Author's Note: Just a little story that I wrote on Setsuna's birthday (yesterday). Has some very light elements of head-canon stuff, but should be readable by anyone.
Setsuna stared at the target, gingerly holding her yumi in her fingertips. The target was far ahead of her, already pegged with a few arrows. Idly, she wondered what she should do. She could go for a simple bullseye, just to see if she could, but that seemed boring. She'd already racked up several of them.
She could try to split an arrow, she mused. That seemed like a good target. Carefully, she adjusted her grasp, trying to remember precisely what her previous shot had felt like. But then maybe the wind wasn't the same way.
Frowning slightly, she adjusted her grip, lifting her aim slightly. Then it seemed too high, so she let it drop; that seemed right. Satisfied with her aim, she let the arrow loose. The bow itself pitched forward while it span until the string was on the opposite side of her hand from her.
A moment later, the arrow landed in the target, slightly to the side of one of her previous shots, but still a bullseye.
"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to shoot," Takumi said with a light sigh, lifting his own bow up to line up a shot.
Setsuna tilted her head, rolling her neck. "Of course I was going to shoot. I wanted to shoot."
Takumi just grunted in acknowledgement, leaning his head to better sight his shot. After a moment, he fired, watching the arrow careen off to his target. He nodded with a smile at the bullseye. "Still tied between us."
"Oh...were we competing for score?" Setsuna wondered aloud. She supposed they could. Takumi was good, and she was good. It might be a good challenge. But then again, both of them could just score bullseye after bullseye, so in the end it would be a tie.
"Were we not?" Takumi asked, sounding confused.
"We can if you want. I was just...shooting," Setsuna said with a shrug, taking up her pose.
"Just...shooting," Takumi said disbelievingly before shaking his head. "So...what are you doing this time? Going clockwise around the target? Writing your name?"
"No...already did those," Setsuna drawled. "I was thinking about splitting an arrow. At first I thought 'maybe if I repeat what I did, then maybe I can hit the same spot', but then I thought maybe the wind was different."
Takumi snorted. "Split an arrow? You know how hard that is, right? The odds of hitting the same exact spot from near the same angle are slim to none."
"That's why I'm doing it. It seems like fun," she replied with a slight smile, firing her arrow. Her smile fell as she hit one of the few unpenetrated segments of the bullseye.
"At this rate, we're going to have to put up new targets," Takumi noted. "Maybe you'll split an arrow by sheer volume of shots."
"I'd prefer if it was intentional," Setsuna mumbled. "I don't like accidents."
Takumi was silent for a moment, drawing his bow. Setsuna watched him and she was surprised when his arrow went high and hit the top of the target. She cocked her head curiously. "I thought we were competing?"
"No you just said...never mind," he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You wanted to split an arrow. I've given you a target. This way you can be sure it's not accidental, or just shooting enough. We'll take turns. I fire one, and you try to hit it. Then you fire, and I try to hit it."
"Oh...I didn't realize you wanted to split an arrow, too." He had seemed so preoccupied with hitting the bullseye, she hadn't even considered that he'd wanted to do that. She made a note to ask next time.
"Well, not originally. But it seemed like a fun competition, so…" Takumi trailed with a shrug.
"I thought you said we weren't competing," Setsuna pointed out, confused.
Takumi just sighed. "Just fire the damn bow already."
That was fine by her. If they were competing, she'd try her best. Raising her bow, she gave her fingers a tentative curl. This was...exciting. An actual challenge even. The thought brought a smile to her lips, and she took her time lining up the shot. Incremental changes in her grasp and angle, and how hard she pulled the bow.
Release.
She frowned as the arrow landed next to her target.
"Wow, that's pretty close-" Takumi started, but hesitated as Setsuna raised her bow again, taking aim. After a moment, she fired another arrow, landing on the other side of her target.
Just as soon as she had released, she was already knocking another, and before Takumi could react, it was away, landing further away. Quickly, Takumi reached out an arm, knocking Setsuna's aim down before she could fire again. "Gods, take some time before you shoot! Your last shot went wide!"
"I want to hit the target," she said, a rare fire burning in her eyes.
"You're not going to get it if you get frustrated," he grumbled, dimly aware of the irony of his statement. Fortunately, Setsuna wasn't the type to call him out on it. "Now come on, take it slow."
"Isn't it your turn?"
Takumi resisted the urge to scream. "Why don't you go a few more times? It seems like you really want to hit this target."
"Thank you, Lord Takumi," Setsuna said with a small bow. Takumi sighed as he watched her line up a shot.
A few moments went by and her arrow was closer this time. Worryingly close, he noted. He could see her expression harden slightly as she lined up the next one, but she was patient, and his eyes widened as the arrow clipped off the side of his first arrow. The tip planted itself into the wood right next to the tip of his.
"Wow, you hit it," he whistled.
"But I didn't split it," she pointed out.
"I mean, hitting it is pretty damn close. Barely anyone can do that," he complimented.
"Can you do it?" she asked, and Takumi felt his blood rise for a moment before he remembered who he was talking to. He took a moment to breathe, knowing she probably meant it harmlessly. Probably.
"Maybe. Probably," he corrected with a cough.
"You should try," she suggested. "I could learn from you, Lord Takumi."
Takumi felt a cold sweat coming on, but held it back. "I uh...think maybe you should try again."
Setsuna shook her head. "I want to learn from you. Please, Lord Takumi."
"Fine, fine! If it'll get you to leave me alone," he grumbled, taking up stance. Nervously, he sighted in on his target, taking deep breaths. Quietly, he mumbled a prayer, hoping that he might borrow a little bit of favour, just for one moment.
He released, and closed his eyes. Hearing the arrow impact, he tentatively opened his eyes. It took him a moment to spot his shot.
He had split the arrow.
"Yes! I did it!" he cheered, jumping up, bow in the air. Suddenly, he remembered Setsuna was beside him, and he quickly composed himself, but when he looked at her, she wasn't looking at him. She was instead staring intently at the target. "What? What's the matter?"
"You split my arrow," she pointed out, and Takumi could feel his victory deflate. Quickly, he rallied himself.
"A-Are you sure? They were so close, I might have split mine," he contended.
"I was watching. You split mine," she said confidently. After a moment, she smiled. "That's really impressive."
"But...didn't you just say you didn't want to split an arrow by accident?" he asked. Sometimes...most of the time, Setsuna confused him.
"They were so close. If my shot was impressive, so was that," she said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"I uh...suppose it is," he said at length.
"Guess we're both pretty good, huh?" she wondered aloud.
"Yeah. I guess so," he agreed, glancing at the sky. "Man, morning's almost up. We should get our arrows and head back before Hinoka worries."
"Yeah...she'll probably be mad at me for skipping breakfast," Setsuna lamented.
Takumi glanced at her. "How do you forget to eat breakfast?"
"I didn't forget. I skipped it. I wanted to practice, and so I came here," Setsuna clarified, walking ahead of him.
"You mean you skipped eating to come to our morning practice? Please tell me you don't do this every time."
"No. Just this time," she said with a shake of her head. That, at least, was a small relief.
"Well...that's good, but after this, I'm going to make sure you eat. I'm not having Hinoka chew me out for you not eating," he insisted.
"But I still didn't eat breakfast. Doesn't that mean I still get punished for not eating, even if I eat later?"
"Just...let's get the arrows, get some food, and get out of here before Hinoka kills us both."
"Alright. Sounds good. I don't think being killed would be good for my archery."