Chapter 5: Demonstrations

Shimizu looked at the new players before her. They weren't exactly fond of each other. They straight up seemed to hate each other. If they didn't learn how to work together, then they couldn't let the three be on the team. Sawamura thought the same as well. It just sucked that they didn't have a libero or a winged spiker. She had tried to convince Sawamura to talk to Asahi, but he was reluctant as of late. It wasn't like they had a coach either. They had a teacher looking over the team but they couldn't exactly improve as players without a coach. Old man Ukai had retired last year and there didn't seem to be a replacement in sight.

"Let's call it for today," Sawamura said as he caught a ball. "The first years seem promising, but if they don't get their act together, they don't stand a chance to be on the team." The others nodded and started to clean up. Sawamura noticed Shimizu's distracted look. "What's up?" He stood next to her as the second years and the other third years cleaned up.

"I'm just wondering how Kagome's first day went." Everyone stopped to look at her. "She's new here and doesn't know anyone outside of me, and I didn't exactly hang out with her today during lunch."

"You were busy handling things for the club," he told her. "Sometimes it cannot be helped." She nodded and everyone went back to cleaning. When they were done, they headed out together only to see Kagome bowing to the school's vice principal.

"Thank you! You won't regret this." She stood and turned towards them. "Kiyoko, are you done for the day as well?" She walked up to her cousin.

"Yeah. What was that about?" They started to walk home with the volleyball team.

"Turns out the kyudo team wasn't able to recruit any new members this year." She sighed. "It's likely the club will be disbanded after this year if we aren't able to recruit anyone. So I went to arrange something with the vice principal." She scratched the back of her head. "Admittedly, the captain and vice captain don't know anything about it. Their obsessiveness actually kind of scared me, if I am being honest."

"Obsessiveness?" Sugawara asked. He wasn't sure how they could possibly know her.

Kagome looked at them, then realized that they really wouldn't know anything about her if they were that obsessed with volleyball. "Ano, I am actually really famous in the kyudo world." She looked up at the darkening sky. She wasn't exactly sure how to put it.

"Kagome represented Japan at the junior Olympics," Kiyoko said easily. "She won several gold medals. She also won several national tournaments."

"Really?" They looked at the other female.

"That about sums it up," she admitted. "But the only ones that would even know that are other kyudo enthusiasts and anyone that followed any of the junior Olympics." They nodded, now understanding why some would be obsessed with her while others wouldn't know a thing about her.

Soon enough it found everyone else already gone and Kiyoko and Kagome on their own. They weren't afraid though. It was a relatively safe neighborhood, after all.

"So your first day wasn't a complete bust?" Kiyoko asked into the silence that surrounded them.

"No, though I did get glared at by a few girls for even talking to Hatori-san."

"He is quite popular," Kiyoko admitted.

"Asahi-san is in my class, but he seemed too shy to interact with me."

"He can be like that sometimes," Kiyoko assured. "It has nothing to do with you. In all actuality, many people are scared of him because of how tall he is and how he looks."

"He seems like a big softie to me," Kagome said and they both giggled. It was nice having someone to gossip and talk with. Both girls seemed to need it.

The next morning seemed hectic still, with people asking first years to join their club. The kyudo team didn't seem to draw anymore attention. It wasn't like they could be heard above the calls of the other, bigger teams. They hadn't seen Kagome either, which was a bit disheartening. They were set to give up when a ruckus was heard and everyone stopped to see what was going on. An area was being cordoned off and a few targets were being setup in the area. A barricade was quickly erected behind the targets and people were murmuring, but Hatori, Sakaguchi and their resident fan girl were starry-eyed.

"We get to see a live demonstration," Hatori told them, tears starting to drift from his eyes.

"I've only seen her on video," Sakaguchi said.

"What's going on?" was heard through out the gathered crowd. They were not sure what was going on, but it did draw everyone's attention.

"Good morning, everyone," a voice called from the opposite end from the barricade. "I'm Higurashi Kagome, and I recently transferred here." They could see the slender frame of a female in what looked like traditional miko clothes but in the schools colors. "I know many of you don't know me, but I recently joined the kyudo team." There were a few murmurs of confusion but there were a few quiet voices whispering their admiration. "For those of you present that don't know who I am or what kyudo is, let me offer you a demonstration." They just now noticed the long bow in her hand as well as the stand of arrows not far from her. She easily and fluidly drew an arrow from the stand before standing in front of the closest target. She took a relaxed stance before bringing up both in a steady and fluid motion. She gracefully strung the arrow, paused briefly before releasing the arrow. She repeated the process for each target as a hush fell over the crowd. When the thunk of the last arrow sounded, murmurs of admiration was heard.

"Kiyoko, your cousin looked so cool up there," Sawamura admitted. There was a blush on his cheeks. The other volleyball team members nodded their agreement. The usually loud Ryunosuke was silent. Even he thought it would be rude to be loud right now.

"I thank you for your time and consideration. If you want to join the kyudo team, please come see us at both 36." She bowed and headed towards the booth. There was clamoring as booth 36 found first years rushing their booth. They hadn't known that the school even had a kyudo team.

"Higurashi-sama, you're a life saver," Hatori said as she approached. The other members were busy handling the applications.

