Chapter 1 Part 1 | Contents | Chapter 1 Part 3
May 7, 1991 (Heisei 3) – Sunday
“So, what happened with that Eastern European?”
Nukata Hiroyasu asked in an easy-going manner while sitting cross-legged, with his hands behind his head. His skin was burnt brown by the sun even though it was far from summer, which was visual proof of his liveliness. I couldn’t relax as well as him, but answered amiably.
“Dunno. Sendou sometimes visits her, though.”
“You don’t go see her? Didn’t you say she was a cutie?”
“Just because a girl I met in a once-in-a-lifetime encounter is cute, doesn’t mean anything will happen.”
“The trick is to not treat it as a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.”
Nukata guffawed. I can’t do it like you, I was about to reply, but stopped myself. I’d just get thrown off balance if I kept following his pace. Not that I minded it that much, but I wasn’t quite so detached.
“Tricks aside…”
Someone spoke from behind. It was Fumihara. He was also sitting cross-legged, a usual sulky look on his face. The arms peeking out from his sleeves that only went up to his elbows were big. His broad shoulders and well-built physique made him give off a rugged air, in stark contrast to Nukata.
“She’s someone you went out of your way to help before. It’s only natural to want to respond if she asks for help again, right?”
“If she does ask for help, that is.”
I was sitting between the two of them, with one knee raised up. We were in a dimly lit waiting room with a wooden floor. The three of us were all wearing a martial arts uniform on top and a hakama1 on the bottom, and we each held an archery glove in the inner pocket of our uniform. A collection of bowswere leaning against the walls of the room. Many of them had their strings taut, but some of them were unstrung. Whatever state the bows were in was decided by the owning archer, based on their past experiences.
We weren’t the only ones sitting on the floor. The room was filled with dozens of high school students, all seated here and there in separate circles. There were no name tag attached to the uniforms, so I wouldn’t be able to tell where each person was from, but all athletes from the high schools in this region should be gathered here. This was the regional preliminaries for the Inter-High School Archery Championship, Individual Division.
There was no special reason as to why our Archery Club at Fujishiba High School fielded only participants for the Individual Division. We simply didn’t have enough members. The only male students who could fire an arrow were me, Nukata, Fumihara, and Mabuchi, a second-year who was taking a walk outside to calm his nerves. We did get some freshmen, but they still couldn’t hold a bow yet, with it being only a month since they joined.
There used to be enough members to form two groups for the Team Division when we joined as first-year students. However, people dropped out one after another in the last two years, leaving only us three. The reason was clear. Our club advisor, Kagami, enforced an operational policy, which was “train for refinement, and not for victory”. That was why Fujishiba High School’s Archery Club could not win. Not at all. It was no wonder that most students found that to be boring and quit. Even so, the three of us remained. I couldn’t speak for Fumihara, but I didn’t stay because I particularly sought “refinement”. It was probably also the same for Nukata.
The steel door opened with a heavy rumble. A young, fit-looking teacher read out six names while staring at a sheet of paper in his hands. The athletes whose names were called gave short replies of acknowledgment and stood up. They each retrieved a bow with their left hand, picked up four arrows with their right hand, and left the waiting room. As we watched them leave, Nukata spoke.
“Those guys are from Hisanuma Commercial, right?”
Fumihara nodded.
“Yeah, the same guys who entered in the team competition.”
While it was an individual competition, the participants were grouped by school, perhaps due to consideration for the athletes’ mental states, or due to convenience of managing the event. Fujishiba High School was right after Hisanuma Commercial High School, so our turn was coming soon.
I gazed at the steel door through which the six students had exited.
“…Is Mabuchi still on his walk?”
Nukata shrugged.
“Don’t you think he’s got the runs?”
“That’s not funny. Shouldn’t we look for him?”
“Nah, he’s not a lost kid.”
He chortled again.
While he was laughing, Nukata’s voice and gestures were more restrained than usual. Perhaps he was being mindful of the other athletes preparing for the competition, as well as us. Whether an arrow that has been fired off will hit its target is a question of physics, and one’s spirit being fulfilled will not cause an inaccurate arrow to magically change course midair and strike its target. That said, everyone should know by experience that being in a disturbed mental state can cause one to mysteriously become unable to transmit the ideal amount of power to their limbs. It wasn’t worth thinking about anything else. All I should be doing is getting into a state of calm for the upcoming round.
The door opened. Mabuchi trudged in while attempting to compress his already small frame, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face. Fumihara acknowledged that by standing up.
“Alright!”
With that, he did some vigorous bending and stretching exercises, groaning a little in the process. Nukata and I also stood up and started lightly moving our bodies, though that wasn’t influenced by Fumihara. On the other hand, Mabuchi nervously plucked the string of his bow. With an uncharacteristic unsmiling face, Nukata muttered slowly.
