Aki, 1894.

I was ten years old when I was first initiated into the realm of the archer. Really, the opportunity just came strolling past me while I was studying calligraphy with Sakura-chan and her father, Fujitaka-sensei, in their home that warm, breezy afternoon.

"Sakura-chan, I think I'm in love." I had blurted out, distracted from the four disciplines of fire.

She looked at me and grinned. "Ah, Yukito-san."

"Eh?"

"Yukito. His name is Tsukishiro Yukito. He's seventeen years old and he's the nicest boy on the planet!" Stars seemed to shine in her eyes; it was comical.

I looked back thoughtfully at the boy -- Tsukishiro-kun, was it? -- who just came into the room with Sakura's brother. There was something about him… I couldn't put my finger on it. Obviously, I wasn't a toddler anymore and yet I was still gravitating to shiny albeit not so dangerously sharp objects.

But then his smile could do more danger than any blade could…

"Ah, Touya-kun, Yukito-kun! I see you're back early. I take it that practice went well?" Fujitaka-sensei greeted from behind his desk.

"Yes otousan, and this rabbit here could have been a little less perfect in his aim, as always." Touya-kun teased, ruffling a head of silver hair.

"Ara, you give me way too much credit than I deserve, To-ya!" Tsukishiro-kun giggled, trying to hide a blush with the pretense of fixing his round spectacles.

Hmm… that's interesting.

Then, Touya-kun looked sharply at our direction. It was like being doused with cold water whenever he did that. However, I was already used to his frosty glares by then; it wasn't personal, it was just the way Touya-kun was. Not many people get to see that softer side of the eldest of the Kinomoto siblings. He was famous for being serious and anti-social, but he was also good at almost anything and everything. As a Kendo student in the Kamiya dojo, his only possible rival was Yahiko-niisan and that was to say a lot. They learned from the best, of course, but I knew Kenshin-otousan was -- and will ever be -- the finest swordsman that ever lived. Then again, he was an exception and I'm obviously biased.

Another look at Touya-kun and I saw the cheeky little spark in his blue eyes that belied his attempt at being stern.

"Oi kaijuu," he said tonelessly as he thumbed towards the direction of the kitchen. "You're in charge of dinner tonight; get moving."

I almost laughed when Sakura's face instantly turned vindictive and defiant.

"Mou, kaijuu ja nai! Whenever are you going to get that through your thick head?" she snarled, but the moment was short lived when she caught Tsukishiro-kun politely trying to suppress his mirth. I could have sworn she turned a few interesting shades of red and sighed -- "hanyaaan", was it? -- dreamily.

Their bickering was legendary. It reminded me of Yahiko-niisan and myself (although he's older than me, I had full authority to whip him, that idiot).

"Well hello there, little lady. That's quite some work you got there."

A pale face peered over my shoulder, and the instant I turned, I was met with the clearest amber eyes I've ever seen.

"Yukito-san, this is Himura Yukina. She's our neighbor and the best in otousan's calligraphy class." Sakura supplied cheerfully.

My cheeks burned. "Sakura-chan!"

Yukito turned thoughtful. "Himura? As in Himura Kenshin?"

"Hai, Kenshin-san no musume desu."

I could only afford a meek smile as their attention turned back to me. "H-hajimemashite, Tsukishiro-kun…"

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Yukina-chan! Ara, do you realize that we even have the same nicknames?" a cheerful smile spread across his face. I felt a hanyaan coming. No wonder.

"Ne, Yuki," Touya-kun called, both of us looking up. An amused eyebrow shot up and a lopsided grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "You are staying for dinner, right?"

"Of course, To-ya! But I don't wish to intrude any more than I already have…" Tsukishiro-kun replied. I turned away sensing that the discussion was only between the two of them.

"Silly rabbit, I already know that. And -you- know you're always welcome here," I heard him say. The edge of the table suddenly became very interesting… "I was talking about Yukina."

"Are?"

"Yeah, Yukina-chan, we're having tempura tonight, you're favorite!" then she leaned in conspiratorially. "Besides, Yukito-san will be here."

Actually, it gave me one more excuse to embarrass myself.

"I'm sure your fathers wouldn't mind, Himura-kun," Kinomoto-sensei affirmed.

They all looked at me expectantly, and Tsukishiro-kun offered me the best of his encouraging smiles (which I felt then was to be my undoing).

"A-alright, I'll go and ask them now then," I said, starting to clear up my workplace.

One more look at Tsukishiro-kun and my resolve strengthened ten-fold.

