you can touch the abdomen of a hanshi-rank master, right? Put your hand slightly below my belly button."

Masa-san started with douzukuri without holding anything, then performed the movements of raising a bow. In that way, he did daisan, hikiwake, and kai, following the Shahou Hassetsu.

Normally, the belly rose and sunk with respiration, with breathing in causing the belly to swell and breathing out caused it to sink in, but Masa-san's belly did not move. For that reason, Shuu's hand stayed inserted in the front sash of the hakama and also did not move.

Senichi and Manji leaned against Minato from both sides, and whispered in his ears.

"Does your coach always teach like that?"

Minato vigorously shook his head. It certainly might be easier to understand it than to explain it in words, but it wasn't done in a relationship that wasn't very familiar. It was a coaching that was equivalent to selling something way below cost at a giant discount.

Masa-san questioned Shuu.

"How did that feel?"

"I felt that you were holding a proper amount of breath, or rather, your abdomen that was filled up with one breath stayed very firm."

"Puff, puff, puff, like how a fish exhales, you exhale thin and long breaths."

"Is that what is called underwater breathing?"

"The breathing at kai is called 'underwater breathing.' In order to not release the tension of the abdominal rectus muscle, it is necessary to gently breathe out. Even among high-ranked archers, there are differences between them for where to inhale and where to exhale during shooting, and I believe each are correct, but I think that 'quiet and long breathing' is probably common for all of them."

"So, now I just have to use ikiai in conjunction with movements like kai and hanare, and practice it until I can even do it unconsciously."

Seeing Shuu convinced, Ryouhei and Nanao jumped up and down.

"I wanna touch Masa-san's belly too!"

"Me too, me too!"

"Really. Hey, wait, take turns. Only touch where I do dantian breathing."

It was somewhat ridiculous to see people lining up to touch Masa-san's abdomen. Even though they had gotten completely off track, Kaito shrewdly lined up.

Minato clenched his fists on top of his knees. It was irritating to be treated as a "visitor" along with the twins. The content of what he was talking about was completely different between Shuu and himself. Above all else, Shuu learned from him in only a few hours.

Minato quietly left the kyudojo.

When practice ended, Shuu was about to get into the car that greeted him, but Senichi and Manji called out to him.

"Shuu, you can go to Kazemai if you want, so just please tell us properly as well."

"That's right. Even if it's not me, can't you say a few words to Sen-nii at least? We're worried, you know."

"…Worried? Sen and Man about me?"

"We are! We're comrades, after all."

"I see, I'm sorry. Since I don't have a habit of reporting things to people or discussing with them, I never realized."

Shuu had always considered things by himself and acted by himself. He never learned to rely on or depend on anyone in the same generation as him.

"It's a week-long warrior training journey. Sen, Man, will you wait for me?"

"Yeah, we'll wait for you."

The corners of Senichi's and Manji's mouths lifted.

Afterwards, the car Shuu was riding in passed through a large front gate.

In the modern Japanese-style building which made heavy use of solid wood, the open ceiling spread out over the entrance hall. For the walls, decorations arranged with wooden panelling in a chic colour, Japanese paper and yuuzen-dyed (5) woven fabrics were done, and the combination of varying materials was beautiful.

Shuu looked up at the night sky. The shining moon with a blurred blue outline was gentle. Just thinking about his rival being beneath that sky made the depths of his body grow hot.

"Young master Shuu, welcome home."

"I'm back, Toujou-san."

Prompted by the butler Toujou, Shuu received his bow and quiver and walked on. The maids who waited at the entrance also bowed their heads.

"As it was unusual for the young master to request a car, I, Toujou, am deeply moved. Better yet, we shall have a car will drop you off and pick you up at Kirisaki High School henceforth as well."

"No, Father was said to also move with his own feet while he was young, so only when I go to Kazemai High School. For this time, I was only thinking about reducing time."

"I understand. I said something too impertinent."

"No, there's no problem. Where is Mother and Sae?"

"In the Skylark Room."

He pushed the door open, stepped on the carpet, and he saw a woman and a young girl who looked like life-sized Japanese dolls.

"Shuu-niisama! Welcome home."

"Mother, Sae, I have returned."

"Today, Sae had violin practice. Next time, I shall let Shuu-niisama listen to me."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

Shuu held his younger sister Sae up in his arms.