“This is the last one.”
I reached for my archery glove. It used to have a nice amber color, but after being used so many times, the part that would usually rub against an arrow was now glistening black.
It didn’t take long for our names to be called.
“Let’s go, then.”
Upon hearing my words, the other three nodded.
We passed through the steel door and went outside.
The weather was quite clear in the morning, but lots of clouds must have formed since then, for the sky was completely overcast when we exited the waiting room. The winds that blew past were still cold, but they had eased up considerably in terms of their harshness. The waiting room was a distance away from the range, so we had to advance through a wooden-slatted path in our tabi.
Nukata had said, “This is the last one.” Given that we still had the prefectural tournament and the national tournament, that statement might have been a little hasty. But then again, if you calmly take our archery prowess into consideration, there was indeed a very high chance that this would be our final leg in the Inter-High championship.
The first time I came here was for the amateur competition in the autumn of my first year in high school. Since then, I’d walked this path multiple times for the past two years. My archery skills had improved compared to then, I think. I’d also gained knowledge enough to attempt a college entrance exam. But… some strange doubts suddenly welled up in my heart. It was all because Nukata had talked about Maja earlier. Had I ever gotten a single experience like the one Maja had the other day? If Kagami was trying to teach “refinement” through archery, exactly which part of me got refined? Moriya Michiyuki’s life as a member of the Archery Club would end today without a considerable amount of luck. On top of that, I would cease to be a high school student in less than a year.
…I shook my head. I need to collect myself before the round.
Nukata made some pointless conversation along the way, but clammed up as soon as he joined the line of athletes waiting their turn. Fumihara took on the demeanor of a martial artist, a quiet determination added to the air he was giving off. Mabuchi was complaining that his body was feeling tense, unfortunately for him. I could have given him a few words of encouragement as his senior, but this was an individual competition. Thinking that he would learn form this experience, I left him alone.
A middle-aged man, probably a teacher from somewhere, signaled us over. The previous group must have completed their shoot.
“Right, next!”
At the front of the line was Fumihara. He bowed fully with a solemn visage, then stepped into the training hall, left foot first. He had his bow in his left hand, and arrows in his right. The fletching of his arrows were made to look like hawk feathers. Next was Nukata. Only the first athlete had to make a full bow, while the rest of us only had to bend our heads by a few degrees before stepping into the range. After Nukata was me, then Mabuchi. Behind him were two students from a different school.
Everyone neatly shuffled to their designated positions, just as we’d practiced for the last two years. Next, we each placed down four arrows on the ground, and picked up two of them. The lead, Fumihara, entered a shooting motion, and at the same time twisted his neck to focus on the target. We never came to this archery range except for competitions, so it had a different atmosphere compared to normal practice ranges. That said, we had a number of competitions under our belt already. There was no way we would get thrown off by something like this.
Fumihara fired off his first shot… It hit the target, a little left of center. Nukata started aiming at his target, while I nocked an arrow. Right after that, Mabuchi fired his first shot behind me. Since this was an individual match, the six of us were split into groups of three, and we were to shoot sequentially in these groups. Mabuchi’s arrow went way too high above its target, as if it had slipped out of the bow. Following that, Nukata’s first shot was also off the mark.
It was now my turn. I brought the bow above my head, then pushed my left hand towards the target, with my right hand still holding the arrows. From that position, I slowly drew the bow while moving my hands down, stopping when the arrow reached the height of my lips. This is a delicate time when the bow is neither being drawn nor loosed, known as kai. With the bow sufficiently taut, the archer does almost nothing but wait to release the arrow. The length of kai differs by person. Fumihara usually took five seconds, Nukata would take two to three seconds, while I would wait for about ten seconds.
After ten seconds, I released the arrow… Clink! A clear sound was produced. The arrow bounced off the target’s wooden frame. It was a miss.
Fumihara’s second shot missed. Nukata’s second shot hit the target. Mine went a hair’s breadth to the right of the target. Another miss.
Having fired off two arrows, we picked up the remaining two while standing.
Fumihara’s third shot beautifully struck the bullseye. As if going with the flow, Nukata’s arrow also flew into the very center of his target. After waiting for Nukata’s shot to end, I raised my bow. I’d missed the last two shots, but I wasn’t feeling bad about it.
Above my head, I extended only my left hand towards the target, and started drawing my bow.
Though I should have been only looking at the target, I caught something out of the corner of my eye, something I didn’t need to see.
It was a trio sitting in a line at a corner of the spectator seats closest to the targets. That trio was made up of Tachiarai, Shirakawa, and Maja, who had that dark brown notebook of hers open. She was clearly intending to jot down some notes.
