Talking to the Moon

Chapter 6

The Return to the World of Archery

A couple of weeks went by and Blake and Yang were still maintaining their time together. However, Neptune also found his way into their group. At first, Blake was a little bummed out that she couldn't be alone with Yang, but for some reason, he fit really well with them. Their conversations were as lively as always, only that there was one other person with them. Neptune was a very open guy and he tried his best not to be some overbearing dude that hangs out with girls more often than boys.

For Yang, she was still a little on-edge whenever her was around, but did a better job at hiding her feelings. She constantly kept her ears open when he talked since she wanted to know more about him. Because of this, she never really did much talking to him. She wanted to wait until it was the right time to open up to him.

For Blake, things were a little different. Even though she wanted to be alone with Yang, she couldn't help but not talk to Neptune. They always talked about archery and what was going on during class. He wasn't the smartest guy ever so Blake occasionally had to help him out with certain things. All the while though, Blake continued to keep her focus on Yang. She was still trying to find the right time to tell her how she truly feels, but no time ever felt right to her.

When another day of archery came around, everyone on the team gathered at the line and waited for Weiss to make her normal announcements before practice started.

"Hey everyone, I can definitely say that we've all improved a lot. Blake and Neptune, especially, have grabbed my attention with their skills." Everyone started to clap. "Moving along, our first meet is tomorrow so be sure to practice hard today and get lots of rest for tomorrow. We'll all meet here at 8am to carpool to the tournament. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what do we do with the trophy after we win?" Everyone turned around to see Neptune with his hand in the air. "What? Can I not joke around?"

"I guess I should inform you that the tournaments that we go to are among the toughest in the region. We average 3rd place every time we participate in them so that might tell you why we all looked at you funny."

"Right. My bad." They all turned around. Out of nowhere, Blake punched him in the shoulder. "Whoa, what was that for?"

"For the stupid question."

"Come on. I just wanted to lighten up the mood."

"I think you just made it worse," she said as she pushed his face back towards the front.

"Alright, if they are no more questions, let's get shooting." Just like that, everyone gathered their things and began practice.

After practice, they made their way outside where Yang was waiting for them. Like always, Neptune ran to her and started up their conversations. This was where Blake got pissed. She wanted to be the first one to talk to Yang, but this jerk insists that he's the first one. This was definitely the one thing she didn't like about him. He didn't really show signs of wanting to be with Yang, but he always preferred Yang over her in situations like this.

After a while, they final reached the place where Neptune had to part with them. He grabbed Yang's hand and asked if she would accompany them to the tournament tomorrow. At first, she was flustered. On the other hand, Blake looked away. Yang looked at Blake and took a huge deep breath.

"As long as Blake's there, I'll go."

"Sweet. It'll be us three together." He ran up to the two of them and hugged them around their heads.

"Alright, we get the point. Get home or else your parents will start worrying about you."

"Haha, you're funny Blake. They never worry about me. I'm responsible." Blake and Yang rolled their eyes as he finally disappeared from sight. After that, they continued to walk home. As they did, Yang asked questions about Neptune and why he was so open towards them. Blake couldn't even give her a straight-up answer. She didn't know. It almost confused her actually. A guy this nice, being this open was so random and so rare. As they continued to think, Yang closed her eyes and pressed her hands against her heart.

"I like him. He's sweet." Blake widened her eyes as a loud thump came from her chest. What was this feeling? Was it for Yang or Neptune? Why is there even a conflict? She continued to think even when she bid Yang goodbye as she made it home. Once she was home, nothing was anything to special. She had dinner with her mother and then she got ready for bed.

As she tried to fall asleep, images and thoughts continued to flood her entire head. Images of Yang and Neptune were all over the place and she couldn't understand a single thing that she saw. She tossed and turned all night, thinking about what was going on in her head until she finally grew exhausted and crashed on the floor. There, she spent the rest of her night, trying to rest up for the tournament tomorrow.

When the next morning came around, her mother opened up the door to see Blake passed out half on the ground. She smiled and quietly knelt down beside her.

"Hey Blake, wake up. You're gonna be late for your tournament today." Out of some stroke of luck, she heard the word "tournament" and was immediately awake. She grabbed her things and got ready, completely ignoring her mother's presence. She didn't mind. She just left Blake's room and prepared breakfast.

