3rd Shot: The Bow-Crafting Team
Thankfully the weather was clear–bright blue sky was all he saw, accompanied by fluffy clouds moving slowly to where the wind took them. With this condition, everything would work according to the schedule they set today.
"Ukyo-san, good morning." Shinko greeted.
From her foreign footsteps alone, Ukyo knew she was approaching even if he didn't avert his gaze. He memorized different types of footsteps from different types of people–since Shinko still considered as a new person, it's up to him to start getting used to a new and lighter footstep.
"Good morning," he greeted back. She smiled in return.
"Are we ready for the day? It will take a while, are you sure you want to go? I heard from Tsukasa-san you have patrol duty."
Ukyo nodded. "He already has someone to replace me since he knew I'm going to go with you today."
Shinko sighed in relief, some tension gone from her shoulders. "That's a relief then. I don't want to be a bother."
"You're hardly a bother."
Then the two waited for a certain young man with brawns, basking under the warm morning light as they did. Every time Ukyo took a breath, he could feel how pure and fresh the crisp morning air entering his lungs–a completely different thing in their previous world. People usually went trailing or hiking to earn it because the city's air was too polluted. Now, they could enjoy it in its purest form.
When all humans petrified and leaving all the civilization behind, Mother Earth repaired herself from the catastrophe made by them–healing herself to her previous glory where everything is at balance.
"Sorry for the wait!" Taiju's loud but energetic call was a signal for them to start their activity for the day. "Tsukasa told me you need some wood to make bow and arrows! I bring my tools, so just choose which tree and I'll bring it down for you!"
Sometimes, Ukyo wondered where did Taiju get that endless stamina from until he made chopping a whole tree seemed like an everyday thing.
"Actually, Taiju-san, I thought we can do some exploring for a bit." Shinko suggested.
"Sure! What should we do?"
"Could you hoist me up the tree over here?" She gestured for a tall tree grew not far away from them which easily towers the rest of the greens surrounding it. "I'll launch myself to the top with your palm."
"Will you be okay? It's quite dangerous." Ukyo asked, cranking his neck to see how far the tree goes. The height was no laughing matter, if she were to slip, it would be a fatal thing.
"I'll be alright. Besides, it's better to scout for materials in high places."
Taiju did as she requested while Ukyo just stood by to take a watch below. With a grunt, Taiju propelled Shinko catapulting straight up. Instantly, she grabbed on the branch and swung herself upwards to the next higher branch, sometimes she jumped if the branch was in her reach. While Ukyo was stunned in his place, eyes never leaving her form until she stopped way at the top–where his eyes couldn't even clearly see her figure.
Taiju gaped in awe. "Amazing! I don't know she can move like that!"
More than meets the eye–the idiom was the only thing Ukyo could say to describe it.
"Do you find anything?" Taiju then asked, cupping his mouth to amplified his already booming voice.
"Yes!" Shinko heard it, undoubtedly and immediately replied. Ukyo's ears caught her words clearly. "There's the right tree I'm looking for, maybe only a kilometer from here! We'll go there!"
Their first exploration as a new group began.
.
.
Shinko led them through the pat herself since she knew the exact place after scanning the area from above. Along the way, Taiju used the opportunity to satisfied his curiosity about her ability–barraging her with harmless and endless questions which she answered wholeheartedly. Sometimes she even repeated her explanation in an easier way Taiju's simple mind could comprehend.
Ukyo watched the interaction and sometimes laughed at choice of words Taiju thrown.
Occasionally, Shinko halted her steps to scanned the area briefly before continuing. Their walk went along without a hitch until they reached their destination–a looming maple tree. If Ukyo didn't inspect the ground for a very familiar leaf, he would've thought they went in a wrong way.
"Whoa! How did you know it's here!? The trees look the same to me!"
Shinko chuckled. "I saw it from above remember? Let's just say I have good eyes just like Ukyo-san have great pair of ears."
"From that distance!?"
"Yes, now, I'm counting on you to chop this tree, Taiju-san!"
"OOOH, LEAVE IT TO ME!"
Without hesitation, the said young man swung his stone axe to the bark in such force Ukyo fell the ground tremble. Shinko flinched and took a step back until she stood close to him. A bead of sweat running down her temple as she watched Taiju keep swinging as if it was easy as swiping the floor.
"W-wow, such stamina…" she muttered in disbelief.
The young man cladded in yellow laughed, patting her shoulder lightly. "Taiju is always like that. In the cave, he's always in charge of leaving heavy weights. And he did it without breaking a sweat."
It didn't need an hour for the tree to tilted before hitting the ground with a loud thump. Soon, Shinko began giving instructions about cutting in right size for both arrows and bow. Taiju happily handed her a carving knife made out of stone as she began her own work on her bow while he and Ukyo handling the arrows as he brought some feathers along.
"That reminds me, why did you choose maple tree as the material?" Ukyo asked as his hands work to smoothen the arrow surface.