“……”
Getting distracted was a failure on my part. The bow’s weight overpowered the force in my shoulders, causing my balance to crumble. With my shoulders giving way, I thought about drawing the bow again, but to do that I would have to lower my arms. Since I’d already begun the firing sequence, doing so would be against the rules, and automatically result in a miss for this arrow.
There was no other choice. Instead of the intended motion that involved drawing the bow through the shoulders and elbows, I pulled on the string with only my forearms. To make matters worse, I hardly maintained kai. With the string pushing back on the force exerted by my arms to return to its relaxed state, I was unable to withstand it, and let the arrow fly. It was the very model of a sendoff, which is a kind of misfire.
Yet, the arrow hit. Like with Fumihara and Nukata, it dove into the center of the target.
While nocking the remaining arrow, I glanced at Tachiarai and company. It was definitely the three of them. Shirakawa was wearing the blazer of her school uniform, with a milk-colored cardigan draped over. Tachiarai was wrapped up in a black long coat that looked like it was soon reaching the end of its lifespan. Maja had on a sweater and denim pants. I don’t remember telling them that today was the day of the match, so why were they here? But now wasn’t the time to wonder about them. One’s mind should be empty when drawing a bow, so I aimed to reach that mental state. But just as you can be unable to fall asleep if you lie on a bed with the sole thought of going to sleep, it was impossible to intentionally erase my intentions.
I suddenly realized that Nukata was already drawing his arrow, so I hurriedly got into position. When my turn came, I raised and pulled on the bow.
However, my actions were clumsy, and my fourth shot turned out to be clearly terrible. If the match was done in groups of five, I would have had enough time to prepare. Perhaps I should have bent the rules a little and taken a little more time since it was the final shot. But nothing more could be done now. I’d already fired sloppily, without enough draw time.
Yet, the arrow found its way into the target again, striking at the very bottom. It was a miraculous hit.
As for our results, Fumihara hit three out of four shots. Nukata hit two. No luck for Mabuchi. And in the end, I also got two hits. When it was time to leave, we were calm, exiting the training hall with proper deportment and an air of nonchalance.
Once we got outside, Fumihara, who was one step ahead of us, started twisting his neck repeatedly.
“I slept in a bad position last night. It’s nothing serious, though.”
“I’m impressed that you managed to get three hits even in that condition. You seem to be on a roll, think you can make it to the next round?”
“Another three in the afternoon, huh. Well, all I can do is try my best.”
For the individual competition, participants had to get six hits out of eight to qualify to the next round.
Nukata shrugged, then turned towards me and tapped my shoulder chummily.
“The two of us will have to aim for a perfect score, then. Take it easy, eh?”
I could only give a vague reply. Not that I’d been paying much attention, but Nukata looked to be shooting at his usual level today. Indeed, the two of us were tied at two hits on the scoreboard, but… Nukata then called out to the dejected Mabuchi.
“Bad luck, but there’s always next time.”
“Y-Yeah…”
Mabuchi’s arrows were spread neatly in all four directions from the center of the target. No one knew why they missed in that way. That sometimes happened, just as some shots hitting the target couldn’t be easily explained. I could feel an unpleasant sensation building up around my stomach. It wasn’t that I needed to let out a burp, but that I didn’t care whether my arrows hit or missed. It is a sport, after all, and I was no sportsman. But the arrow that should have missed still somehow hit the target, making me feel a little sick.
After that brief post-mortem, the person called the kanteki who checks if an arrow has hit its target, brought us our arrows. The black arrows with a white line going through them were mine. The shafts were made out of duralumin2. On that topic, my bow was made with glass fiber.
I received my arrows. When I raised my head, I noticed the trio of girls standing behind the kanteki. Worthy of a special mention was Maja, whose cheeks were flushed and looked like her excitement would never die down. However, she must have been informed about manners beforehand, for the voice that came out of her mouth was kept low.
“Moriya-san, that was wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed it!”
“Ah, that’s good… anyway, you came to cheer me on?”
Tachiarai answered my question.
“Not really. We just told Maja that there was an archery competition going on, and she said she wanted to watch.”
“We did cheer you on, though.”
Shirakawa softly added.
I held no resentment towards the three of them. While my shooting was thrown into disarray due to my surprise at seeing them, the fact that something else entered my eyes while I was aiming at the target was proof that I was distracted in the first place. I might have borne a grudge if they had done some loud cheers, but here there was no one to blame but myself. In any case, I wasn’t even serious about it enough to blame someone for disturbing my aim.
Tachiarai glanced at the bow I was holding, then suddenly remarked.
“Bows are unexpectedly inaccurate, aren’t they? I haven’t seen an arrow miss in the movies.”