Yeah, I didn't think my fathers would mind.

o.O.o

I had often wondered why I haven't even met Tsukishiro-kun earlier. The Kinomoto's have been our neighbors for years, and I've stayed for dinner once in a while, but I've never seen him before that night.

Sakura then explained that Tsukishiro-kun had just recently moved in to our village a couple of months ago from Kyoto. His parents had died and he came to live with his grandparents a few blocks from their house. She also said that he was Touya-kun's classmate in his archery class, and that they've been friends ever since. She even quipped that the first time she met him was the day she was sure she had already found the love of her life.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, your brother and Tsukishiro-kun are really good friends."

"What makes you say that, Yuki?"

I nodded in their direction. "They're really close, aren't they?"

She turned her attention to the two boys. We were on our way home from the marketplace and had just finished buying more inks for our calligraphy class, when we met Touya-kun and Tsukishiro-kun on their way home and decided to come with us for some snacks.

Currently, Touya-kun was wiping a crumb of takoyaki from the corner of Tsukishiro-kun's mouth.

"You're such a slob, Yuki."

"Well, sometimes…"

Sakura's smile turned to a knowing grin. "So you noticed, too,"

"Noticed?"

She turned back to me and took a bit of her rice cake. "Well, Yukito-san is onii-chan's -best friend- after all."

Something about how she said it didn't sit well with me at all. I knew she could tell that the wheels in my head were turning.

"Oh, you know…"

"No, I don't think I do, Sakura-chan."

Her expression turned thoughtful. "Well, let's just say that onii-chan and Yukito-san have what your fathers have: they share something special."

Oh THAT. Come to think of it, it does make sense. How else could you explain the affectionate pat on the head, the two hands "discreetly" linked together, and the constant blush on Tsukishiro-san's face when Touya would teasingly tell him something? And what about the nicknames?

Just like Sano-papa and Kenshin-'tousan…

"Men -- I don't think I'll ever understand them." Sakura sighed wistfully, taking another bite of her rice cake.

I think I already have. "You will, Sakura-chan. You will."

o.O.o

The crisp resonance of the bowstring echoed clearly in the air, and the arrow, sure and true, pierced the target with a dull thud.

"Sugoi!" I said and clapped my hands in awe.

"Anou… just lucky, I guess..." Yukito-san said sheepishly.

"Isn't he the best?" Sakura murmured dreamily beside me.

"I'll say," I replied.

Then it was Touya-kun's turn, taking his place where Yukito-san had stood moments before. After a few seconds of preparation, he took aim and released his own arrow. It landed right beside Yukito-san's.

"You're really good at this, To-ya!" Tsukishiro-kun exclaimed, appraising Touya-san's work embedded on the makeshift target they've set up for practice a few good meters away from the porch in the dirt courtyard.

"Your brother and Yukito-san are eye-to-eye in this, huh?" I said.

Sakura grinned. "You should have seen onii-chan when he started. His arrows went right over the wall."

In a second, Touya-san was glowering above us. "What was that, kaijuu?"

Sakura squeeked. "Anou… betsuni…"

"Hmph… at least I wasn't the one we all had to run for our lives from because she couldn't get her arrows anywhere near the target…" her brother retaliated, a triumphant sneer plastered on his face.

Smoke came right out of Sakura's ears. "I wasn't THAT bad! You're so mean! Touya no baka!!!"

As their bickering went on, all I could do was sit quietly and watch.

"To-ya and his sister-complex," I heard Tsukishiro-kun say.

I laughed. "No doubt about that."

I heard the crisp shuffle of his hakama. "Ne, Yukina-chan… have you ever tried Kyudo before?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No…"

"I see. But I hear you're good with a shinai," He said with a wink. My cheeks burned and he must have seen it. "Sakura told met that."

Oh she was going to get it.

"It would not be surprising, though, considering you've had the best education from the master himself."

I suddenly thought about Yahiko-niisan. Tsukishiro-san couldn't possibly be talking about him, although he was the one who taught me the actual techniques. It was otousan who guided me and corrected my mistakes while he sat on the porch and watched my progress, and would occasionally give me a hand.

"I'm glad you see my father that way, Tsukishiro-san." I bowed my head in gratitude.

He smiled and bowed back. "He deserves nothing less. And Yukina-chan," he added. "I think we're past all formalities by now, so you should call me by my name, ne?"

I was taken aback. Not so many people would allow anyone to call them so intimately after only encountering them three brief times.

"Alright, Yukito-san," I said, trying to sound as confident with this new familiarity as I could. Though I failed at it miserably, he did a good job at being naïve about it.

"Yokatta!" He reached out his hand to me. "Well then, shall we start on your first archery lesson?"

