In this chapter: We find out who wins the compet.i.tion (which is already spoiled by the second volume summary)

Here we have the very last chapter of Tsurune 1, but there’s still an afterword left!

Glossary

Full list of translations

Translation Notes

1. j.a.panese puns, my old friend! Ataranai can mean “not hitting” but it can also mean “not spoiling/going bad”.

2. I’m not really sure what matohari means. It appears to be the act of stretching the target paper over a frame, but apparently it also means tidying up the kyudojo??

3. The words used here describe brush strokes used in calligraphy.

4. The kanji for eshajouri are 會者定離.

5. A kagura is a s.h.i.+nto ritual of song and dance. You can read more about it on Wikipedia

The tiebreaking match for the team compet.i.tion was “ippon kyousha” (one arrow shooting compet.i.tion). Each person shot one arrow, and the team with the most total hits would receive the higher rank. In the case where it wasn’t decided by one round, it would be repeated until the rankings were decided.

Kubo Commercial High School entered the first shajo, and Kazemai High School entered the second. The compet.i.tors held one arrow in their hands, their remaining three entrusted to their managers and lined up at the entrance.

The oomae Kaito turned around and scolded them all.

“Did you all wipe your wet arrows properly? I’ll hit first, so all of you need to follow my lead.”

Even though Ryouhei answered with, “Okay,” Minato could not hide his anxiety. Kirisaki High School had advanced to the finals tournament with the high result of thirty-three hits total. Was Shuu watching the progress of this match from somewhere?

Minato had never done an ippon kyousha in a compet.i.tion even once until now, but when he thought about it now, that was all thanks to Shuu. There was Seiya right behind him, and the ochi was Shuu. Because he was there, he was able to draw with his mind at ease. And because his mind was at ease, he could hit.

Was that the responsibility of the ochi? It was a position where one needed ability and strength just to make one’s comrades feel secure. He thought that the burden was too heavy on him. Even if they successfully won this match and advanced to the finals, would he be able to withstand this pressure until the end?

He waited for his own turn. He waited for the right time to arise.

It was said that waiting was also a type of training, which certainly might be true. From the very back of the line, Minato once again watched his teammate’s backs.

The oomaes began uchiokos.h.i.+. Both Kubo and Kazemai hit their targets, and then the compet.i.tors changed their directions from the targets, faced backwards towards the honza and sat down. Excepting the cases where there were many teams in a tie, no one can leave the shajo until compet.i.tion results were decided. Ryouhei and the second archer from Kubo missed, and the third, fourth and fifth hit. They got the exact same scores, so they entered a second round.

Minato returned to honza briefly, got an arrow and then went to the shooting line again.

When Kaito and Ryouhei both hit, the cheering party from Kazemai cheered, “Alright!” It appeared that hitting had returned to Ryouhei. But unexpectedly, here was where Seiya missed. His steps as he retreated to the honza were heavy. When Minato confirmed that out of the corner of his eye, he felt his heart beat faster.

Then, Nanao hit, and because the fourth archer from Kubo missed, the outcome of the match was carried over to the fifth archer.

It was a one-on-one battle between “ochi.”

Suddenly, Minato had a flashback to the scene when his hayake started up.

——The sound of my heartbeat is thumping at a horribly quick speed. I feel so suffocated that I wonder if it is only the air around me that turned thin. Even though I try to do yugamae, my hands slip with sweat and I can’t grip my bow well. What’s wrong with me. Why am I releasing the arrows even though I wasn’t thinking about doing that. I can’t do “kai.” My body isn’t listening to what I’m telling it. Somebody stop this course of events——

Because the preliminaries were over for everyone except these two teams, the venue was noisy and the laughing of people joking around sounded. The shooting range (yamichi) was covered by a white mist, and the targets that were dimly floating to the surface were provoking the archers.

Minato took in a deep breath. When he closed his eyes and changed the noise of the people into the sounds of rain, the scent of the gra.s.s and dirt grazed against his nose. While wrapped in that nostalgic smell, he slowly lifted his bow. He spread his chest wide and placed himself in the middle of his bow. He began to count.