Their mother smiled at Shuu without exchanging a word with him.

The Fujiwara family had the blood of a former nobleman flowing through their veins, and Shuu was the great-great-great-grandson. The viscount was a businessman who managed a real estate business in various places, and even now the Fujiwaras were prominent figures in the region. He should have been the target of respect and envy, but people always looked puzzled before Shuu, inferred something on their own, and shut their mouths.

That was because Shuu didn't resemble anyone in his family.

Contrary to Shuu's exotic-seeming looks, his family was Oriental with his single-lidded-father, and his mother and sister with black hair and dark eyes.

Shuu was a quarter-blood. His grandfather was British, and his blood skipped over his mother and were displayed prominently in his grandson Shuu only. That phenomenon was called Mendelian inheritance, and traits such as hair colour were determined by the genes inherited from parents, but the ones that were expressed were called dominant, and the ones that were hidden were called recessive. Those hidden genes were suddenly expressed in only one person in the grandchild's generation.

However, he was never abused or ostracized by his family because he didn't look like them. However, ever since Sae was born, the fact that he was different was thrusted before him.

Truthfully, the one who was the most bewildered was his mother.

For her, there was Shuu's appearance of course, as well as having no idea what to do with a son who had very little emotional ups and downs. Even though he is my child, he acts so reserved, like a stranger. To be honest, she didn't like children very much. Shuu was brought up a wet nurse, and he spent long breaks such as summer vacations at his grandparents' house.

Jealousy and envy were possessed by not a little amount of people, probably. Shuu learned the technique of turning those negative feelings into mental nourishment from elderly people.

On a certain day in fifth grade, his father spoke.

He said, "I found someone who is willing to teach Shuu in kyudo."

His busy father remembered Shuu saying that he wanted to learn kyudo. He took pains for his sake. Even now, he vividly remembered thanking his father with trembling lips.

Shuu, who shut his eyes at memories of his mother.

Minato, who treasured his memories of his mother.

The one who never had it from the beginning, and the one who had it but lost it. He didn't know which one of them was more misfortunate, but they were probably the exact opposite in everything. That was why he could not help but turn his eyes away.

Jet black hair and depthless eyes.

Even though his instincts had told him that he must not look into them, he committed that taboo. He harboured an impossible wish.

I might have wanted to become Minato——.

Sae was cute. Although that feeling wasn't a lie, he thought it was forbidden for him stay too long by Sae's side in front of his mother.

"Mother, Sae, I will be taking dinner now."

"Okay, Shuu-niisama. Farewell!"

After he finished eating, Shuu returned to his room.

When he took out his phone, Ryouhei's name was displayed on the screen. Shuu usually only replied with the bare minimum. Almost ignoring it.

(I was able to do ashibumi in one go)

(Tomorrow I'll try it with a bow)

(Shuu-kun look look)

(I'll bring the sweets my sister recommended tomorrow)

(Shuu-kun eat them eat them)

…What is this.

Minato and his friend were both somewhat ditsy. They were also similar in that they did not hold themselves back.

Shuu smiled, then replied with only "Got it."

The moon was still shining.

Previous | Next

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 2-One over f (Part 2)

In this chapter: Regionals begin and end, Tsujimine is introduced, and Masaki and Shuu make a bet

Some parts of this chapter reminded me of Dive!!...I miss it so much

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Temari are handballs with colorful designs. They are highly treasured gifts. You can see some examples here

2. Fuwa says “heart of marble” in English here. Like, it’s literally written in English which is why it’s a bit weird to read

3. Sanbun no ni or “two-thirds” is a stage similar to the daisan of hikiwake (or an intermediate stage of hikiwake, it’s hard to tell) that only applies to shamen uchiokoshi. This is where the draw is momentarily halted two thirds of the way through, with the arrow stopping at the height of the eyebrows.

Previous | Next

The next morning was cloudy.

When Minato was packing for their departure, he heard a scream behind him.

"Wha, what's wrong, Ryouhei! What is it this time!?"

"There's a black thing on my baaaaaaaaag!"

"Could it be the rumored coc—"

"Don't say anymore than that!"

"I don't see anything. Oh, could it be this?"

His line of sight stopped at a small spider about a few millimeters big. Minato, partly fed up with it all, barehandedly caught the tiny intruder.