Taiju's head also perked up when he heard it. "OH! I'm curious too! I thought any wood can make bow and arrows!"
"Maple is one of the most suitable materials for making bow and arrows," She started even though she was focused in carving a branch to make a bow. "Wood has combination of two primary values; the wood's modulus of elasticity or MOE and modulus of rupture or MOR. To put it simple, MOE measures how easily a wood will bend. The higher number, the stiffer it will be. While MOR measures how easily a wood will break. The higher number, the harder it will be to break it. The important point is those two's ratio; the wood must be easy to bend AND hard to break."
"As I thought, I don't understand at all!" Taiju decided, which earned him a laugh from her.
"Well, to put it simply, when I make bow from maple wood, it will be easy to bend and hard to break! It's durable." Shinko snapped her finger to highlight the main point of her explanation. "Although it would be better if we somehow found Madagascar Rosewood, European Yew, or Osage Orange. But those three are distributed mainly in another country far away from Japan, so there's no hope for us to encounter them."
"You're an expert in this," Ukyo was genuine with his words–it wasn't a common knowledge for mundane people to know. And from it he learnt about how important it is a choice of material was.
Taiju nodded vigorously. "Yeah! You're really smart!"
"No, I'm not. I just heard these things from my grandfather," she rubbed the back of her neck shyly. "My grandfather is the one who made the bow I use in tournaments. This kind of knowledge is elementary for him."
"Give yourself a credit," Ukyo scoffed lightly. "If I were the one who heard your grandfather's lecture, I wouldn't last a minute."
"That I can't argue, he's relentless when he's in his zone."
The conversation went on without them breaking from their pace in cutting and shaping. Just in a few hours, a bundle of newly made arrows were on Taiju's shoulder along with spare log they would use for other things. Shinko already had her new bow held in her hand and quiver over her shoulder–filled with several arrows.
"Thank you for your hard work today." she thanked them, bowing low.
"No problem! This is nothing!"
"Taiju-san, you really have bottomless energy. It's amazing…"
Ukyo looked up only to winced at the sun's intensity glare. He pulled his hat down, trying to cover his eyes from the blinding source. Knowing how high the sun was, it was around noon. Noon means-
Rumble.
He averted his gaze over his shoulder, watching as Taiju stopped on his tracks and Shinko staring at him with widened eyes. The taller one immediately laughed at the sound which came from him–patting on his stomach.
"I guess it's time for lunch!"
"Then, I should start hunting." Ukyo added, reaching for one his arrows–only to be stopped by Shinko. She shook her head.
"Ah, about that, as my thanks I will be the one who do it. Are fishes enough? There's a river near here." Her fingers played with the bow string. "This could be a practice for me too. It's been a long time since I hold a bow. Around 3,700 years."
She laughed at her own joke, which was contagious enough for him and Taiju to laugh along. Ukyo did hear splashes of water, a current stirring not far from where they stood–it's not loud, meaning the river wasn't big and it's not too shallow either. Fishes certainly could be found there. "Sure."
This time, he was the one who lead them to the water source. The way was cutting through bushes and tall grass but certainly not far–maybe it took about 20 minutes until they arrived. As he predicted, the river was a size of common roads in their previous world, the current was calm and the water was crystal clear. Taiju placed their things on the ground and walked away in search for some branches to burn.
Soon after, Ukyo heard whispers.
"Four meters from here, two-no, four. It's enough."
Ukyo shifted his eyes, watching as Shinko pulled out exactly three arrows at the same time–two between her others fingers while one was one the bow. Once warm, purple beads changed into more serious and sharper–taking an aim at something beneath those waters he couldn't see.
Once she released, the arrow whizzed pass–followed by two others. It landed on the spot Shinko aimed for, trashed for a bit with some splashes, and then being taken by the current to where they stood. Taiju jumped in to retrieve them–pulling out the arrows which pierced their lunch for the day–exactly four fishes with two being pierced by an arrow.
"WHOA! HOW!?"
"Just like Ukyo-san can hear them, I can see them."
"Amazing!"
Is this how people reacted when they knew how his hearing works? When even the slightest changing in sound could make a difference for him, even a seemingly unnoticeable vibration in someone's voice could he decipher. Now, he had the opportunity to feel the same way.
"Y-you can see them just from here? In the water?" It was truly mind-blowing for him. Ogasawara Shinko-chan, an ex-athlete in Japanese archery. Your exceptionally great sight and accuracy makes you never miss your target–Minami's information about her was spot on. A great ability which Tsukasa much needed.
Shinko nodded, giving him a smile. "Now, let's have lunch."
She sat on the ground by the fire Taiju managed to lit–the previously caught fish skewered by a stick and placed upon the fire to be cooked. Patting an empty spot beside her, she signaled him to sit down. Ukyo sighed, giving her a smile before doing so.
The day went great–greater than he thought it would be and the most relaxing he experienced so far.