One, two, three, four, five…

He recalled the no-shoot shooting method he practiced many times. The sound of the rain played a background chorus. He continued to exhale, persisting to never let go even if he collapsed from lack of oxygen, and waited for that moment. He calmly released his arrow along with the sounds of the raindrops falling.

There was a hitting sound, but it could not be determined from the shajo whether the arrow hit the target or it only struck the target frame from outside. There was no decision and a “?” was displayed. At that moment, the ochi from Kubo missed.

The red flag was displayed, and after the target watchers approached and confirmed, a “〇” was shown.

A lovely “Alright!” came from the group with the frog-shaped uchiwa fans, and the other spectators also applauded. Minato let out a deep breath.

Having fought through the tiebreaking match, Kazemai High School obtained their next ticket.

At their lunch break, they joined the girl members who were in the stands and took lunch in the building.

Seiya spread open the program next to Kaito.

“The finals tournament’s match-ups were published. Kirisaki High School is a border that we can’t touch unless we make it to the final round.”

“It’s too bad that we can’t match them readily, but it can also be said that we are lucky.”

“We are lucky, there’s no doubt about that. There’s a method to how we exit the shajo after the finals, but it’s just like in the ippon kyousha: we return to honza after finis.h.i.+ng our four shots and wait, receive the decision for the compet.i.tion results and empty out.”

“Got it.”

As the two were confirming the gyousha procedure, Ryouhei stuffed his mouth with onigiri and spat out the pits of the umebos.h.i.+ plums. Upon seeing that, Hanazawa made an “ah” face.

“Yamanouchi-kun, the reason why you haven’t been doing well might be because of that.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Umebos.h.i.+ don’t spoil easily so they don’t cause diarrhea. In other words, it won’t hit.” (1)

“Isn’t that just a bad pun?”

“I was told that a long time ago. Or rather, it’s a jinx.”

“We have umebos.h.i.+ too.”

When Nanao said that, Minato, Seiya, and even Kaito raised their onigiri. Nanao and Ryouhei cheered, “Yay!”, gestured with their onigiri like they were going to make a toast, and giggled. “Umebos.h.i.+, nooooo hit. Pollack roe, maaaaybe hit,” they chanted, in high spirits.

After Minato finished lunch, he went to the lobby alone. When he looked outside, he saw that even though there was no sunlight, the rain had stopped, so the weather report seemed to have been correct. Thanks to Ryouhei and the others, he was considerably distracted from his emotions, but for Minato, the “prefectural tournament” was a demon. How could he appease it, when he didn’t know when it would bare its fangs? That thing which inhabited him, the demon named weakness.

Minato saw something and went towards it as though drawn to it.

Various types of canned coffee were lined up in the vending machine corner. He put in a coin and pressed two types of b.u.t.tons at the same time. He twisted the tab off and vigorously gulped down the contents. His eyes became alert with the moderate bitterness. When he finished drinking, he went to the other side of the vending machine to throw away the can. The vending machine there was installed with a thick pillar behind it, and there were also machines lined up on the nearby wall.

When he threw his can in the empty recycling bin alongside the wall, he looked back and saw a tall man with a cap jammed deeply on his head standing in the shadow of the pillar. He was drinking the same brand of coffee as Minato had drunk. Feeling something like dejvu, he stealthily peeked at the man’s face. Upon that, they met eyes.

“——Ma.s.san!?”

“‘Sup, Minato.”

“Don’t you ’'sup’ me!? Why are you here? Today’s not the day when you’ll be released from the hospital, right?”

Ma.s.san put his index finger to his mouth, making a “shh” gesture.

“I escaped from the hospital. It’d be a bother if Tomi-sensei and the others hear about this, so keep quiet.”

“Keep quiet, he says…”

“Yeah yeah, you hide too, Minato.”

Ma.s.san pushed Minato to the shadow of the pillar.

“Even though you were injured, is it okay to push yourself like this? You escaped from the hospital pretty easily, huh.”