"Ugyaaaaaaah! Minato, you really are a hero!"

"A cute little guy like this is no big deal, isn't it?"

"Of course it's a big deal! Don't bring it over here! You used to catch cicadas barehanded, right? When you had one in both hands, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest."

"If you're in a place where your hands can reach the cicadas, then you don't need nets."

"That's not what I meant!"

While the two were talking, the tiny spider swung from a thread of web and fled. Minato moved the spider hanging from his finger to the window, and it escaped outside.

Ryouhei watched the course of events while glued to Seiya's back. Not the slightest hint of a brave figure that felled a boar with one strike could be sensed from that figure.

Kaito tore Ryouhei off of Seiya.

"Don't always take advantage of others with your huge body. To begin with, I really don't understand the difference between the stuff you're scared of and the stuff you aren't scared of. You spoke with Fujiwara, our enemy, last night, and you even got him to promise to shoot together, didn't you?"

"Shuu-kun hating to lose is cute, but spiders aren't cute at all."

"That Fujiwara is cute——? Ryouhei, did you eat something wei…Oh, crap."

Kaito said hurriedly, then rushed to the bathroom while clutching his stomach.

Nanao lightly knocked on the door.

"Kacchaaaan, are you okaaay? Are you nervous before the competition?"

"Shut up, it's probably because you poured me so much milk at the breakfast buffet. I just wanted another cup, but there wasn't even a drop left afterwards!"

"Because, it was soooo tasty that I drank a lot of it. I just had to recommend it to you, Kacchan."

"I'm pretty sure you were drinking it because you wanted to grow taller rather than for the taste!"

"Ah, it's out."

Nanao made an embarrassed face.

Kaito, coming out of the bathroom with a dejected-looking face, was greeted by Seiya holding medicine.

"Ryouhei is a big man for calling a high-spec man who we are no match for, cute, and you are a small fry for weakening your stomach just from drinking too much milk, so from now on I will train you without holding anything back."

"…Seiya, you're scary when you go all out."

"Kaito, you're actually really soft on Nanao."

"Hah? Not a chance. Are you a moron?"

"Let's have a nice, long talk afterwards, Kacchan."

Kaito clutched his stomach again before a smiling Seiya.

When Minato and the others arrived at the venue, the sky turned clear.

The paddy fields reflected white clouds.

The roof tiles that diffusely reflected.

It was likely that it would get more and more from that afternoon onwards.

For the regional tournament, the team competition was on the first day, and the individual competition was on the second. Kazemai High School was only participating in the team competition, and Kirisaki High School had both Shuu and Motomura in the individual competition.

They spread a plastic sheet on the long-distance range, which was being used as a resting place for the competitors, and put their baggage on it. They used the changing rooms to change clothes, but there were students from other schools who changed on their plastic sheets. They were wearing their hakama on top of their gym shorts.

When he finished getting ready and took a break, Minato looked at the tournament brochure again. He was caught by the name of a certain person.

"Seiya, isn't there a person who has the exact same name as this?"

"Yes, it's probably our acquaintance. It seems that he had moved to the neighbouring prefecture."

"We didn't get to meet him at yesterday's official practice, but I think it's better that we go greet him first today."

"I think it'll be okay when we go see him."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Minato closed the brochure, still concerned.

The Kazemai High School cheering squad had also come running to the venue. The parents, Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo were part of it, as well as six elite members of the Nanao Fan Club.

"Nanao-kun, we made these for you! Please eat them!"

"Uwaah, thanks. Can I open it? Ooh, onigiri that looks like temari. (1) They're cute, just like all of you. I'll savour each one."

When Nanao winked, the girls squealed.

At the entrance to the stands, there was a line of people trying to secure their seats. When the entrance was opened, the Nanao Fan Club elites sat down with their frog fans in hand. Besides them, two young man sat just little further away.

They were Masa-san and Ren.

Ren changed the lens of his single-lens reflex camera and took a trial shot of his surroundings. Though he was only taking pictures, the virility and an adult man's bewitching allure drifted in the air. Even the cheering squads from other schools were taking glances at Ren and Masa-san.

Masa-san pulled his hat deeper over his head in order to avoid the sunlight.

"I didn't hear that you were coming, Ren. I was looking for a souvenir for you yesterday too."