Once she was done, she ran downstairs while looking at her phone. It was 7:55am. She quickly put on her shoes and made her way to the door.

"Hey, you don't want any breakfast?"

"Sorry mom, I have to go." Before she reached for the door, she ran back into the kitchen, kissed her mom on the cheek, and left the house. She watched her leave with such urgency and smiled. She was just glad that Blake still had some time for her.

Blake ran as fast as she could and arrived at the dojo right on time. There, the rest of her team and Yang were waiting. She looked at her phone and saw that it was 8:02am. Shoot! Missed it by that much.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I'll go over the carpool situation. You 5 take one car. I'll take the newcomers and our guest. Any other questions. If not, we all meet at the main gate… No exceptions." She gave Blake the stink eye. "Alright, let's head out." At the same time, everyone packed their things in the cars and drove off to the tournament.

During the drive, things were pretty quiet. Occasionally, Yang would ask about why Blake was late, but Blake would just say that it was her fault and that that she didn't have an excuse. Another surprise was that Neptune was completely quiet. He was in the passenger seat next to Weiss while the other two were in back seat. They just stared out the window and retreated to their thoughts.

"Hey Blake."

"Yeah?"

"If you're worried about being late, don't be. It happens to everyone and my looking at you was just part of my job. I was late once before so you're not at fault. Just try not to do it again." she looked into the rear view mirror and smiled. "Alright?"

"Okay. Thank you Weiss."

"No problem." Blake dropped her head with a smile. Even though she hasn't talked with Weiss much, she definitely brings her peace whenever she speaks, something Yang doesn't do for her. She looked at Yang who was looking at her.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just seem a little off this morning."

"Do I? Doesn't really seem like it to me."

"Sure it doesn't." Yang grabbed Blake's head and put her in a headlock. This caused the car to shake as they neared the event. Weiss, on the other hand, just put on a smile as the two of them went at it.

Finally, they arrived at the event and everyone was standing by at the entrance gate. Weiss led the team through the event and to the sing-in table. The official gave them the run-down of the event. Today was a team event which meant that the score is accumulative. Different challenges will be set for each round. Team that scores the highest will gain first place and a huge advantage in the individual competition. She thanked the official for the help and led their group to a nice spot underneath a tree where they set up camp for the day. It was now 9:10am and the event started at 10am so they had some time to kill.

"Okay, you guys are free to do whatever you want, but try not to do anything stupid." Everyone started to laugh. "Haha, you all think it's funny, but I guarantee that someone will do something stupid. Anyway, run along." The girls from the other car stood up and asked Blake if she wanted to explore the event with them. She politely declined and they ran off with another word. Right as she turned her head to talk with Yang, she saw Neptune snatch her away which left her alone. She let out a sigh and fell on her back. "Something bothering you?"

"Huh?"

"You seem kind of troubled." She couldn't believe how good she was at reading people.

"What are you talking about? I'm totally fine."

"Look, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. It's just that you were late this morning and all throughout the car ride, you were really quiet. And now, you seem distant when compared to other times."

"It's nothing. Just don't worry about it. It's stupid."

"I know it's not my place, but something is only stupid if that person can't bring themselves to face the truth of the situation." Blake widened her eyes as she turned towards Weiss who was getting on her feet. "Lying is never a good thing, but lying to yourself is definitely the worst thing you can do." With that, she left. Blake continued to watch Weiss as she left the picnic area. She was left alone.

Is all of this really that stupid or is it just me? She reached into her bag and pulled out one of her arrows. She examined the tip of the arrow, making sure that it wasn't too sharp or too dull. After that, she checked the shaft of the arrow, making sure that it was straight and wouldn't fly off course. Finally, she checked her feathers to make sure that they were as aerodynamic as possible. Once everything was in check, she stabbed it into the ground with her fists clenched. I'm the one who's stupid.

Ding dong! The sound of bells of echoed over the speaker system which meant the tournament was officially starting. Everyone gathered their things and waited at their respective areas of the event. Blake was the first one to their spot as the others followed close behind her. They looked around and saw at least 30 teams around them. Blake took a big gulp for she knew that the competition was going to be fierce. Out of nowhere, someone grabbed her hand from behind. She looked and saw Yang holding it with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry, you got this."

"Alright archers, let's get shooting!"

End of Chapter 6