“That’s because Ren helped me. Right now he’s reading manga in bed. I want to see how my cute students are shooting in the compet.i.tion, you know?”

“We said we’ll record it for you.”

“You can’t see details in a video. I couldn’t watch the two preliminary rounds, but during the ippon kyousha, you forgot to lightly tighten your left pinky at kai. Squeezing that rubber dormouse doll was so that you would be able to control the muscles used there. Were you distressed by something again?”

“Ugh, yes, that’s right.”

“But, you shot well. It’s enough if you can do n.o.biai to that extent. It’s fine to be nervous, and it’s also fine to not hit.”

After saying that, Ma.s.san took another sip from his coffee with relish.

Minato was truly astonished.

Why was Ma.s.san just carefreely drinking coffee in this place? He was seriously injured and on a hospital bed just the other day. Compared to that, at most me being so nervous about the prefectural tournament and seeming like I’m going to get hayake, so I’m anxious and trembling—it really does seem foolish.

Ma.s.san told him that he would immediately disappear after the finals and left. While trying to hold back a smile, Minato returned to his comrades.

The finals tournament started.

Their opponent in the first round was Wakura High School. All the compet.i.tors from this school had strong builds like rugby players. Their tanned skins were s.h.i.+ning glossily.

While waiting for their turn, Nanao whispered to Seiya.

“We would definitely lose if we tried to grapple with them. Their bodies are too strong, you know.”

“Wakura High School is famous for their power matches. Nanao, you should prove that kyudo isn’t about brute strength.”

“Understood.”

As expected, Wakura High School hit the target consecutively. They freely made use of their long and thick bows, and stirringly released their arrows. Because their draw weights were strong, there was an obvious force and momentum to the flights of their arrows. But, Kazemai High School was also not defeated.

The aggressive Kaito.

The lively Ryouhei.

The intelligent Seiya.

The sparkling Nanao.

The cool and clear Minato.

Everyone showcased their shots that exuded their individual characteristics.

Because Kazemai High School was in the front, they had no way of perceiving the state of Wakura High School, who was behind them. Turning around and looking wasn’t kyudo. Once you entered the shajo, you only felt the breathing of your teammates, and focused on the movements of those right in front of you. On this day, Minato accomplished his first kaichuu.

For Wakura High school, the results were four, two, two, three, four—a total of fifteen hits.

Opposing them, Kazemai High School’s results were four, three, three, three, four—a total of seventeen hits, so they were the winners.

The Wakura High School compet.i.tors were irritated at losing to first year students. They blocked Minato’s team when they were trying to collect their arrows.

“You guys are in the way. Move.”

Minato was pushed by a Wakura compet.i.tor, the momentum causing him to hit his left hand against the wall. In that moment, a sharp pain ran through his wrist. Kaito scowled at the back of the Wakura compet.i.tor who shook his body and left.

“What’s with those guys? And you, you should have avoided that, at least.”

“More importantly, let’s collect our arrows quickly.”

Minato stealthily hid his left wrist behind his body. The pain would probably subside after a while. Thinking so, he left the spot quickly.

Their opponent for the second round was Matsuyuki High School. They also had a team of only third-years, their arrow shafts were blue, and they all had matching arrows. Their ochi turned towards Minato with a big smile and began talking to him rapidly.

“Are you all a new club since you only have first-years?”

“Well, that’s the case.”

“That’s nice, we have a lot of members in our club, so we can’t draw in front of targets very much. Thanks to that, about the only things we won’t lose to anyone in are the speed and beauty of our matohari. (2) Do you want to compete against our club next time?”

“Ha, a matohari compet.i.tion?”

Disregarding his opponent’s reaction, he rapidly continued the conversation. While Minato vaguely nodded along in the right places, he handed over his spare string to an official.

When he went into the basic bow-holding posture (toriyumi no s.h.i.+sei) at the shajo entrance, he felt a dull pain his left wrist. ——He had a bad feeling.

After Matsuyuki’s oomae hit, there was a great cheer. Because the venue was local, they brought along many cheering parties. It seemed like he was being swallowed up in an away game-like atmosphere, but the oomae Kaito shot at the target without minding it. It was rea.s.suring when the oomae hit.