"I thought that I would surprise Masaki."

"I'm thankful that you gave the girls a ride, but will you be okay with work? Aren't you neglecting your home in Tokyo these days?"

"I thought that I should move out of that apartment and return to my hometown. The bullet train to Tokyo is nearby if I have to go there, and Dad will be relieved that I'm helping with shrine work."

"Oh, really…"

Masa-san blinked slowly and observed him sideways.

They were often told that they were brothers with similar eyes, but Masa-san, who was four years younger, looked younger.

Ren placed his camera on his knee.

"Since rent is too wasteful, can I live with you in your apartment?"

"I have to wake up early in the morning for shrine work. Can I really live with someone like you, who's nocturnal?"

"My little brother is so heartless."

"You only act like an older brother at times like this. The nyujo will be starting soon. Don't keep chattering after it begins."

"This is the first time I'm seeing Minato-kun and the others shoot since the spring training camp. I wonder if I can have your students show me what they got, Masaki."

"I'll say this: they don't need surprises. Especially our oomae and ochi. They're pure-hearted and overly serious."

"I won't do it today."

Ren chuckled.

When the opening ceremony ended, the competitors began to move.

Ryouhei went back to the long-distance range to get his equipment, and then suddenly he was tapped on the shoulder from behind.

When he turned around, he saw a boy with an amiable smile standing there. He had an appearance where one could sense that he was well-bred, and his large black eyes conveyed his friendliness even towards people he had just met. Despite all that, the sharp lines of his chin added a gallant dignity to him.

"You dropped your underglove."

"Oh, I did, I never noticed. Thanks."

"No problem. It'll get hotter from now on today, so be cautious of getting heat stroke."

When he could no longer see Ryouhei, the boy pulled over his head the hood of his hoodie that he was wearing over his hakama.

Beneath the hood, a shadow was cast over his face.

His smile was already disappearing.

A little further away, there was another boy. He looked intimidating and had cold eyes. After brushing up the hair on his face, he stood next to the boy in the white hoodie.

"That's rare, Nikaidou, you being so nice to someone you don't know."

"Fuwa, were you there? We might meet somewhere else again, don't you think? If I do something for that kind of dim-witted guy to make them owe me, then they might be good for something."

"…Crafty bastard."

"Aren't you the same?"

Fuwa Koushirou did a small yawn. The early morning was cloudy and cool, but as the temperature rose, drowsiness also increased.

"Didn't get enough sleep?"

"I was bothered by the sound of the ventilator, so I woke up a lot during the night."

"You're surprisingly high-strung."

"Say delicate. I guess guys with ulterior motives like you can't understand it."

"Don't talk like I'm such a black-hearted person. Say that I'm like a marble of mixed black and white, at the very least."

"Marble can mean the rock or the toy, but heart of marble means a 'heart that is as cold as a lump of marble.'" (2)

"Heh, is that so, I didn't know that. You sure are wise, Fuwa."

"Don't diss me so casually."

"Well, since there's only good people here, they’ll even hand over the victory for today's competition to us. Our goal is Inter-High. Also, take a look at this?"

Nikaidou Eisuke looked at his phone screen and chuckled to himself.

"A boar infiltrated the hotel those guys were staying at, I heard. That's Minato-chan for you. He's liked by all kinds of things."

"Let's go, Nikaidou. Leave your phone and hoodie with someone."

"Even though I was expressly telling you something funny, you party pooper."

"I don't care about your acquaintances. I just want to get this over with quickly and sleep soon."

"Yeah, yeah."

Fuwa did not like getting friendly with others, and drew a line between himself and other people. Because of that, Nikaidou and Fuwa had a dry relationship even though they were in the same grade, and they both avoided intruding upon each other's privacy.

After Nikaidou got his equipment, he called out to a teammate in the shade of a tree.

"Kuro-chan, it's convocation time."

"One, two, three, four…"

"Ootagurooo, we'll be disqualified if we're late."

"Oh, sorry."

The boy who was doing push-ups vigorously got up slowly. His body was bigger than the average high school student's, and his thick chest, which could be seen even through his kyudogi and bulging arms, made him seem more like an American football or rugby player rather than an archer.

Ootaguro Kenyuu was a second-year student like Nikaidou and Fuwa.

