I must admit this started out with mermaids and turned into Natsume and Matoba. What can I say, I love these guys.
"Thud."
The arrow whizzed past his head and landed with a loud thud on the tree trunk. The apple that was on his head a second ago was also gone in an instant.
Natsume unfroze his muscles and looked behind him in mild surprise. It had been pierced through the center and was embedded right in the middle of the trunk. The apple was proof. Matoba-san had nearly if not perfect archery skills. Natsume definitely gives his praise to the exorcist for honing a skill to mastery through the years. Any skill acquired through practice and hard work was admirable to him, not considering the fact that he never had the chance to learn something as posh as archery, music, or the like.
Matoba wondered why the boy just spaced out like an idiot at the mess of an apple. They had done this a few times already. He shouldn't be too shocked about seemingly being shot at.
"Takashi-kun!" He yelled over.
That seemed to bring Natsume out of his haze. He blinked a few times before replying, "Alright, I'll get another one!"
He ran back to the forest and found the camouflaged wild apple tree. It was a beautiful place that smelled like decay. There were even toadstools to prove it. Fruit littered the ground meters wide, but it took a while for Natsume find a newly-fallen one before thankfully returning to the clearing.
He had been invited over with the intention of helping the Matoba clan rid a powerful and vicious yokai. Instead, he was alone with Matoba-san, being the pedestal for his archery practice, not that the man needed any.
When Natsume first asked, the man had simply smiled and told him, "This yokai is rumored to steal only apples from the neighboring villages. For the time being, let's set some bait and wait."
Another thud sounded behind him, and Natsume exhaled the breath he'd been holding. He looked around and counted for the first time. There were 11 splintered apples in all; a lot more than he'd thought.
Not wanting to go back into the decaying forest, Natsume slumped down against the tree and tried to relax. How did he manage to survive eleven apples he wondered? Archery practice with Matoba-san was more draining than dealing with yokai, physically and mentally.
He then heard a shout from across the clearing and realized that the man must be angry that he took a break for himself.
"Hold on, I just need a minute…." Natsume said breathlessly.
He saw that Matoba-san was heading over to him; it was like he was running, but in slow motion. Midway though, he stopped. Natsume was confused and comprehended events slowly.
The man unslung his bow and surprisingly or maybe not, it was already strung. Natsume somehow recounted once of their short conversations earlier. He had never seen the exorcist nock an arrow to his bow, but there always was one ready to fire. After inquiring this to the man, Natsume was only given the answer: "An unstrung bow is a stick."
Coming back to the present, Natsume stared in surprise, barely registering the giant hulk of something falling on him.
"Reiko...I'll eat you..."
"Umph."
He heard someone talking, maybe yelling at him.
"What were you doing you idiot? Don't tell me you already have heat exhaustion." Pestered Matoba.
Natsume blinked some and found the exorcist lying heavily on top of him. Without giving much thought he kicked the man in the stomach, and Matoba ended up a few feet across the ground.
The man also landed with an "umph" and coughed up some very creative curses before holding himself up. He leaned against a tree and glared evilly at Natsume while holding his stomach with a hand.
Natsume instantly felt better after delivering a long deserved kick to the smug fellow. After intentionally evading the exorcist's death glare for a few minutes, he got up to observe what had almost crushed him.
It was an overgrown horse yokai, with lots of odorous fur and small goat horns. The yokai was creepily similar to Misuzu, only without the robes.
"I guess horses really do love apples." He thought out loud.
His vision swarmed a bit and for a second Natsume thought it really was Misuzu. He shook his head and kept circling the yokai. There was a patch of red where Matoba-san had probably shot it. ….Please rest in peace. He walked forth hesitantly and made to retrieve the arrow. But before he could do so, the horse gave a loud snort and its whole body shuddered.
Startled, Natsume backed away and glanced back at the evil glare.
The exorcist slowly made his way to the yokai and pulled out the arrow. Natsume watched with mixed feelings as the Misuzu look-a-like disappeared in a trail of light.
They both remained silent for a while. Natsume recounted that the yokai knew his grandmother's name. Suspicious, he mentioned this to the exorcist. There was no need to hold back any more information, therefore the exorcist told him that the apples were only for show.
"And indeed, you had been the real bait, Takashi-kun." Matoba admitted. Natsume knew that all long, he would very likely be used like a chess piece. Though, this time he wasn't even a mere piece in the game. He couldn't believe the exorcist would use him as bait. The man was unbelievable.
The exorcist then remembered his injured abdomen and inquired with a calm voice concealing some seething anger.
"Would you also like to explain why you kicked me ten feet across the air when I barely saved you from being crushed?"
Natsume only replied with somewhat fake sincerity, "Sorry, it's reflex."
A quote from an amazing author was used in this oneshot. I'm sure you can find "An unstrung bow is a stick" in the Ranger's Apprentice series more than once. Or maybe I've read the same book twice. Anyways, hope you've enjoyed this oneshot.
FYI - My other chapter series is not being abandoned. This was just too fun. + Feel free to message me ways I can keep them more in character!