“Yeah, they’re as inaccurate as a sidekick’s handgun.”
“How are you feeling?”
“So-so.”
Nukata asked with a grin.
“Moriya, who are they?”
“Ah, right.”
I turned around again. Noticing that, Maja stood at attention.
“This is Maja-san from Yugoslavia.”
“I am Maja. Nice to meet you.”
She bowed. Nukata also lowered his head in response.
“Yeah, nice to meet you too. I’m Nukata Hiroyasu. Hey, you’re really cute, y’know?”
“Really what?”
“Well, I mean…”
That shouldn’t be something to get embarrassed about, though…
Fumihara spoke magnanimously.
“I am Fumihara Takehiko. Please feel free to watch us.”
“Alright, thank you very much.”
Probably feeling shy, Mabuchi was watching these developments a short distance away. Maja never dropped her smile, but didn’t forget to keep her voice low. Consequently, her gestures and actions were exaggerated.
“Hmm, this is unique. The silence is frightening. And in particular, the period where you aim after preparing to shoot made me go like this.”
She hugged her body tightly and curled up. Fumihara nodded happily.
“You must have watching us well to be able to feel the tension of kai… though we aren’t aiming during that.”
“You are the best archer, right? You hit three shots.”
“No, I’m at about the same level as these guys.”
“Hm, then I suppose you are the person with the scariest face while shooting an arrow.”
Though there was no malice behind Maja’s statement, Fumihara had no reply to that. Nukata and I looked at each other and laughed. Maja had indeed been watching us well.
“The match ended, right?”
“…No, there’s more in the afternoon. Moriya will also be in it, so please root for us.”
“I see. I am looking forward to it!”
Maja nodded energetically. Next to her, Shirakawa asked.
“Since you have to continue in the afternoon, you all will be eating lunch, right? Shall we eat together, then? It seems like Maja-san wants to ask some questions as well.”
I unintentionally furrowed my brows. Glancing at Nukata, I noticed that he was making a similar face. He was probably thinking the same thing. I spoke up for us.
“We’ll pass on that. It’s still too early for us to relax.”
While we weren’t exactly giving our all for this competition, intentionally putting ourselves at a disadvantage wouldn’t sit right with us.
“What a shame, what a shame to miss out on your invitation.”
Nukata uttered with what seemed like actual regret. Tachiarai’s reply ran in direct contrast to his.
“It can’t be helped. Standing around and talking will be a nuisance to others, so we’ll be off, then.”
“Right. Good luck in the afternoon.”
Leaving behind those words, Tachiarai and the other girls turned to leave the area. At that moment, a suppressed yet sharp exclamation was directed at us.
“Oi!”
Shirakawa, who was in the act of tapping Maja’s shoulder, cringed upon hearing that voice. I raised my head to see that it was from Kagami, our Archery Club advisor. That would mean that his shout was directed at us Archery Club members. Because the girls missed the timing to retreat, they were facing us, as if they were welcoming Kagami.
Our club advisor was a small man who was fast approaching retirement age. He taught history, but had never been a homeroom teacher. As rude as it was for me to say it, he looked scrawny in a necktie and suit, but strangely enough had a chiseled appearance in a martial arts uniform. Usually, he wore the face of a genial old man ahead of his actual age, but would give off intense looks when he was angry. And he seemed to be angry now. I could guess why. As expected, Kagami planted himself in front of me without looking at the others. As he glared at me from slightly below, I looked down at the ground due to my guilty conscience with regards to the shoot.
“Moriya, what was that shooting about?”
“Uh…”
“Is that what you have to show for two years of archery? Are you hurting anywhere for your drawing to be so inconsistent?”
“No sir, I’m not.”
“The first set was fine, but everything good about your form disappeared in the second. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Kagami folded his arms and sighed.
“…Being held back mentally until the end is a disappointing result. It’s your two years, it’s your shooting form. I don’t care how you conclude it, but leaving behind regrets is painful. There’s a straw target behind the range.”
All I could do was reply, “Yes, sir,” like a good student. Not having any technical instructions for me likely had the implication that nothing more could be done on that front. Seemingly having said his piece, Kagami was about to turn around, but called out to the other members as if he’d just remembered what he wanted to say to them. To Fumihara he said, “Well done”, and to Nukata he said, “You drew well, but don’t lose focus.” Finally, he addressed Mabuchi.
“Your first shot was bad, but it’s good that you recovered for the other three.”
Mabuchi, who had been moping about, looked relieved after hearing that statement.
“T-Thank you, sir.”
“If you feel unsatisfied, try the straw targets. Also, don’t take off your uniform, there’s still the closing ceremony.”