"Are?" Well, I didn't saw that coming. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." He firmly replied, eyes twinkling in the afternoon sun. Now how could I refuse that?

Seeing that Sakura-chan and her brother was still trying to get at each other's necks, I took Yukito-san's offered hand and allowed him to guide me to where they took aim. He handed met the bow and a new arrow (which was generally too large for me, but he did instruct me to compensate the difference with my stance and grip) and stood a step back and explained how the art of traditional Japanese archery worked.

Apparently, there were eight fundamental stages in shooting called the "Hassetsu". He demonstrated them at first in one fluid process then told me to imitate him.

"It's like a dance, really," he said as I followed his movements. "It regulates your breathing and relaxes you before you release the arrow, which is also of course a part of the choreography."

The first step was "dozukuri", or correcting the posture which is the initial stance. Then "yugamae", or readying the bow. This was also made of three steps: the "torikake" (or setting the glove, which I didn't have, but he made me do the movement anyway). Then there's the "tenouchi" or the correct way of gripping the bow, then "monomi" wherein the archer views and evaluates the target. It was also a method of sending the spirit to the target before shooting while the eyes should be half closed (Yukito-kun looked so good while he did it!).

"Okay, now the next step is called 'uchiokoshi'. This is where you raise the bow like this," he instructed, raising his hands with the imaginary equipment. I followed his lead. "Make sure your bow is raised perfectly straight -- yeah, that's right -- and the arrow held parallel to the floor. Not so high, just a little above your head -- there. Okay, that's great. Now relax, Yukina-chan, and keep your feet flat on the floor stretched forward towards the bow."

The next step was "hikiwake", or drawing the bow. It was a bit too difficult because the string was too tight! Good thing Yukito-kun stepped behind me and helped me with my posture. He faintly smelled of peaches on a spring harvest.

"If 'hikiwake' is the physical draw, then 'kai' is the spiritual complement." He said, instructing me of the next movement. It wasn't movement, really, but more of a meditation.

"Now, you're about to release the arrow; count slowly to eight before releasing. Make sure your grip is firm because the arrow at its release may create a backlash. That may send you back a few steps and cause your arrow to go astray," He whispered close to my ear. "And when you release the arrow, remember that there's still the 'zanshin' and the 'yudaoshi'. Remember the last moves I showed you? That's when you send forth your ki even after the arrow has hit its target, then lower your bow, keeping your eye on that mark and slowly lower your hands to your side." He stepped away from me and demonstrated this again with his hands and the correct movement of the feet.

"You ready?" he asked, stepping back further.

I took a deep breath. "Hai!"

I went through all the stages he taught me, and I realized that it was like a dance, similar to the Kamiya Kashin Ryu they taught me back at home, no less graceful and precise.

I summoned everything Yukito-san taught me and all the principles my previous trainings have imbued in me to this one arrow that lay nocked between my fingers.

'Send for your spirit. The point is not to see the target but to be the target…'

SWOOSH!

In a second, it was over. I was standing there on the porch, my two feet firmly planted on the shiny wooden floor, the bow tucked neatly beside me. My mind was a blank, and the thrumming of my heart echoed in my ears.

An enthusiastic clapping of hands shook me awake. "Eh… sugoi, Yukina-chan!"

"Wow… even I couldn't hit that mark when I started." It was Touya-kun talking; he was standing beside me.

I let my mind clear for a while before I had a good view of my handiwork. There it was, my arrow neatly embedded between the thin margin between the red and white circles.

"You sure you've never handled a bow and arrow before?" Touya-kun asked.

A fierce blush spread across my cheeks. "Iie… never."

"And it doesn't seem to be a fluke either, To-ya. You should have seen how she went through the Hassetsu," Yukito-san supplied, smiling. "Not many people get it so perfectly… not even the first couple of times!"

"Wai! That's incredible, Yuki-chan! You're a natural!" Sakura almost squealed, slinging her arm around my shoulders.

To my surprise, Touya-kun ruffled my hair, sending a deeper blush raging across my face. "Maybe you could teach a certain kaijuu here how it's really done, ne?"

I could sense another bout of fierce sibling dynamics about to commence. "Well..."

"Kaijuu ja nai, you mean, peevish, one-eyed ghoul!"

"Hah! So speaks the mad little glutton who eats like an ogre!"

"I swear, when I get bigger I'll enjoy squishing you with my foot!"

"Fat chance, monsters don't grow any taller than you do!"

"Oh dear..." I sighed.

Yukito giggled. "Sister-complex."

I couldn't agree more. "They get better at it every time."

"I HEARD THAT!" Both brother and sister snarled.



tbc...