Following him was the second archer. Ryouhei had also recovered his normal condition in the afternoon. He raised his arms without breaking the vertical line—something that took about a month of special training—and he looked truly impressive.

The third archer Seiya continued to shoot calmly and accurately. Just like writing in the regular script in calligraphy, he precisely stopped, turned upward, and swept. (3)

The fourth archer Nanao went at his own pace at all times. He was so tender and dazzling that he seemed to have completely forgotten that kyudo was a martial art, and his arrow drew an arc and landed on the target with a thump.

The ochi was Minato. He raised his bow while watching the state of his left wrist, trying to avoid putting force on it as much as he could. However, he had no choice but to bend his wrist outwards until daisan. When he parted his bow, it hurt sharply.

The matooto sounded. With that, all members. .h.i.t their first shot.

At the second shot, Kazemai and Matsuyuki captured the targets one after another. Cheers erupted from the stands many times. While the venue was engulfed in a feeling of exhilaration, Minato felt like he was the only one getting cold. His left wrist felt heavy, as though someone was pinning it down, so he couldn’t do hikiwake the way he wanted to. The arrow Minato released landed in the azuchi with a dull sound, and he could hear a sigh come from somewhere.

Even at the third shot, the undulating pain continued. When he went up to daisan, his arrow fell to the floor with a clatter—a hazukobore. Since an arrow that had fallen to the floor could not be reshot, it was counted as a miss.

When he fearfully looked at his hand, there he saw his familiar arrow. He had fallen into the delusion that he had been the one to drop an arrow, when in reality it was the opposing team. After he confirmed it, he parted his bow again, but before he could settle into kai his arrow flew out, greatly missing the target.

Afterwards, the pain did not disappear, and in order to prioritize getting a hit for his last shot, he stole a hit with a shot that could only be described as hayake and finished.

Matsuyuki High School had three, four, four, two, two—a total of fifteen hits.

Kazemai High School had four, three, three, four, two—a total of sixteen hits.

Thanks to the opposing team getting thrown off balance from the hazukobore, they just barely took the lead.

When he looked up at the sky, he saw a flock of birds flying in a black ma.s.s. He wondered if the bird that was flying behind would catch up with its companions.

Minato gripped his left wrist, when Kaito approached him.

“Narumiya, you were drawing kinda strangely. What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

“It ain’t nothing at all, right? After leaving the shajo, you were rubbing your left wrist. Did you hurt it when that Wakura a.s.shole pushed you?”

“There really is nothing wrong.”

“Shut up, get your hand out now!”

Kaito forcibly took Minato’s left hand. He bent his wrist in the direction that didn’t hurt—inwards, and they saw a peshaped lump on the back of his hand.

“…What is that. Tomi-sensei!”

Kaito called over Tomi-sensei to examine them, but even he did not know what they were.

“Does it hurt? Should we go to the infirmary?”

Seiya, who returned from arrow collecting, peered in.

“Minato hates doctors, so don’t go. Oh, that might be ganglion.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a benign tumor, a lump of fat made of the acc.u.mulation of a jelly-like fluid. Judging by that size, I think it wasn’t made today or yesterday, but since some time ago, and yet, you didn’t notice it. We won’t know without examining the cause of the pain, but let’s cool it for the time being and secure it later.”

When Seiya took out coolant and medical tape from his bag, Kaito was taken aback.

“Why are you carrying those things around?”

“Don’t underestimate the son of orthopedic surgeons, who played with medical tape in place of building blocks.”

Ryouhei and Nanao watched Seiya skillfully tape up Minato’s wrist, impressed.

“This will do fine. How do you feel, Minato?”

“Yeah, it’s really comfortable. It doesn’t hurt with this.”

Seiya was satisfied, but Kaito kept frowning.

“s.h.i.+t, you really are…”

“Sorry that this happened right before an important compet.i.tion… It was because I was careless that I got hurt.”

“Aah, you’re so freaking annoying. You don’t seem to know why I’m p.i.s.sed off.”

