Chapter 2
The arrow cuts sharply through the air. The target remains untouched.
"Again." His voice harsh.
Another arrow misses the target completely.
"Again." Impatiently, he paces back and forth behind me.
The target, fifteen yards away, set in the lush green of the grass blurred in my vision. My arms ache incredibly, after firing nearly a hundred arrows.
"Wrong again!" As I draw another arrow, he uses another arrow to push my bow down. "That's enough. You're not learning."
I sigh, exhausted. "Well maybe you're just a bad teacher." I mumble.
He ignores me, and instead envelopes my arms with his own. He stands just behind me, gripping the bow over my own hand. "You gotta do it like this." His calm heartbeat beats into my back, and his breath tangles in my ponytail. "Aim… Breathe in… And… Release." The arrow stabs the target through the center, piercing it cleanly.
"Look! Did you see that! I got it!" I say jumping up and down.
"You got it? Ha! Yeah right, that was all me." Takamui says, crossing his arms annoyed and as arrogant as ever.
From across the grounds, a squealing Elise calls an end to the silence, flying towards me, her legs carrying her as quickly as they could. "Biiiiiiig Sisterrrrrrr!" She bobs up and down once she's in front of me, and I catch Takumi raising his eyebrows. "Look! Look!" Her blonde pigtails swing around her as she twirls, her light pink dress blossoming around her.
"Oh- You've finally grown into that dress I used to wear." I comment, bending down to her. "You look so cute in it!"
She grins, a light blush on her cheeks, "Haha! Not cuter than when you wore it!" She giggles. "When I'm your age I want to be both cute and strong- Just like you!" Her gleaming purple eyes look at me with their childlike innocence.
Takumi sighs, in a way that almost sounds like a laugh, "'Cute and strong' pffff, uh-huh, sureeee."
Elise suddenly notices Takumi's presence, "You know Takumi, you can be a real meanie sometimes!" She says trying to push him away. "Go somewhere else and leave me and Kamui alone, if you've got nothing nice to say!"
"And you can be a real nuisance sometimes." He says, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere, I was here first."
I hold a hand to my mouth to stifle my own giggle. They really do act like siblings, bickering like that. It's actually kind of heartwarming.
They continue their needless quarrel as Elise pulls her face into a pout, "You just want Kamui all to yourself."
Takumi's face turns to a tomato shade, "Geez don't say it like that!" His words don't phase her as she easily gives up, trotting away back towards the castle grounds.
"Let's play together next time, Kamui!" the young girl calls over her shoulder.
"Sheesh, Sakura and her are suppose to be the same age, but the two are nothing alike." Takumi sighs, picking up the quiver of arrows from the grass. "We should get going. I'm starving." He says motioning for me to follow. "Here, carry these," He says throwing the two quivers at me.
I catch them, stumbling forward, "What about the ones I fired into the range?"
"They'll still be there for you to retrieve tomorrow," he says throwing a glance back at me.
"Tomorrow?! What-You're not going to help me pick them up-" I begin to complain, but he cuts me off.
"I'm not the one that missed the target a hundred times in a row."
Just as he was about to plant his next step in the dew covered grass, a huge force knocks him to the ground. "What the hell was that?" He rubs his head, sitting upright. A massive tree had sprouted right in his path. Not even close to a natural occurrence.
I immediately began surveying the surrounding woods. That devious boy… Where is he?... "Leon! Come out now and apologize! You could've seriously hurt Takumi with that Brynhildr spell!
From the shade of a tree a ways down the path, he sits leaning against the trunk of a thick tree, flipping through the pages of the ancient text. A gust of cool wind rustles through his loose hair, and when he looks up, the ice in his eyes was enough to stop me cold in my tracks. "If I wanted to hurt him, I could've done it already."
"You jerk!" Takumi balled his fists and hastily made his way towards the sorcerer. "Hiding like a coward! If you want to fight, let's fight! Here in the open, here and now!"
"Says an archer that shoots his enemy from a distance," Leon says calmly smirking. In the palm of his hand, I could see a spell brewing, waiting for its release
I rush to block Takumi from punching Leon, grabbing the sleeve of his cloak. "No, stop it!" He swings his arm rashly throwing me to the ground. "Damn you, Takumi!" Though my arms sting, I latch on to his leg. "Listen! Don't fight! Please, both of you!" I shout, trying to plead with him. It will be disastrous if they hurt each other now. We need everyone to be strong for the battle tomorrow.
Leon's orb of spells immediately dissipates as he rushes towards us. Don't throw any punches… Please… I clench my jaw, and force my eyes closed. I wait. Nothing happens.
I open an eye to find Leon extending his hand towards me. "Are you alright?" I'm still cowering, holding tight to Takumi's leg. At that, Takumi's glare softens as the hatred for all Nohrians seems to momentarily be forgotten about. He looks at me, with an apologetic look in his coffee eyes.
As quickly as I had caught that look on his face, it was gone again-his gaze, barren and unforgiving. He swivels his leg from my grasp, "You're all the same- weak, unteachable cowards. I was a fool to believe you'd be different." He says as he heads down the path without me.
Wow. That hurt more than I expected.
"Please don't cry over that fool." Leon scoops me up in his arms, carrying me.
"H-Hey, put me down! I can walk just fine, I'm not hurt!" I say hurriedly, "And I'm not crying!"
"Yeah, okay, sure, you're not crying." he reiterates, sarcastically. "You've been on your feet since this morning. You need to rest otherwise you won't even be able to walk into battle tomorrow, much less fight."
I pout, folding my arms, but he ignores me, smirking his pretty boy smirk. "How would you know how long I've been here?" I mutter.
He tactfully dodges the question, "Hold onto my neck, otherwise I might drop you." He says before taking a step.
I obey, wrapping an arm around his neck. His fair skin, it's warm to the touch. Such a friendly, reassuring warmth. As he walks down the path, I watch the shadow of leaves overhead play in the gleam of his eyes.
"You're staring Kamui." He says without averting his eyes from the path. "What's the matter?"
In my daze, I can't recall what I'd said, but he let out a half snort in response. "What?" I ask.
"Your such an aloof one." He looks at me now, I know because the patterns in his irises change. He releases his breath, blowing my drifting bangs from my eyes. "I don't know how you're our leader."
Well, I'm not sure where this story is going XD Thanks for reading though! Feel free to comment and review... Truly, your guess is as good as mine- I have no idea where this story is going...
