Fuyuki, Homurahara Academy.
The quiet peace was perfect for concentration.
A soft breeze swept by, caressing the trees as leaves bristled and sang. Its warmth permeated with the serene and calm that the boy let out a long and relieved sigh.
'Calm, collected,' he thought to himself as he breathed in deeply. Gently, he tugged back on the bow string. Emptying his mind with practised ease, he secured his posture. Then, he held it.
'Sight the target. Assess the distance. And… … … release.'
FWEEEEEEEE
In a single instant, the atmosphere grew taut. Like a blade had been drawn, the relented arrow flew swiftly, resolutely, followed by a sharp whistle as soon as he let go. Then…
THUD
With a resounding thump, the target was struck dead centre several meters away. What's more, the new arrow was plunged next to his previous attempt, mere millimetres apart. Any closer and the second might've cut at the first's feathered tail.
'Hm… Better…' He exhaled again, satisfied by his shot. Though it had been a while since he'd practised kyudo, he could still recall the motions. The training and discipline really paid off. Although, 'It's still not good enough…'
He checked his palms. They no longer shook after taking a stance for so long. The weight of the fully drawn bow used to cause aching pains for him a while back. But now, balling his fists was the only time they'd shake uncontrollably. Still, it's not as if he hadn't expected this mediocre result. Normal training, especially kyudo, could only take him so far after all…
"As expected of our former ace!" A cheery voice brought him back to reality. "What do you think? Thinking of coming back to the team? I know Taiga-sensei wouldn't refuse if you come out of your retirement, you know."
"Sorry, but no again." Meeting the gaze of his fellow redhead, Mitsuzuri Ayako beamed sourly as she punched his shoulder. He returned it with a wry smile. "Still, thanks for letting me in the practice range as I am, Ayako. Fuji-nee would've probably dragged me into wearing the uniform if I asked her for the keys."
"Well of course she would! It's easier to shoot your shot rather than being confined in the school's uniform. Besides, don't you agree you look more dashing in our getup? More so when you keep landing bullseyes like they're nothing!"
He didn't refute that wearing the club's uniform would've made it easier. But as for the looks department… he didn't dare say. He would admit to her rocking the style, but he wouldn't do so aloud for obvious reasons. As for the bullseyes…
"Eh… it's not that impressive—GAH!" the sharper punch to his back told him just how envious the girl was, though she didn't say it directly.
"Look at this guy brushing off consecutive perfect hits like they're a dime a dozen!" Instead, of elbowing his sides, she cheekily rubbed it in. "Had you stayed in the club, we would've won the nationals by now, but noooo! Mr. Brownie just had to bail!"
It was then that Shirou's expression turned apologetic. Truth was that the young man knew his talent with the bow. It wasn't a gloat or arrogance. It was just a fact that he was a bit better than most his age. Yet he preferred to stay out of something as big as tournaments.
His old archery club had been a pleasant experience for a while, but beyond the discipline and patience he'd built off of kyudo's foundations, Shirou just didn't feel the need to pursue the craft further. So, he decided to leave. Obviously, some couldn't and wouldn't understand his reasons. Mitsuzuri Ayako was one of them. Only, she was of the rare breed to pester him regardless of his intentions.
"Come on, it's still a 'no'?"
"Ayako, I only agreed to join you for one arrow. I gave you two because you said you wanted to observe and practice on your own."
"But aren't you having fun? Come on! I know you do!"
"I do have fun, but I'm being serious too, okay." She was persistent, but Shirou already drew this line in the sand before. He wasn't going to go back on it anytime soon. "I have… other things to do."
The girl sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, like being a pack mule. How's unpaid labour serving everyone in the damn school, or, heck, maybe the whole city? Shirou, you're a good guy, I get that. But even you know you're wasting a great talent going out of your way willy-nilly for others, don't you? Even a sweet guy like yourself has limits."
Shirou shrugged back, already accustomed to the same old conversation. It hadn't been only his former club captain who deigned to bring reality crashing down on his head. Taiga, Shinji, Sakura, and even Issei had all given him a similar rundown of his way of life, some more often than others.
But… that's just the way he preferred to live. His friends just couldn't understand that he felt at peace this way. Even doing something as simple as showing a pal some of his archery moves to helping strangers carry broken machinery to the janitor's office.