There was a reason for his persistent muscle training mania and devotion for body building while reciting his extensive knowledge about it every day. Those who saw his bow for the first time unable to take their eyes from that rare item. That was because it was a yonsun-nobi bamboo bow with a draw weight of nearly thirty kilograms.

A large bow that made a two-hundred-and-twenty-one centimeters bow look like it was for children, its overwhelming length, width, and thickness had the effect of making people suspect that it was a decorative bow. Even the one-hundred-and-eighty centimeters tall Shuu only used a nineteen-kilogram bow, so extraordinary muscle strength was needed to handle this bow.

Marble Nikaidou.

Borderline Fuwa.

Macho Ootaguro.

Those three second-years occupied the positions from oomae to third archer. The ones who served as the last two, the fourth archer and ochi, were third-year students.

Nikaidou also called out to his two seniors, but he only got one leisurely response, "…'Kaaaay, got it!" back.

Higuchi Touma was a boy who was extremely slow in both moving and talking. With a small build, he and Ootaguro looked like parent and child when they were side-by-side. He always had bed hair, and he constantly pulled on the sleeves of his jersey, so they became saggy moe sleeves. It was rare for Fuwa to feel sleepy, but for Higuchi, it was an everyday occurrence.

On the other hand, Aragaki Reiji was an extremely silent boy who served as the president of the kyudo club. With his slender physique and the mask that he always wears, he looked like the bassist of a visual kei band. As he never took off his mask except for eating and shooting a bow, the kyudo club members were about the only ones who had properly seen his true face. On that day as well, Aragaki at last took off his mask when he entered the venue.

Even when he removed his mask, he almost never met his teammates' eyes, always looking to the distance—for the sake of showing everyone his profile. He was actually a narcissist who loved his own profile, but hated his front face. Him choosing the kyudo club was also because he thought that his profile when drawing a bow would surely be beautiful.

Slothful Higuchi.

Maskman Aragaki.

Since information notification did not always go as one wanted with those two, Nikaidou was the one who truly managed the club. Their advisor could not be relied upon, but as they could not be in tournaments without a manager, they were saved by that.

The five headed for the waiting area with Nikaidou in the lead. The eccentric group was the focus of stares pouring in from the competitors from other schools.

The words "Tsujimine High School" were printed on the cloth bibs pinned to their right hips.

The stands fell silent, and the chirping of small birds could be heard.

The team competition involved five-person teams shooting four arrows in zasha. The time limit was eight minutes. Boys and girls from each of the sixteen schools were participating.

For the preliminaries, each team shot twenty shots in two rounds, with a total of forty shots, and the top eight teams with the highest amount of hits would pass. The finals were in a tournament system with twenty shots to a team.

When they were about to head towards the waiting area, Tommy-sensei asked Minato something.

"Have you seen Takehaya-kun and Kisaragi-kun?"

"Seiya forgot his tsurumaki so he went back to get it. Nanao got captured by some girls from another school."

"Oh my, how unusual for both of them."

When all five gathered, Tommy-sensei loudly declared the start of the mission.

The first round of the preliminaries began.

At the back of the shajo, the third waiting area had two rows of five chairs. The competitors sat in those chairs and waited for their turns. They advanced to the second waiting area, entering it at a signal with Kaito leading them. Divided into the first and second shajo, two teams with a total of ten people lined up in front of the targets simultaneously.

After Minato sat down in the chair before the honza in the first waiting area, before his eyes the other schools' competitors faced the targets. Perhaps because his point of view was different, he could well understand the differences of each person's shooting form. They also had a variety of shooting quirks.

The person whose bow slanted forwards in the time between daisan and hikiwake.

The person whose right shoulder moved forward at kai.

The person who raised their chin and whose head fell backward.

There were surprisingly few who could do the gojuu juumonji perfectly. Even if one could do it yesterday, it was difficult to say if one could do it the same way today. It was said that it was more difficult for the brain to reproduce what one remembered than to memorized, and always drawing a bow in the same form was a high-level physical activity.

When the last team sounded their final tsurune, the five knelt at the shooting line all together.

With their left fists on their hips, they raised the upper tips of their bows (urahazu) to eye-level while turning their hips, then turned towards the wakishoumen. The ways in which they moved their bows occurred precisely at the same time.