“You’re angry because I messed up?”

“Wrong! This is why I said I wanted to focus on only the individual compet.i.tions. You tried to hide that injury from us earlier. You think you can compete in a team like that? In the end, you just don’t acknowledge us. All you do is keep secrets!”

One-sidedly condemned, Minato could not stop himself from spitting out the words he had thought he would not say.

“I just didn’t want to worry everyone! What, don’t you have a secret too, Onogi!? You said you want to focus on the individual compet.i.tions, even though you actually couldn’t help but want to be in team compet.i.tions!”

“Wha, there ain’t no way that’s true!”

“I heard it from Nanao!”

Kaito narrowed his eyes and slowly moved his head.

“Nno…”

“Sorry, Kacchan. I blabbed.”

Nanao stuck out his tongue and joked around, but Minato checked the tip of his nose against Kaito’s.

“Onogi, didn’t you say that I was using hayake as an excuse to run away from kyudo? But, aren’t you running away too? Run away, run away, you’re still running away now.”

“What are you saying I’m running away from?”

“——From 'comrades.’”

“…What the h.e.l.l are you saying…”

“You’re scared of making comrades. You’re scared that your thoughts and desires won’t be followed by other people. Even though you really longed for it, you didn’t want to disappoint others or yourself, so you decided to seal away those desires and not notice them. With your cowardice, you’re the weakest archer.”

“What did you saaaaaaaay——!!”

Kaito violently grabbed Minato’s lapels and pierced him with a freezing stare. When Minato advanced forward without flinching, that blade pierced him even deeper. That pain was Kaito’s voice.

“Kaito.”

“Don’t call me Kaito!”

“Then, Kacchan.”

“That’s even worse!”

“Kaito, call me by my name. Call me Minato. Then, we’ll be comrades.”

“Haaa!?”

“Besides, in the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club boys’ division, everyone is calling each other by their first names, but we are the only ones calling each other by our last names. It’s embarra.s.sing to feel special, right?”

“There’s no special feeling——! It’s normal, average. You are such an airhead.”

“When I learned that you wanted to be in a team compet.i.tion, Kaito, I was really happy. I felt the same way.”

The wind blew, and Kaito loosened his grip.

“…So what.”

“Tomi-sensei didn’t make me the ochi for when my hayake started up. It made me feel like I had four comrades in my eyes. And so, Kaito, you must feel the four of us at your back? You aren’t alone. I will protect the end of the line so that everyone can follow behind you. I’ll go with you to the very top.”

Kaito covered his eyes with his hand and the corners of his mouth lifted, then he turned his gaze towards Minato again. His eyes were tinged with heat.

“…You were just babbling on. I’m gonna trample you.”

“Why would you stomp on me? We’re going together.”

Behind the two, Tomi-sensei cleared his throat.

“I’ve got us permission to use the wrist tape. Well, at last we arrive at our final mission for today. I’ll give you all the treasured items. They’ve been blessed by a certain priest.”

“These are…”

What Tomi-sensei handed out were yellow-green headbands with the school emblem on one side.

The five tied them on firmly.

Kaito turned his back and spoke.

“——Let’s go. Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao, Minato.”

“Aah, let’s go.”

At that time in a waiting area, Motomura of Kirisaki High School was facing everyone.

“Sase and I are third-years, so this will be our last high school prefectural tournament. There will not be one again for us next year.”

It was a given for Shuu, but even the twins who usually joked around got humble and meek expressions on their faces. Sase took over for Motomura.

“We are the starting lineup of Kirisaki. We are burdened with the pressure of hitting as a matter of course, and the feelings of our fellow members who could not make it to the compet.i.tion. Kirisaki isn’t strong because it’s a powerhouse school. It’s a powerhouse school because we are here—let’s win.”

The five lightly b.u.mped their yugake-covered right fists.

When the compet.i.tors of Kazemai High School and Kirisaki High School stood side-by-side, with one person from each school checking their opponent with a distanced gap. The ones who broke that equilibrium and moved were the twins Senichi and Manji.