"This is my way of being helpful. Nothing you can say will change my decision—ow!" A slap landed on the back of his head, courtesy of a girl that could care less about his forgiving nature.
"At least make sure they owe you favours, you dolt!" He heartily chuckled at that, knowing full well she was saying as much only to look out for him. "Seriously, even teachers should be ashamed of how much of a guardian angel you are to the other kids here. I swear, the wave of disappointment I get from juniors at how I failed to re-recruit their dear Emiya-senpai is getting to me. I don't need 'worrying about my rival' to intervene in training too, you jerk!"
"Isn't it a moot point if we're not even competing anymore?"
"Then I'll be competing with the past you that was in the club for a time!" A stern look she sent his way made Shirou laugh. The girl's nature at not taking defeat easily was a boon as much as it was a bane. But it was one of her good points. Still, knowing when to let things go was too. She slapped his back one more time. "Fine. Do your thing in as stupid of a way as you want to, Emiya. Just you wait, I'll be winning the tourneys without you! You'll see!"
"Hope it works out then," he smiled back. "I'll always be rooting for you."
"I'll take the support, but by the time I'll need it, I would've already won!" She puffed up her chest, taking it as a challenge. "Ah, that reminds me, remember to tell Sakura she shouldn't be forgetting about the club. Just because she's one of our promising members does not discount her from taking too much time off. Can't get practice going if our poster girl's always absent after all."
Shirou nodded but also tilted his head. "What about Shinji—"
"Homurahara Academy's number one jerk can forget about ever coming to the clubroom if he won't pull his head out of his ass!"
"Er…" A corner of the boy's eye twitched slightly. "Again—?"
"Yes, 'again'! I told that prick time and time again to stop getting into fights with the other members and he still doesn't listen!" Ayako huffed. Cross-armed and continuing to mumble grievances, her irritation was clear as day. "Seriously, how can someone as innocent and adorable as Sakura be related to that prickly asshole? I mean really! The juniors just send one look her way, one! Next thing you know, he's preparing to shoot them where they stand and I have to deal with the Taiga-sensei giving me flak on not disciplining our members, god!"
Her exasperation was… well, it probably was deserved. Mitsuzuri Ayako wasn't one to shirk her responsibilities and neither was she ever caught dead letting others scot-free when they shirked theirs. Shirou didn't even bother asking for specifics on what happened. Knowing Shinji, the blue-haired teen probably did something along the lines of 'small talk misunderstood as unsolicited flirting led up to starting a fight in broad daylight'. Shirou wished it wasn't so often, but where there was smoke, there was a fire.
And sad to say, but Shinji was pretty much always on fire, leaving Shirou to pick up the pieces and apologize to everyone.
"I'll talk to him. I promise," he said as he collected his stuff and prepared to leave. "If it's what I think it's about, then I'll probably have to bail him out of an actual punishment sooner or later. Lord knows he can't raise a hand against Sakura."
"Hmph. Cute and commanding. That girl's going places, I tell ya." With a knowing smile, Ayako seemed to take a little victory and pride from her junior. "But seriously, someone with your talents is wasted on doing a counsellor's job… And janitors. And mechanics. How many part-time jobs are you doing again? I bet you lose a lot of time just keeping that asshole in line."
"Can't help it. A friend is a friend. And I'd be remiss to just leave him to stew in his problems."
He said it so casually but with his back turned, he failed to notice Ayako's stare. Mixed feelings were an understatement. Exasperation and admiration aside, she eyed him like he was the goodwilled weirdo with a stubborn streak. Truthfully, she would be the first to admit her rival was just that. Albeit, in his own sweet way.
"Knight-in-shining-armor of the masses, here to save the day as always. Heh. Always trying to protect that dunce all the time… is this because of his sister? Or is it just in his nature…?"
Picking up her own bow, she admired the result of his last shot in the distance. Consecutive perfect score with nary much an effort on his part yet refusing to take things to the competitive level. She wondered how long would it take before she could compete with that level of talent.
'Ah, enough of that… Training. Training…' Shrugging, the girl resumed her training, thoughts more on her former clubmate's perfect form and posture than his superhero-take on helping others. 'This time, I swear, this time, I'll make a shot that'll knock your socks off, Emiya!'
FWEEEEEEE
THUD
She missed the bullseye Shirou made with ease by the slimmest of margins.