The oomae, Kaito, was the first to shoot. After he stood up while holding his bow with both hands, he performed ashibumi. Even though he was starting to shoot, he might still be feeling the effects of his bad stomach. He had a disappointing start, with his arrow going beneath the target.

Next was the second archer, Ryouhei. Perhaps it was because of his earnest nature, he absorbed what he was told without doubt or hesitation. He landed a perfect hit.

The third archer, Seiya, was calm and never deviated at any moment. He ascertained his own weaknesses and had the strength to make up for them with intelligence. ——He hit.

When the fourth archer, Nanao, raised his bow, the girls eagerly leaned forward as usual. When the matooto sounded, they flapped their yellow-green frog-shaped fans all at once.

Minato was the fifth archer, the ochi. He gently lifted his bow up so as to not sense the pain in his left wrist. Because it especially hurt from uchiokoshi to daisan, he moved through those parts slightly earlier than usual, but his arrow landed to the right of the target.

For the second shooting round, all five members of the Kazemai team hit the target, and on the bulletin board, which displayed the scores in 〇's and x's, there was a row of "〇." There was applause for the five-person kaichuu.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo also clapped their hands vigorously, so that Minato and the others would hear them.

"The boys are doing really well."

"Yep, I have a good feeling about this."

However, for the third shooting round, Ryouhei, Seiya, and Nanao missed in succession, and lost the possibility for personal kaichuus.

For the fourth shooting round, everyone hit except for Ryouhei, and they ended up with scores of three, two, three, three, three—a total of fourteen hits.

When they left the shajo, Kaito struck a triumphant pose.

"Alright! Not bad at all. Let's keep going like this!"

"Yeah!"

The second round of the preliminaries began.

The temperature was rising little by little. Although it was a break in the rainy season, there were already hot summer day being recorded, and the people in the stands were covering their heads with sports towels in order to block out the sun.

Kaito grandly raised his bow.

A heat filled the depths of his body.

I dedicate this heat to you, kyudo.

His tanned skin shone, his flexible muscles stretched gracefully and he formed a cross. His scarlet eyes were fixed on only one point.

What I'm calling for is you.

Shoot through my heart.

A cheer sounded from the stands at the sharp flight of his arrow.

Ryouhei, Seiya, and Nanao also hit their targets, and there was a succession of cheers.

Minato protected his left wrist, putting strength into his right arm and raising his bow. He moved his arrow tip little by little, drawing his bow to the limits of his strength.

The beautiful kyudo that toyed with the archer.

Even though it was wearing a gentle smile, it became more distant when one extended one's hand to it.

Let me hear your voice at least.

When Minato shot the target, the bulletin board displayed a row of five circles, and applause burst out once more.

For both the second and third shooting rounds, there were three hits out of five shots.

Kaito got a kaichuu with his four arrows, and exited the shajo while receiving applause. Ryouhei, Seiya, and Nanao also hit, and the five would have had another team kaichuu if Minato had hit after that, but he regrettably missed and hit to the left of the target.

The results were four, three, three, two, and three—a total of fifteen hits.

With a total of twenty-nine hits out of forty shots in the preliminaries, Kazemai High School would be advancing to the finals tournament.

Kaito: ×〇〇〇　〇〇〇〇 7

Ryouhei: 〇〇××　〇〇×〇 5

Seiya: 〇〇×〇　〇×〇〇 6

Nanao: 〇〇×〇　〇××〇 5

Minato: ×〇〇〇　〇〇〇× 6

In preparation for the tournament battle, lunchtime also served as a break.

Minato and Seiya stood talking, away from everyone else. They suddenly felt eyes on them and when they looked, they saw a boy wearing a white hoodie.

"——Nikaidou-senpai."

"Hey, it's been a while. Fancy meeting Minato-chan and Seiya-chan here."

"It has been a while. We're sorry for not greeting you sooner. So, you moved."

"Both of you didn't advance to Kirisaki High School either. Same as me. Wow, what a coincidence. They only got rich people over there, so it's too high-class for us commoners to be in. Oh, wait. Seiya-chan is the son of doctors, so he can't be talked about like he's in the same category as me and Minato-chan."

Seiya also greeted him with a meek smile.

"No, fortunately I'm really pleased with Kazemai High School."

"Heh… Must be nice, that feeling of deeply trusting your comrades and hanging out even on your days off. Yep, we must follow your example as well."