"We're going to need a manager though, to handle all the paperwork," she said easily. There were several first years that were looking at her and holding out pieces of paper and asking for autographs. She was signing some easily enough. "We'll be busy with all the first years."

"She is right," Sakaguchi said as she took another form. "I'll have to look around and see if I can find someone. It would also be great if we could find a coach."

"We'll manage until that day comes," Kagome said as she looked at the crowd around them. Even if they weren't joining the team, there were still groups of second and third years looking at them. "I did teach some classes before I moved here. If anything, I can see what the team has and help us all improve."

"You're the best, Higurashi-sama," her second year fan girl said.

"This is such a headache," the second year male complained as he looked over another application.

"You are looking a little pale. Have you been drinking enough water and getting enough sleep?" Kagome asked the younger male.

He blushed and stammered out an answer to her question. He tucked his head down, now feeling embarrassed for bringing the older girl's attention on him. Hatori was silently fuming and Sakaguchi looked like the cat that caught the canary. She had a feeling that this year was going to be an entertaining one.

~Time Skip

Classes ended for the day and it found the kyudo club room full of potential candidates. "This is a great turn out," Sakaguchi said and Hatori nodded. Kagome was yet to arrive, but she had said she needed to grab something real quick then she would be back. "I wonder what she has planned. She left so quickly."

"It probably has something to do with the amount of space we have here," Hatori said. The building was slowly falling to disrepair. They hadn't exactly won that many tournaments in recent years, and so their funding was slowly going down. They only ever got anything new when things were broken beyond repair. They also really couldn't afford new equipment like arrows or bows and they had to keep repairing the targets they used. The tatami was worn out in several different places and the paint on the walls was faded and chipped. The ceiling and roof was new at least. The doors had been repaired several times, but the wood was all mismatched and worn in older places.

"This place is a mess," Kagome said as she came in again. "There isn't much we can do about that now, however I did manage to find a couple of bows in the old storage shed." She came in with her arms full of old bows. They looked worn and many of the strings were broken. "I suggest everyone bringing their own bows tomorrow, if you have one." She started to set the stack down on the only table they had, which was worn and old. One of the legs was even shorter than the others and had to have a block of wood slid under it. "The first years will need to use these in the mean time." The first years looked like they wanted to cry but didn't at the glare Sakaguchi shot them.

"Higurashi-sama," Sakaguchi sang. "It was nice of you to find bows for them to use, if only temporary." The warning was clear. Don't complain or you would be gone.

"They aren't half bad," Kagome said as she looked some of them over. "A little sanding and sealing, and they'll look good as new." She felt the strings on the bows. "The strings, however, are really old and will likely snap if they aren't replaced." She lightly strummed over a string and it did snap. The string managed to nick one of her fingers. They looked worried but there was no blood. "No need to worry." She held her hand up and they could see the callous on her fingers from over use. "My fingers are fine." They nodded. "Sakaguchi-san, did you manage to find a manager?"

"Afraid not." She shook her head. "Whenever someone saw the stacks of paper in my arms, they fled. We'll have to handle it until we do manage to find someone."

"No use crying over that then." She turned from the old bows and approached her case in the corner. She would have to note down what all needed to get done to get the building back in order. "We'll definitely need a sponsor to get anything done around here." She sighed and shook her head. It really would be a long year. She pushed the thought away and opened her case. She had several strings in it. She would let the club have them and replace them later. She closed the case and approached the bows. She opened the replacement string and removed the broken string from the bow before easily stringing the bow again. She did this until there was a total of five bows ready. She looked at the old targets. They would have to be replaced as well. The arrows seemed to have seen better days, but they were still usable.

"Sakaguchi-san, Hatori, setup five stations. I want to see what the team and first years are capable of." Both saluted and got to work. Kagome had pulled out a notebook and pencil to document what she found. She'd have to re-organize her notes tonight in order to come up with plans for everyone. When they were done she called attention to everyone. "I want to start with the current members to see what they have and to make introductions. Taicho, you can start."

"Third year, Captain, Sakaguchi, Aiko." She took the first slot in the row.

"Third year, Vice Captain, Senjo, Hatori." He took the second slot. Kagome nodded to the fan girl, and she grinned wide.

"Second year, Nekota, Mochi." She easily took the third slot.

"Second year, Garachi, Satoshi." The second year male took the fourth slot.

"Second year, Sakatoshi, Kara." The last second year took the fifth slot.

Kagome had written all their names down and nodded. Each took up their own bow and aimed. Kagome looked over their forms as she walked behind them and took notes down as they released their arrows. They did twice more before she nodded and they stood back. The next five introduced themselves before taking up the loaner bows and aiming. Each name was written and every thing noted by her. By the end of the demonstrations, it was late.

"Alright, clean up, then head home. I'll be looking over these." She waved the notebook and they started clean up.

"We'll handle the applications," Sakaguchi said, Hatori next to her. "You already have enough on your hands."

"Alright." She looked at the time on her watch. "I have to get changed and head out. It'll be a long night sorting this and finishing homework." Both nodded.

"It shouldn't take long to clean here with all the first years we managed to get today. Get some rest, Higurashi-sama," Nekota said as she placed the bow back on the table. "We'll exchange numbers tomorrow so we can all coordinate the school year."

"Good night." Kagome turned and left. There was a lot of repairs the club room would need and she might have to reach out to a few contacts. She was getting a headache just thinking about what they would say.