Not waiting for Mabuchi to nod and answer, Kagami went off in a hurry. Now, only four students were in the archery range meant for a group of six. This fraction meant that this was the last group of the individual competition.
It was only then that I noticed that Maja was watching Kagami leave while blinking repeatedly. As I looked at her side profile, she turned her head, and our eyes met.
“Moriya-san.”
“Yeah?”
I replied as if nothing had happened.
“Is that your teacher, Moriya-san?”
“Yes, that’s Kagami-sensei.”
“He was angry at you, is that correct?”
I thought for a while, but couldn’t decide if Maja would know the nuances between “got angry at”, “scolded”, “coached”, “gave a pep talk” and “harangued”, so I nodded anyway.
That caused Maja to groan while making a difficult face, with knitted brows and pursed lips. I wondered what the matter was, but unfortunately I didn’t have the benefit of time. I tried sending Tachiarai a look, asking her to help me deal with Maja afterwards. However, my look was ignored, so I verbally asked Shirakawa to do so. She nodded and pulled on Maja’s sleeve.
“Maja, shall we go eat lunch now?”
“But Izuru, I want to ask Moriya-san…”
“You can do that afterwards, since we can come back here again. We’ll be a nuisance if we stay any longer.”
Hearing those words, Maja reluctantly backed down.
“…When does your shooting start in the afternoon, Moriya-san?”
I had no idea, so I relied on Fumihara, who immediately answered.
“About 3:30. No matter how long it drags on, it won’t be later than four.”
“I see. I will be back at that time. Izuru, Machi-san, is that okay?”
Tachiarai and Shirakawa quickly nodded. Apparently unable to put those questions out of her mind, Maja kept looking back as the three of them walked off.
When they were gone, Nukata seemed to be smirking about something.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing, just that it’s looking good.”
What is?
Fumihara spoke with a certain degree of interest.
“What did this Maja-san come to Japan for?”
“Dunno. All I heard from her is that she came with her father.”
“So she’s staying at Shirakawa’s house, huh. What about her father?”
“She doesn’t want to be a burden to him.”
Not entirely convinced, Fumihara tilted his head in contemplation, but instantly moved on, taking a short breath and looking at the rest of us.
“Anyway, time for lunch before the afternoon shoot.”
Well, there would be no harm in getting somewhat fired up at the end.
Perhaps I should indeed practice with the straw targets after filling my stomach.
The first part of the afternoon’s schedule was also taken up by the team competition. According to Nukata who went to take a look, Fujishiba Commercial High would be advancing to the next round.
The order for the individual competition was the same as in the day. In other words, we would be the second last group to compete. During the waiting time, Nukata jabbered away, while Fumihara sat still in concentration, no change at all from before. In other words, it was business as usual. I shot a number of arrows into the practice targets before wrapping it up, and waited quietly afterwards. As for Mabuchi, he didn’t qualify for the afternoon shoot, so he was reading a manga with his legs sprawled out, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
A few minutes after the guys from Hisanuma left, the teacher called our names.
Thinking about the actual problem, it would be difficult for Nukata and I to advance to the next round. It was certainly possible to hit every shot with those four arrows, but given our skill level, it would be asking too much to expect us to pull that off at this stage. In the first place, the shooting style that Kagami had taught put us at a disadvantage compared to the more common style used by other schools which focused more on hitting the target. One might be able to consistently hit targets after many years of practice in that direction, but I didn’t intend to do that, and either way there wasn’t enough time for us to reach such a level today.
The shooting order was shifted a little to account for those who didn’t qualify, so this time some Hisanuma students were at the front of the line. We entered the training hall sequentially. At the back of the line was Mabuchi. Though he didn’t make the cutoff in the morning, he took on the responsibility of a string-holder, keeping a reserve of strings should we need to switch them out. From the corner of my eye, I observed Maja, Tachiarai and Shirakawa sitting in the spectator seats.
I stopped directly in front of the fourth target from the right. At about the same time as the lead from Hisanuma, I picked up two arrows and nocked one. After lifting my body up, I composed myself, aimed at the target, and slowly raised the bow.
The arrow I loosed off flew in a perfectly straight path, if I may say so myself, and went slightly above the target. The dirt mound behind the targets must have gone brittle. My arrow dropped and slid off a little after striking it.
The student from Hisanuma had fired off his shot earlier than mine. I looked up to find that Fumihara was already drawing his bow. He neatly released his arrow, which hit the bottom left region of the target. While I was nocking my secondary arrow, Nukata fired. He must have messed up somehow, for the arrow scraped against the ground in front of the target and bounced up, eventually piercing through the target. A skimming hit. Just like with baseball pitches, the arrow bouncing on the ground would unconditionally count as a miss.
