Takigawa Masaki never thought he would meet a high school student, who ran away from home.
Usually he only heard stories like this from acquaintances or saw them from shows on television. Maybe back in high school he had experienced times like this but he was a man. In contrast to this transfer student named Ishida Andini. It's already night and she ran away from home? Seriously! Had the girl forgotten how she was chased by some guys that night at their first meeting?
"So what if I run away from home?" Andini grumbled. "Is that a problem for you? If I want to run away from home, if I want to disappear from here or have an accident, you—"
"Don't say such strange things," Masaki cut her straight in a firm tone. "That could bode badly for yourself. I'm just worried about you. You're a transfer student, right? I'm afraid you're not familiar with this area and get lost. Only that."
Andini snorted and crossed her arms. She glanced at the blue-eyed man. Those blue eyes always looked soft and gentle even when she had said harsh words and also acted cold toward him. The same blue eyes as his hair color. When Masaki looked at her, Andini cleared her throat and immediately looked away.
"I already know this area," said Andini in a firm tone. "I used to live here before I moved to Indonesia."
Masaki raised one eyebrow. "Indonesia? Are you Indonesian?"
"A half," Andini answered, shrugging. "My Father is Japanese and my Mother is Indonesian."
"So, that's it! I always knew your face, as well as your eyes, unlike most Japanese people."
"This person is so strange," Andini muttered using her Mother tongue, making Masaki smile.
"Hey, maybe I don't understand Indonesian and I'm sure you just used Indonesian to me. But, I'm sure you just said weird things about me, didn't you?" chuckled Masaki.
Andini was silent. The girl took a deep breath and glanced at Masaki's bow which was tucked into its holder which resembled a long tube. Then, Andini looked up at the starless night sky.
"I'm tired," muttered Andini. Again, in Indonesian. This made Masaki glance at her and smile faintly.
"If you don't want to go home, how about we eat ramen around here?" offered Masaki. "My treat. In the cold night air like this, isn't it best if we eat something with hot soup?"
Andini was silent again. She was indeed hungry. Since coming home from school earlier, Andini only changed clothes and then ran away from home. She even forgot to bring her wallet. All she brought with her was her cell phone, which had been vibrating since earlier because her Mother and Father kept calling her.
"How about it?"
Andini glanced at Masaki. "You're not going to kidnap me or harass me, are you?"
Hearing that question, Masaki blinked and the next second he laughed loudly. An amused laugh. This made Andini give him a confused look. Has she said something wrong? Isn't it natural for her to be afraid of a stranger like Takigawa Masaki?
"Do I look like a bad man in your eyes, Andini?"
Andini shrugged. "You're a stranger to me, Masaki-san. You're also older than me. Who knows what an old man like you will do to a young girl like me? And again, you suddenly called my first name earlier and now you don't even use honorifics to me? How close do you think we are?"
"I told you, you can go easy on me too." Masaki unconsciously ruffled Andini's hair, causing Andini to freeze and immediately jerked the man's hand away from her head. "Just call me Masaki. And about age, I'm still 23 years old. You and I are only seven years apart, right? I'm not that old yet. I won't do anything bad to you. If I do bad things to you, you know where to look for me."
Andini looked down and took a deep breath. "I... will reimburse you later," said the girl in a low voice.
"Relax," chuckled Masaki. "So, shall we go now?" The man asked Andini to go first. The two of them walked side by side toward the ramen place which Masaki always visited when he was lazy to cook at home.
###
After finishing dinner together, Masaki and Andini walked back to the park.
Masaki was busy thinking about how he could persuade Andini to come home. If the girl didn't come home, where would the girl go and sleep tonight?
"Andini, I—"
"I'm not going home," cut Andini in a firm tone. She glanced at Masaki, who was walking on the outside of the street. "If that's what you want to say. I can sleep anywhere and I'm used to staying up all night. It's not difficult for me."
Masaki took a deep breath and massaged his temples. "It's not like that, Andini. You're a girl. I'm afraid something bad will happen to you. Can't you stay at your relative's house? Or, at Inga-chan's house, perhaps? You're friends with her, right?"