“Narumiykun, what happened to you earlier? You got hayake again?”

“I heard that you, who is good at hitting the azuchi, is the ochi. The ochi is really important. It’d stand out when they miss, and the morale of the whole team would go down.”

“That’s right. For that, we have the 'Young Lord.’”

If it was the past Minato, that would have accurately prodded what he was anxious about.

However, now he wouldn’t waver. Now he wouldn’t be frightened.

Shuu stepped closer to Minato. His gentle, elegant mannerisms and almost fragrant presence overawed others.

“I’m deeply moved to face you in compet.i.tion again, Minato. Did you hurt your wrist?”

“No, it’s already fine. I can’t help but feel happy to take on the strongest member.”

“——I’m looking forward to it.”

Shuu smiled elegantly to the very end.

The continuous clouds slowly floated, over and over. The sky covered in thick clouds gradually increased in brightness.

Both teams entered the shajo with yellow-green and purple headbands swaying over their shoulders.

Kirisaki High School’s lineup was Motomura, Senichi, Manji, Sase, and Shuu.

Kazemai High School’s lineup was Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao, and Minato.

Both schools’ cheering squads also had on headbands. Amidst the many gazes, the oomaes began their uchiokos.h.i.+.

The shooting of Kirisaki High School’s Motomura brought about the charm and appeal possessed by someone who had lived for a long time. By slowly taking his time, it obtained a refined quality, tinged with a mellowness. The oomae Motomura and Kaito beautifully hit the target.

Next, the second archers Ryouhei and the older of the twins, Senichi, also made matooto resound. Of course, the twins’ schemer shots were going strong, and in order to commence their time difference attack, Manji sounded his matooto immediately after Senichi did. But at the same time, Seiya was not affected by Manji and kept his own pace, getting a hit.

The fourth archers were Sase and Nanao. Once Kirisaki High School’s Sase stood in a shajo, not even the slightest trace of his love for idols could be felt. Pride that he was a compet.i.tor from the powerhouse Kirisaki High School pervaded from his entire body. He landed a hit along with a light hanare.

Nanao also drew his bow to chase after Sase’s matooto, and when he splendidly s.n.a.t.c.hed a hit, the yellow-green frogs in the stands wriggled all at once. Since both schools had been hitting in succession, the cheering also continued on without interruption.

The ochi were Shuu and Minato. Shuu was delaying his yugamae in order to try to adjust for the twins’ tendency to go fast. He listened to the tsurune of the person before him, gripped his string, and lifted his bow. Rather than bringing the arrow closer to the target, he attracted the target towards himself and released his arrow. A perfect “zans.h.i.+n” of the tateyoko juumonji was formed.

Minato also parted his bow as though to recreate Shuu’s movements.

The noises disappeared, and a tranquil atmosphere engulfed the vicinity. The pain that seemed to penetrate his whole body resembled the sensation of when he was submerged in that clear river. The sound of the water suspended his thoughts, and the cold water stole away his body warmth. The moment when the individual called “I” was forgotten completely. That comfortableness that was harbored defenselessly. He was calm. This was the first time this kind of thing happened in a compet.i.tion. The two both hit.

The tsurune was played in succession one after another in the second shooting round as well. Still no one missed.

By the time the third shooting round arrived, a small wind was beginning to blow. Kaito, Motomura, and Senichi displayed the shooting that was expected of them. However, Manji released his arrow quicker than expected, and missed. The Kirisaki cheering squad, who should have been used to the twins’ fast pace, could not hide their confusion, resulting in a slippage in their cheering that was usually without a shred of disorder or disturbance.

In the stands, Hanazawa turned to s.h.i.+ragiku.

“What’s wrong with that twin? Rather than shooting fast, he almost shot at the same time as the archer before him.”

“I wonder if perhaps that was caused by hayake…”

s.h.i.+ragiku’s conjecture was correct. The arrow was not released by Manji’s own will, but left of its own accord. His head went blank from too much shock, and he was no longer able to make calm judgements. At that moment, Ryouhei also unintentionally drew his awareness to over there. His arrow missed the target. He vowed that for his last shot, his mind would absolutely not separate from his bow.