I readied my second arrow, drew my bow, and fired. Like a video replay, the arrow traveled in the same trajectory as the first. It hit the primary arrow as if it was sucked in, causing a faint metallic denting sound.
The arrows used in Japanese archery have more than enough power to shatter duralumin. To put it in an overly sentimental manner, the arrows that had gone through thick and thin together with me broke in the final competition, but I did not waver.
I carried on calmly.
After picking up the last two arrows with my right hand, I nocked the primary arrow and held the secondary arrow between my ring finger and little finger. Given that my first two arrows had missed, it might be a good idea to make a slight adjustment to my aim, but I had no intention of doing so. I hadn’t actually realized, but going by it logically, I’d already failed to qualify when I missed the first shot.
I fired off the third shot, which made a lucid whoosh, hitting the black-and-white target slightly above its center.
I switched to the secondary arrow.
It was an automatic action, but it was more than just a mechanical operation, just like life itself.
I nocked the final arrow, then moved my sight along the arrow’s direction without looking at the target, before turning my face back and focusing on the point below my navel. Next I took on a bow-drawing posture, gazed at the target as the bowstring twanged in lower E. With my right hand staying still, I brought my left hand forward. From this one-third draw, I used my elbow strength to move towards a full draw. The string touched my cheek and reached the line of my mouth… kai.
I released the arrow.
As it flew, a short high-pitched noise hit my ears. Only now did I notice that the bowstring had snapped. While it was cheap, this glass fiber bow had been used for over two years, though poor maintenance by its owner who wasn’t meticulous by any stretch had caused it to be damaged here and there. I couldn’t count the number of times I had to change its string. The eight arrows I’d bought when starting out had gradually become tattered over the years, and one of the four arrows I’d bought as replacements was now broken by my hand. But what happened to the final arrow? In an inappropriately careless movement, I suddenly snapped my head towards the target. Unaffected by the broken string, the secondary arrow had landed slightly below the primary arrow, in the very center of the target.
My final score was four hits out of eight.
Eventually, the others’ scores came into view. For Nukata, XOOO. Five hits out of eight. For Fumihara, OXXO. Also five hits out of eight. All three of us failed to qualify for the next round.
We exited the training hall following the appropriate customs, then slightly lowered our heads in the direction of the hall.
The kanteki brought us our arrows. Mine were black with a white line going through them. I received four arrows, but one of them was broken. I carefully wiped off the dirt stuck on the arrowheads.
Someone sighed heavily. It was Nukata. Both he and Fumihara were smiling wryly.
“That was close. I thought the third one would get through.”
“I was a little careless. Anyway, it was close for you as well.”
“It was impossible for me. My first shot missed so I didn’t put much effort in the rest. They just all happened to hit.”
Nukata replied as he started the process of removing his archery glove. Once he was done, he put it in his inner pocket and let out another deep sigh.
“It was also a shame for you.”
I probably had on the same wry smile on my face as them.
“It sure was, but on the other hand, that missing didn’t really mean anything.”
Kagami appeared from behind the training hall. Unlike the afternoon, he was the usual genial old man ahead of his actual age. While lightly waving a hand, approaching us and nodding multiple times, he called out to us.
“Good work!”
Fumihara bowed.
“Thank you for all that you have done for us, sir.”
Upon hearing those words, it suddenly hit me that we would be retiring from the club right after this. I also bowed, and Nukata followed suit. Kagami nodded again.
“It’s a shame that you can’t go to the next round, but from what I can see, it’s not without trying. Is that right?”
Fumihara and I nodded unreservedly, but Nukata sheepishly scratched his head.
“After missing the first shot, I, uh, let my concentration slip.”
But Kagami’s smile grew even wider.
“I see. That might have been a good thing. You might not have noticed, but you become too conscious of trying to hit the target when it comes to competitions. You shot well.”
“…I understand. Thank you, sir.”
Next, Kagami turned towards me.
“Moriya. You pulled yourself together after this morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You have the guts to not rely on petty tricks even at the very end. That is your strength… You did well.”
I kept silent and lowered my head again. A pang of guilt hit me for having deceived him over the last two years.
“Fumihara.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve thoroughly taught you that a proper shooting form will always result in a hit, but it was unlucky that you missed twice with your form. Will you be continuing with archery in university?”
Fumihara hesitated a little before responding.
“…I’ve not thought about it yet. We will be taking our entrance examinations soon, after all.”
“Right.”
Kagami let out a short breath.
“Next you have your exams. Do your best.”
“Yes, sir!”
We chanted in unison. Kagami put his hands behind his back, and started slowly walking back to the training hall.
As if they’d been waiting for that moment, someone spoke to us from behind. It was a voice I’d heard before.
“Good work.”
