Chapter 7: Tournaments and Troubles.
The first thing Takashi saw when he stepped into the Maruyama dojo on Sunday was a blur of blue headed straight towards him. His reflexes kicked in a moment later, and he sidestepped the blur before grabbing its collar and flipping it to the ground, his hand holding its head down.
"Whoa, truce!" a voice said, and he realized that he had just thrown one of Ikeda's friends. Yoshida, that was hs name. He released the blue-haired boy, his face red with embarrasment. What had he been thinking, letting his training take over like that? He could have hurt someone! A sudden thought made him shudder: What if it had been Ikeda?
Yoshida hopped to his feet, brushing off his hakama pants.
"Kami, but you're strong! I'm impressed!" He clapped Takashi on the shoulder and grinned. "I was aiming to land a good punch on you with a straightforward attack, but it looks like I'll have to find another way." With that, he turned on his heel and walked into the main room.
Ikeda jogged up to Takashi a moment later.
"Yoshida-san didn't hit you, did he?" she panted.
"No. I threw him."
Ikeda stared at him for a moment before throwing back her head and laughing. "Good!" she said, still guffawing, "That'll make him respect you!"
"What?" Takashi asked, bemused.
"Arata doesn't respect anyone unless they can best him in a fight," Sanu explained as she walked up to them, "He's kind of weird. And he already hates you because Sumiko likes you. He gets a little territorial about his friends."
"…Mm," Takashi grunted, still slightly confused.
"Oh!" Ikeda said suddenly, "I wanted to ask. After the matches today, do you want to have dinner with us?"
"Ah," he said, and was rewarded with Ikeda's most brilliant smile. He couldn't help but smile back.
"Okay! I've got to see who I'm shooting against, so I'll see you later!" She trotted off, still beaming.
Takashi turned to take his shoes off, and found himself facing Sanu, who was wearing a knowing smile.
"Hm?" he asked, and the short girl just shook her head.
"Oh, nothing," she said, just a little too innocently, before going to join Ikeda at the list of participating archers.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Takashi didn't know the first four archers, so he cat-napped during their demonstrations. He was awoken by loud cheering and someone poking him in the side. He looked down to see Sato-san, who was looking terribly excited.
'"You won't want to miss this one!" she said, "Everyone's betting on him going against Sumiko-chan. They're both at the top of the class."
His interest piqued, he looked up to see a tall, thin boy with sandy brown hair beginning to position himself. He was given his bow, and he raised it and nocked the arrow. Even with Takashi's limited knowledge of kyudo, he could tell that this boy was quite skilled. Everything about him was calm, poised. His breathing was even, and his hands were almost unnaturally steady.
There was a shuk noise, and the boy released his arrow, watching it fly into the very center of the target. There was thuderous applause, and some cries of 'bravo!' from the audience.
"Nakamura!" the instructor shouted, and then next person repeated the process, although with less precision and skil than the tall thin boy.
When it came time for Ikeda to shoot, he saw to his distress that she looked markedly more nervous than yesterday. When she went into her unusually wide stance, she was biting her lip. Beside him, Sato-san drew in her breath.
"Ooh dear," she whispered breathily, "she's feeling the pressure."
"Will she be all right?" Takashi asked.
"I hope so," was all the elderly woman would reply.
Sato took her bow, drew it far back, and stood for a moment before releasing the arrow. Takashi could that sense Sato-san was holding her breath as it arced through the air.
The arrow hit the center of the target, and Sato-san exhaled with a big whoosh as Ikeda turned around, grinning.
"Good job, Sumiko-chan!" Sat-san shouted over the applause, and Ikeda gave her a tiny wave.
The shooting continued, and each of Ikeda's friends shot in their turn. Yoshida did very well, as Takashi had expected, but her two female friends didn't impress the judges. They waved at their remaining comrades as they sat down on a bench on the sidelines. The targets were pulled back a foot or so.
The line continued to dwindle, as the targets continued to be pushed farther and farther back, and archer after archer was eliminated. In one rather spectacular case, a boy threw down his bow and broke the arrow over his knee before storming off in the direction of the bathrooms.
After about two hours, only four archers were left. Ikeda, Yoshida, the tall thin boy who was very good at archery, and a girl who he remembered seeing in his History of Science lectures. They had never spoken.
"Yoshida1" was the instructor's cry, and the blue-haired boy stepped forward, took his bow, and shot. There was a collective groan from the audience members, and Yoshida began to jog towards the bench before the judges could even announce if he was to be eliminated.
"Good luck, Miko-chan!" he shouted over his shoulder, "Wipe the floor with those bastards!"
"Tanaka!"
The History of Science girl repeated the process, although apparently she did much better than Yoshida, for she was allowed to stay another round. Both Ikeda and the tall thin boy won their places for another round with almost perfect shooting.
But the next round of this, the History of Science girl made a mistake in her footing, and the arrow didn't go far enough. She walked to the bench calmly, and sat down next to several other girls who began to talk with her almost immediately.
"Match! Ikeda and Kato."
So the tall, thin boy's name was Kato. Takashi felt like he should know the name. It sounded so familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
For the match, the two would be firing separately, and then simultaneously. Ikeda went first. Her feet slid smoothly, and her face appeared calm, but Takashi could see a flicker of nervousness in her eyes. She took the bow, and as she nocked the arrow and drew it back, he saw her eyes flick in his direction.
Was she looking for him? He waved at her, a tiny flick of the wrist really, but he saw her noticeably relax. Apparently Sato-san saw it too, for she look at him sharply.
Ikeda's arrow flew straight and ture, and it hit the center of the target with a satisfying thump. Ikeda stood back and Takashi saw her sigh soundlessly.
Kato took his stance and his bow with the same eerie calm that Takashi had observed he had all the other times he shot. The arrow was nocked, and shot. It too, embedded itself in the exact center of the target.
But now it was time for the simutaneous shooting. The targets were moved all the way back. Both archers received their bows, took their stances, and nocked their arrows.
There was a moment of total silence.
And then two arrows arched through the air.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
I know, I left if at a (sort-of) cliffhanger. But I'm trying to keep you hooked!
Some Things of Note: I have absolutely no idea how Kyudo tournaments work. This is all my imagination.
I'll see you guys in three weeks!