Subsequently, Kazemai’s Seiya and Nanao, and Kirisaki’s Sase all hit the target, so the whole venue was engulfed in the cheers of “Alright!” Up to this point, it was a good match where both schools had only missed once, and everyone else hit all their targets. The hearts of the compet.i.tors and spectators were beating at the same rhythm.

“My heart is beating so fast!”

“I can hardly keep still.”

The gazes from the stands were fixed on the two ochi.

Minato and Shuu raised their bows at almost the same time. Hikiwake, kai, hanare, zans.h.i.+n——. They drew their bows as though they were dancing, as though they were offering it up to the heavens.  

The repeated Shahou Ha.s.setsu were a wave. The actions of nocking the arrow to the bow and releasing it were like waves that ebbed and flowed, linking from person to person.

The five connected their hearts, and summoned a sixth tsurune.

“Alright!”

“Alright!”

The cheering was just like a round.

More, more.

Raise your voice.

I want to hear your voice.

From a corner of the stands, Ma.s.san watched Minato and the others shot, and wondered, Does Minato not notice how much he attracts the people around him?

After finis.h.i.+ng shooting ten-thousand shots, he had intended to quit kyudo. He kept himself busy with the ten-thousand shots because he intended to never hold a bow again. For him, kyudo was a supreme joy, and at the same time, something like an unending night, and he was tired of the act of pursuing a single sliver of light in the midst of darkness. That hand that was extended to him when he was loitering around in the deep forest and giving up, thinking it was all over. You can still draw your bow, those eyes said.

Those who looked into Minato’s eyes would want to draw a bow very much.

The person who sent the soul of a smouldering archer into the wind was a fire starter.

Minato was also thinking. That if he had never met that beautiful tsurune in that forest on that night, he would not be in this place right now.

The moment the bow and bowstring collided against each other, that created a tsurune. There were some pleasant sounds and some harsh sounds. There were also good days and bad days. The meetings between people were probably also the same. The repeating tsurune was a symbol of meetings and daily life.

The words “kai” and “hanare” originated from the Buddhist saying “Eshajouri—those who meet must part.” (4) That meeting would not necessarily appear again tomorrow. That was why he wanted to cherish “now.” Both shots and people were refined by repeating the same things over and over, and then a depth appeared in them. To refine was to whittle down, an action that accompanied pain. That pain produced something that healed others. That might be what their predecessors called “Shasoku Jinsei (Shooting is Life).”

Bang, bang. The colorful and rich sounds came and went.

A tsurune was a celebratory kagura. (5)

The moment when the G.o.ds and a human met.

When he noticed, currently there were two students from both schools at the shajo. Manji, the third archer for Kirisaki High School, had missed, and returned to the honza with a stupefied air. With that, Kirisaki High School had two misses, and Kazemai High School had one.

The match between the two fourth archers began. Sase and Nanao carefully pushed their bows open. From the stands, the cheers of “Alright!” overlapped with the sorrowful voices of “Aah…”

Nanao had missed.

Tied at seventeen hits, the outcome of the match was left to the two ochi.

In a complete change, a silence engulfed the vicinity. Their hakama were filled by the wind and billowed. The sound of gulping loudly reached his ears, and his skin stung with pain. Everyone’s attention was fixed on the two boys standing in the shajo. Their beautiful bows that boasted lengths unparalleled in the world were slowly pulled.

Sunlight poured from the multilayered clouds. When the pillars of light extended, they dyed in gold the green lawn that filled up the shooting range. The light that swooped down from the rifts in the clouds reached Minato and Shuu as well.

There were wings on their backs. The wings formed by gathering grains of light stretched widely and gracefully. As their white wings rustled, the area was dominated by a dazzling light, making everyone forget that this was the place where humans lived.

The voices of many people who called out, “Alright!”

The rhythms and harmonies which did not stop sounding.

The people who embraced the heavens and stood on the earth——.