Nikaidou went to middle school with them, so in other words, he was the former senpai of Minato, Seiya, and Shuu. He was also a senior who even Shuu had difficulty dealing with.

Nikaidou chuckled, perhaps sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere around the two of them.

"Minato-chan, how many boys and girls are in the Kazemai club?"

"Five boys and three girls."

"A total of eight people? I'm surprised, you only got a select few. Renting out a kyudojo to that number of people, you guys must be able to run yakazu practice too. You guys must have shot more than anyone else here, haven't you?"

"It's not like that."

"Don't be humble. It's a big deal to defeat that powerhouse Kirisaki and advance to the national tournament. In the end, didn't you win thanks to Shuu-kun losing? And on top of that, there was even a guy with hayake? They say fortune favors the brave, but I guess you guys' everyday behavior must be terrific."

"No, that's…"

"Even so, though Shuu was bestowed so many gifts from the heavens, the only thing he doesn't have is luck, huh. I think that since lacking something like that is also human-like, it's nice. Hah…, did you see his tall bow and long arrows? If it were me, I would be too awed and I wouldn't even be able to hold them. That he missed even while using such high-grade equipment, such a waste."

Minato, without immediately replying, looked straight into Nikaidou's eyes. Even though Seiya was standing still at that gaze, Minato was not taken in by it.

"Don't talk bad about Shuu when he isn't here. And Manji-kun is working hard to overcome his hayake."

"Oh wow, I'm so happy to hear my kouhai Minato-chan speaking to me so casually. I feel like the distance between us has shrunk. It's so tacky to make much of one's seniority nowadays, isn't it? Well then, I have a question for you, Minato-chan. For what reason are you shooting a bow?"

"What reason, you say, I shoot a bow because I love it…"

"Heh, so pure, like a little kid. I'm doing it to win. I love winning."

Nikaidou lifted a corner of his mouth, then he put on his hood.

"Later, Minato-chan and Seiya-chan."

Seiya's voice, admonishing him that he must not react to Nikaidou-senpai, passed through his ears.

Minato was thinking.

That that senpai was the only one who he definitely did not want to lose to.

Around the same time, Masa-san was with Shuu.

Shuu had stopped him, saying that he wanted to talk to him.

"What was that just now?"

"If Kirisaki High School wins this competition, I would like you to be my coach for a week."

Masa-san pressed his hand to his forehead.

"I'm sorry, but I have to refuse. I don't want to make wagers on archery. And in the first place, did the Kirisaki manager allow you to be taught by a coach from another school?"

"Our advisor does not balk at any means that would help us win, but if you are worried about it, I will keep it a secret."

"Well now, it'll be revealed eventually. With your skill, Fujiwara, you should have a more distinguished sensei teach you rather than a newbie coach like me. Why me?"

"Minato said that you are his goal. I was also shown videos of you shooting. I heard that you are the grandson of Yasaka-hanshi. I am very interested."

Before the indecisive Masa-san, someone suddenly showed up.

It was Tommy-sensei.

"Ho ho ho, what an interesting proposal. Let's go with this match. On the contrary, what will Kazemai get if we win, Fujiwara-kun?"

"That's right, shall I show you Saionji-sensei's words that I have accumulated? I've written down hidden techniques that weren't taught even to Minato."

"That's alright with me. I will go talk to Kirisaki about this."

"Yes, then, I look forward to working with you."

Shuu bowed, then left.

Masa-san grimaced.

"Tommy-sensei! Is this okay? Wouldn't you be fighting over this with the sensei at Kirisaki later?"

"It's fine, it's fine. I know the personality of the Kirisaki sensei, and the point is that Kazemai should win, right? Even by some chance we lose, I would be a lucky man if I could see Fujiwara-kun's shooting up close. Can't you believe in your students, Takigawa-san?"

"That's not what I meant, but…"

"Didn't the one called the Young Lord expressly tell you that he wants to be taught by you? The people who stand at the top are always lonely. It may be that he sympathizes with you, Takigawa-san, who had a wonderful teacher everyone envies, and experience with winning Inter-High. However, are you still keeping this quiet from everyone in the club?"

"Yes."

"Oh, so young. My blood is boiling up."

Tommy-sensei couldn't stop grinning. Getting a glimpse at his crafty side, Masa-san sighed.