"I don't want to trouble anyone. I just want to be alone." Andini crossed the road. However, the girl was not aware of a bicycle pedaling at high speed, speeding towards her. Andini's eyes widened as she felt her arms being pulled firmly from behind, then her body landed in Masaki's warm and tight embrace. The cyclist stopped and looked at Masaki and Andini, and then bowed apologetically repeatedly.
"Are you okay?" asked the man in a worried tone. As well as the look in his eyes at this moment. "Are you hurt?"
Andini shook her head slowly. "No, I'm fine."
The silence that created between her and Masaki made Andini feel uncomfortable. The girl took a deep breath when she felt the cell phone in her trouser pocket vibrate again. She picked it up and read the name on the screen. Again, her Mother and Father called her. Not wanting to be bothered by her parents all the time, Andini turned off her cell phone and put it back in her trouser pocket.
"If you don't have any destination, how about staying at my family shrine?"
Andini blinked. "What?"
"You can stay there tonight." Masaki smiled. "And, of course I'm not going to live in that shrine with you. But, if you need anything, you can call me. My house is right next to the shrine. How about it?"
"Did you mean Yama No Mori Kyudo Hall?"
Masaki laughed and nodded. "That's my family's dojo. It's where we used to practice Kyudo. My family shrine is beside it."
Andini stared at the soft blue eyes. "Is it... not a bother?"
"Not at all. It just calms me down knowing you're okay tonight." Masaki pointed towards his family home and shrine. "Come on, that way."
Andini nodded and followed Masaki. She stared at the back that looked so athletic. A back that looks big and warm. A strong back, which will give her peace and comfort. Thinking of such things made Andini flinch and immediately shook her head.
"Stupid! What was I thinking?" Andini grumbled in a low voice. Not realizing that Masaki turned back to look at her with a smile.
Arriving at the Takigawa family shrine, Masaki brought Andini in and showed her a room that the girl could use to rest. "Well, you can rest here. My house is visible from here. That, over there," Masaki pointed out. "Just scream if you need anything. Or, you can just come over there. You don't need to be afraid because I live alone there. My family lives in another prefecture. In that case, good night, Andini."
"Good night," Andini replied, bowing.
###
The girl could not sleep.
Andini got up from her futon and took a deep breath. She picked up her cell phone which she had restarted and looked at the digital clock displayed on the screen. It's already two in the morning. Should she go home? Her bedroom window was unlocked and she could sneak in through it. She also has to go to school in the morning, right? Her school uniform and school equipment, of course, are all at home.
"Maybe, I should take a walk around the shrine," Andini muttered. The girl tidied her futon and left the room. She used the light from her cell phone to light up her steps. After walking around the shrine, Andini decided to visit the dojo where she first met Masaki. The place where she saw Masaki doing Kyudo and taking out such a beautiful tsurune.
The girl entered through the wooden guardrail on the side of the dojo. She frowned when she saw that the dojo was not closed properly. Even so, according to Andini, this is a good opportunity. She sneaked around like a thief, took off her shoes and climbed onto the dojo. After bowing to salute to the dojo, Andini approached one of the bows that were there. She smiled faintly and caressed the bow affectionately. There was longing visible in her brown eyes. Without her realizing it, Andini took the bow and two arrows.
Andini performs the initial moves in Kyudo. She took a stance and started to focus on the target far ahead of her. The girl drew her arrow and took a deep breath through her nose, then let it out through her mouth. Her heart was pounding. Then, when the girl felt it was the right time, she released the arrow. Her Tsurune was so melodious and beautiful and the arrow went fast, and then hit the target.
"You are so good at Kyudo, then why do you say you hate it?"
The question made Andini widen her eyes and she quickly turned around. There, standing in the doorway of the dojo, Takigawa Masaki's figure came into view. The man looked at her with a serious gaze as well as a look of awe and curiosity.
"I... this is..." Andini didn't even know what to say. She was like a thief caught red-handed. The girl hurriedly ran and returned the borrowed bow and arrows to their original places. "Sorry, I came in here without permission. I couldn't sleep, so I just wanted to go for a walk. In that case, I will go home now. Thank you for giving me permission to rest in your shrine."
"Ishida Akira."
That name made Andini stop her steps and freeze.
"That name appeared when I deliberately searched for your name on the internet out of curiosity about your good Kyudo skills. Do you have anything to do with that great Kyudoka named Ishida Akira? Because you two have the same surname."