After he finished yudaos.h.i.+ (lowering the bow after zans.h.i.+n), when Minato looked towards the stands, he saw a man in the wind, wearing a cap low over his eyes.

The man grinned.

The venue was engulfed in thunderous applause. Minato didn’t know that it didn’t stop even when he returned to the honza.

Even though the decision for the compet.i.tion results were being announced, it didn’t reach his ears at all. It was m.u.f.fled, like a sound in water, and though he could see the scene before him, it made no sense. He was thinking that he must have a level-headed mind for entering the tiebreaking match after this.

After he left the shajo, Kaito grabbed Minato’s shoulder just as he was turning around.

“You freakin’ did it! I was shaking so hard!”

“Minato!”

“Minato!”

“We did it——!”

Seiya, Nanao, and Ryouhei swarmed Minato while he was still holding his bow, and then the five were in a crush. Tomi-sensei was nodding in approval.

Seiya’s voice, which he heard close to his ear, was trembling.

“Minato, thank goodness, thank goodness…”

All kinds of words were getting jumbled up—he couldn’t make a sound.

The one who was feeling the most pressure for this compet.i.tion might have been Seiya. He felt that he finally understood the real reason for why Tomi-sensei created this shooting order.

While he couldn’t move, in the gaps between people he saw Shuu, who mouthed the word, “Congratulations.” That moment was the first time Minato looked at the bulletin board next to the target-viewing area.

Shuu, who had continued to get kaichuu since the qualifiers, had missed his final shot.

Kirisaki High School had four, four, two, four, three—a total of seventeen hits.

Kazemai High School had four, three, four, three, four—a total of eighteen hits.

Tomi-sensei had said, “Even when you are in good condition and hit ninety-nine of one hundred shots, it is likely that that one missed shot could occur in an important scene.” That was exactly the scene that they were met with.

The way of the bow was steep, which was why it was so enjoyable and interesting.

The sky reflected in Minato’s eyes was a clear blue.

All kinds of sounds could be heard from the school after cla.s.s. Instruments repeating familiar-sounding phrases of music over and over, and running footsteps kicking up clouds of dust. From the kyudojo, high-pitched bangs of tsurune sounded.

The Kazemai High School Kyudo Club, with the excitement of victory still lingering, was aiming for their new goal of the regional tournament and continuing to practice. Seiya and Kaito were collecting information on the partic.i.p.ating schools. Although it didn’t mean that they were directly interviewing them, once you learned what kind of team your opponent was, it would be easy to grasp their compet.i.tion image.

Nanao, who was late because of his committee meeting, waved his right hand in a peace sign. It wasn’t just Ryouhei who hailed him with “Merha,” but the three girls and Tomi-sensei as well. The strange greeting had taken hold. Ma.s.san was also safely discharged from the hospital, and turned up to practice as a coach again.

Minato took off his yugake.

“Ma.s.san, how are you feeling?”

“Ah, I’m doing just fine thanks to everyone. But, is your left wrist okay, Minato?”

“I had an X-ray done at Seiya’s dad’s clinic, and there were no abnormalities in my bones, and then he used a needle to suck up the jelly-like stuff. It still hurts a little bit, but I’ll be fine if I attach a supporter to it.”

“That’s good to hear. Don’t push yourself too much.”

“Right. ——Ma.s.san, we have something we want to say to you.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Kaito, Seiya, Ryouhei, and Nanao gathered, waiting for Minato’s words.

“We contacted your master’s acquaintance and discovered the words he expressed while he was still alive.”

“…Eh?”

“Apparently, he said that he regretted becoming estranged from you.”

Ma.s.san widened his eyes.

“No way, Grandpa would never say such an admirable thing.”

“They said he said this too, 'I’m looking forward to Masaki becoming a fine archer.’”

Ma.s.san kept silent for a while, then he pressed the inner corners of his eyes.

Fortune might have been a word that referred to all meetings. A gift named coincidence, as though someone had devised it.

A wind blew from the mountains, ruffling the hems of their hakama.

Wind, dance.

We will become the wind.

The six stood side by side, and took a big step towards the targets.