The first round of the finals tournament began.

As a result of the lottery, Kazemai High School was suddenly facing off against Tsujimine High School. When the competitors entered the shajo, the venue immediately became noisy. That was because Tsujimine's Ootaguro was carrying a huge bow that was non-standard for a high school student. Many from the stands was whispering, "What is that? I never seen one like that before."

Tsujimine High School did shamen uchiokoshi, which was in the bushakei style.

The oomae, Nikaidou, moved his left foot a half step towards the target while watching it, then looked down and moved his right foot the same way in the opposite direction. He held his arrows while their arrowheads (itatsuki or yajiri).

After gripping his string, he fixed his tenouchi diagonally to the left, pushed his bow open, and did yugamae. From there, he raised his bow slanted to the left and did not stop midway, or maybe he did the "sanbun no ni" (3) in his own way and drew.

When he entered kai, his yugake made a grinding noise.

After he swung his arms and his bow fell forward at hanare, there was a pleasant matooto.

Then, it was the second archer, Fuwa. He looked towards the target with a gaze that was cold and indifferent to the enthusiasm enveloping the venue. There was an unseen boundary line between him and his surroundings. Within that barrier of ice, he got a hit.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo conversed in the stands.

"Shamen uchiokoshi is cool, you really feel like they are drawing a bow."

"Yeah. Now it's Macho-kun's turn."

The third archer, Ootaguro, raised his huge bow slanted. Those who laid their eyes on that conspicuously gigantic bow would have the delusion that their sense of perspective was paralyzed. The bamboo bow with an amber luster bent grandly, forming a cross on heaven and earth. The arrow went towards the target along with a furious, whooshing momentum, and an extra-large matooto sounded.

After him was the fourth archer, Higuchi. The exact opposite of Ootaguro, he was an archer with a frail impression. At intervals that made people want to tell him that he didn't have to draw that slowly, he gently drew his bow. And at kai as well, he did not readily release his arrow. His zanshin after he shot his arrow was bizarrely long. However, because he hit precisely, it was funny.

Last was the ochi, Aragaki the maskman. He was devoting all of his nerves on beautifully displaying his profile. With something mysterious, it prevented careless deviations and distortions of the body, and there was another hit. Applause swelled for the five-person kaichuu.

Shooting their arrows in that order, Tsujimine and Kazemai both went to their second shots without any misses.

And then it was the third shooting round.

The Kazemai cheering squad cheered with all they had for Kaito's hit. However, Ryouhei, Seiya, and Nanao missed in succession, and the situation for Kazemai turned risky. If they missed any more than that, their results would be settled before they shot their fourth arrows.

Minato couldn't withstand the pain in his wrist, decided that he could do kai early and went on to take a hit. Intent on not wanting to lose to Nikaidou at the very least, he released his arrow.

For the fourth shot, all five from Kazemai hit, and Minato fell back to honza amid applause.

The announcement of the results came on.

"We will now announce the results just now. First shajo, four, four, three, three, four—a total of eighteen hits. Second shajo, four, three, three, three, four—a total of seventeen hits…"

Hanazawa and Shiragiku covered their faces.

"…Kazemai lost?"

"No way!? Isn't it still the first round of the finals tournament?"

The Nanao Fan Club stood up early to go receive Nanao, but Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo did not move.

Of course, even the people concerned did not know what had happened.

Even Kirisaki High School, peeking at the situation, could not hide their surprise.

"Oi, is this really happening…?"

Senichi and Manji were whispering.

Shuu put his arms around their shoulders. Seeing that, Sase and Motomura joined in.

The five formed a huddle, and Sase raised his voice.

"Ki-ri-sa-ki, fight!"

"Yeah!"

Kirisaki High School gave off the air of champions from the moment they entered the shajo. A majestic, dignified walk. Their demeanor was obviously different from others.

Shuu and the others got kaichuu in succession, and there was loud applause every time. The twins sealed up their fast-shooting, and it was the oomae, Motomura's fractal-like shots that were handed down to those behind him instead. They were uniform, well-controlled, and beautiful shots.

After that, the tournament continued, with Kirisaki High School and Tsujimine High School facing off in the final match. Kirisaki won, with nineteen hits to eighteen hits.

With this, Kirisaki High School obtained the special ticket to take part in the national tournament.

Previous | Next