I turned around to see that it was Shirakawa. Of course, Tachiarai and Maja were also with her. Maja was holding a canned sports drink, while Tachiarai was holding two. The latter jerkily thrust the drinks towards us like she was suddenly threatening us with a pair of pistols. But instead of yelling, “Freeze!” she said, “Refreshments.”
“Oh, thanks!”
Nukata casually accepted one, and Fumihara also received one after saying his thanks. Tachiarai couldn’t have thought of getting us refreshments on her own accord, so it must have been suggested by Shirakawa. Pssht! The sound of tabs being pulled could be heard, and the two other boys brought their cans to their mouths at once. I naturally assumed that I would receive mine from Maja, but all she did was zone out while pouting as she’d done in the morning when we parted. Not that I particularly wanted a sports drink, but I asked without thinking.
“What about mine…”
“Oh?”
Having noticed that something was awry, Shirakawa poked Maja’s shoulder with her index finger.
“Maja, Maja!”
With a start, Maja raised her head, but tightened her grip on the can instead of handing it to me. I’d rather not have it be warmed up by her hand. Sport drinks taste terrible when they’re warm, after all. As I had that carefree thought, Maja spoke vigorously, evidently having organized her thoughts.
“Moriya-san!”
Her voice was unexpectedly loud, so I hurriedly put my index finger in front of my mouth. Both her eyes focused on my finger, causing her to go a little cross-eyed.
“What is it?”
“You need to be quiet. There are people still in the competition.”
Maja quickly covered her mouth and looked around at her surroundings. This time, she spoke in a voice that was smaller than necessary.
“…want to ask.”
“Now I can’t hear you.”
“Hm. There is a question I want to ask. Moriya-san, you were praised by your teacher, right?”
“So you were listening to that? Yeah, he did praise me.”
Upon hearing my reply, Maja put strength in her hand again. I felt an ominous sound coming from the can. Did it get dented? Maja’s gaze dropped to her hand, but it wasn’t because she was worried about the can’s shape. “Please hold this for me,” she said as she foisted the can onto Shirakawa, then swiftly retrieved her pen and notebook from her pocket.
“I do not understand that. May I ask about it?”
“Now? Sure, if it’s something I can answer.”
“So… Moriya-san, you hit two shots in the morning. Nukata-san also hit two shots. But your teacher got angry at you, while he praised Nukata-san. I found that to be strange, but after some thought, I realized that he could have expected more from you if you are more skilled than Nukata-san. Yet Fumihara-san said that all three of you are at about the same skill level. That is strange.”
“That’s…” I started, but paying me no heed, Maja pressed on.
“I just watched your afternoon shoot. Moriya-san hit two shots, just like in the morning, Nukata-san hit three, and Fumihara also hit two. And all three of you were praised by your teacher.”
Maja held up two or three of her white fingers whenever she said a number.
“This made me very confused. Why did you get praised, and why did he get angry at you? Is there some special rule in this sport? Or is there a philosophical meaning behind this?”
Being the recipient of such an unsettling word as “philosophical”, I couldn’t help but put on a defensive stance. Come to think of it, she’d used this very term when we first met. For now, all I could say was this:
“There’s no special rule. You get one point if you hit, and zero points if you miss.”
The pen ran across her notebook.
“So why?”
Would she understand if I told her?
It was questionable, but I didn’t have a better solution. All I could do was tell her the truth as it was. I scratched the tip of my nose with my little finger and replied.
“In the morning, I made my teacher angry because my shooting form was bad. In the afternoon, I was praised because my shooting form was good. Nukata was praised in the morning because his shooting form was also good.”
Maja looked at me quizzically.
“Hmm, I still find that strange. I would often get scolded when I did shooting practice in Yugoslavia, but at the final test it would be fine even if I closed my eyes, as long as I hit the target. I think that to be a more logical ethos.”
“When you say shooting, what did you…”
Shirakawa interjected. Seemingly not wanting her train of thought to be derailed, Maja quickly answered with a gesture. Her left palm was moved forward and facing up, while her right hand was pulled back to her right shoulder… that could only be a rifle.
“Maja, is that…”
“I heard that this is a competition.”
She didn’t accept my question. That wouldn’t make me jump to the simplistic conclusion that all Yugoslavians are pushy, though.
“So all you need is to hit the target… no matter how bad your form, hitting the target means you get a point, correct?”
Putting the rifle issue aside…
Maja was not wrong. Now that she mentioned it, there was indeed a contradiction, but we didn’t think of it as such. Explaining that to her would be a tall order. Thinking that Fumihara was more qualified to answer this question, I shot him a look, but he had his arms folded with a stern look on his face. On the other hand, Maja was leaning forward to avoid missing a single word.
At that moment, an extremely clear, high-pitched whoosh rang out.
“Hm?”
The individual competition should have ended, so who just fired an arrow? I looked into the training hall to see Kagami, the young teacher who had called our names earlier, and an old teacher I’d seen a few times before. The three of them were standing in a line and facing the targets. It must be a demonstration.
In the individual competition, student orders are automatically assigned, with the exception of students from the same school being grouped together. But that aside, when multiple people stand in an archery range, the most proficient goes to the last target, while the second-best takes the lead. The three were in the order of Kagami, the name-caller, and the old teacher. Upon hearing the twang of the name-caller releasing his bow, the old teacher started drawing his bow.
“Who’s that?”
Nukata muttered, and Fumihara answered his question.
“He’s a teacher from Fuji Commercial. He’s a renshi3 sixth dan4, I think.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Kagami’s a kyoushi5 fifth dan, right?”
“Yeah,” I replied, then realized that I could use this opportunity to my advantage. I beckoned Maja to look into the training hall.
“What is it?”
“That’s the shooting form of people who are really skilled.”
The elderly teacher performed the same procedures as we had, but there was no hesitation in any single one of his actions. Probably wondering if something special was about to happen, Maja started holding her breath and staring at the archery range. Draw, kai, release. However, the arrow missed. Clearly disappointed, Maja muttered.
“It missed…”
“But don’t you think it was a beautiful shot?”
“Hmm. Da. It was certainly majestic. But it missed.”
Good, that would make it easy to explain. Having found a way forward, I felt at ease.
“Still, that has more value.”
“?”
She peered at me questioningly. While being watched by her black pupils, I answered her doubts.
“We were in a competition, so it is certainly better to win, as you said. However, it can be said that if you win, you should do it in the proper way. And sometimes, it is better to lose while following proper practices than win in an improper manner. That is why my improper shooting form in the morning made my teacher angry, but my proper shooting form in the afternoon caused him to praise me. That’s how it is.”
“Proper and improper? Not skilled and unskilled?”
“Yes. Proper shooting form and improper shooting form. Do you understand that?”
“Hmm…”
Maja frowned, then deftly moved her pen. I caught a glimpse of what she wrote, but it was in her language, so I couldn’t tell what it meant.
Her hand soon came to a complete stop.
“It is not that I do not understand that. Srbija, one of the countries in Yugoslavia, had a famous war. In that war, its king became a hero6. But they actually lost the war. Is that similar to this?
“But Moriya-san… is that a philosophy common to Japan? Or is it a philosophy specific to this sport?”
This mentality probably applied to kendo, judo, and all sorts of activities, but I was unable to say that with confidence. Instead, I decided to go with a more conservative answer.
“…If I had to pick one over the other, it’s specific to the sport, but Sendou and Shirakawa who haven’t done this sport before should be able to understand.”
Maja turned around, and Shirakawa nodded with a light smile.
“Yup. It’s just a feeling, but I think I get it.”
“Is it the same for you, Machi-san?”
“I like thinking about it only in terms of the number of shots hit, but as for whether I understand that mentality, I’d say it comes to me naturally.”
Still holding onto the pen and notebook, Maja folded her arms and groaned a few times, nodding deeply in the process. After that, she jotted something down in her notebook again.
“This is wonderfully interesting. Very interesting. And all of of you who do such a sport are interesting.”
After finishing her note, she gave us a wide grin. Now that the conversation was coming to a close, Nukata, who’d refrained from involved the entire time, took the chance to speak relaxedly.
“Well, that’s how it is.”
Maja responded to that with a vague gesture.
“Ah, I forgot. Here, Moriya-kun.”
Shirakawa handed me the sports drink, which had become a little lukewarm due to the warmth from her hand. Putting my bow with the broken string over my shoulder, I removed my glove and pulled on the can’s tab.
Maja continued writing in her notebook.
As people who practiced kyudo, we were of interest to Maja. But that was due to her being a foreigner. It wasn’t like we were doing anything special, and much less philosophical. While Maja held it in such high regard, it was simply a club activity to us.
At the training hall, the teachers were now on the fourth shot of the demonstration. In the end, Kagami landed only one hit out of four.
Chapter 1 Part 1 | Contents | Chapter 1 Part 3
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- Traditional Japanese trousers.
- An aluminium-copper alloy.
- Meaning “refined practitioner”.
- Martial arts ranking for those who have surpassed the basic ranks (kyu), with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
- Meaning “teaching practitioner”, one step lower than “refined practitioner”. Following that is “model practitioner” which is also the lowest title.
- Most likely referring to King Peter I of Serbia, who personally led the army to fight against the Central Powers in World War I at the age of 71. They had to retreat through the hostile Albanian highlands during a harsh winter, but King Peter survived the march and was proclaimed King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918.