In this chapter: The qualifiers start, Minato and Shuu have their fateful meeting, will Kazemai advance to the finals? (This is the fourth chapter of a six chapter book, which has a sequel, hint hint)

Glossary

Full list of translations

Translation Notes

1. Warawara means “swarming, shuffling” but also a way to say “wwww” (lol in j.a.panese internet slang, as you probably know) and I didn’t know which one to put so I put both

2. Uchiwa fans are round j.a.panese handheld fans, as seen

3. Kasumi-mato are targets with concentric circle designs

4. An izume compet.i.tion is a compet.i.tion where when there is a tie between finalists, both keep shooting until someone misses the target and get eliminated

It was the middle of May.

Beneath the almost-transparent blue sky, the preliminaries for the Prefectural High School Kyudo Tournament were being held.

The hakamclad high school students in front of the venue were carrying long, rod-shaped objects covered in cloth, causing the pa.s.sersby to wonder aloud if they were naginatas or the like. Since the standard length of a bow was two-hundred-and-twenty-one centimeters, naturally they were moving carefully to avoid hitting things like the top of the entrance and noticeboards.

The compet.i.tion event was a kinteki (close-range) compet.i.tion. The first day’s individual compet.i.tion was shooting four arrows in two sets while in zasha, and the ten archers with the most total hits were selected. For the second day’s team compet.i.tion, teams were composed of one coach and five to seven archers, and one boys’ team and one girls’ team were allowed to partic.i.p.ate from each school. The compet.i.tion method was a tachi of five people, four shots while in zasha, and an eight-minute time limit. The boys’ team compet.i.tion had thirty-eight schools partic.i.p.ating, and the top ten teams with the highest total of hits in two rounds will advance to the prefectural tournament.

For Kazemai High School, Hanazawa, s.h.i.+ragiku, Seo, Kaito and Nanao were doing the individual compet.i.tions, and Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao and Minato had entered the team compet.i.tion. Their white kyudogi with their school’s name embroidered on one sleeve emphasized that they were new members of a new club. There was also a suggestion that they should prepare headbands, but they postponed that idea for this time.

After they finished finding good spots to put down their baggage, cloths with numbers on them were attached to the right hips of those who were taking part in the individual compet.i.tion.

Tomi-sensei cleared his throat theatrically.

“The fact that all eight members of the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club can gather here without anyone missing, makes me truly happy. Now, let’s start the mission.”

“Yes, thank you very much!”

“Ma.s.san and I will have to leave to take care of some business, but in the time leading up to the opening ceremony, everyone will move forward with preparations.”

After seeing them off, those who were tense and those who were relaxed all made their final adjustments before the compet.i.tion finally began.

Ryouhei looked around.

“Uwaah, all these people are doing kyudo? There’s so many!”

“There’s actually more high schoolers doing kyudo than kendo.”

“Heh, I’m getting excited.”

When speaking the tall Ryouhei, Minato instinctively raised his face up to talk. Maybe because of that, he felt like even his mood was heading upwards. In the practice compet.i.tion they had before the tournament, he was able to get the high score of getting fifteen hits out of twenty shots, so if one did simple calculations, getting thirty hits out of forty shots in this compet.i.tion wasn’t a long shot.

Suddenly, there was a break in the noise. When he just happened to look in that direction, he saw a group clad in matching jerseys. People’s gazes were fixed on the words carved on the back of their jerseys.

It was the Kirisaki High School Kyudo Club.

It wasn’t only because they were a powerhouse school that Kirisaki High School attracted attention. Kazemai High School stood out today because they had a team composed of only first-years, but even the starting lineup of Kirisaki High School had more than half of its members as first-years. Looking at the program, it seemed like they had subst.i.tuted members on that very day. Before the word “Kirisaki,” Minato felt himself getting gooseb.u.mps.

On the other hand, Ryouhei and Nanao looked at each other with expressions of glee.

“See them? Is that the favorite to win, Kirisaki High? I guess the ones in kyudogi are on the team. They kinda even look strong.”

“The number of people in their cheering squad is impressive too. Ooh, that girl is cute. Should I go talk to her?”

“Huh? Are my eyes getting bad? It looks like I’m seeing two people who look exactly alike coming this way!”

“No, I’m seeing that too?”

As they talked, the two people who looked exactly alike did not stop walking, and Nanao and Ryouhei panicked about whether or not they heard their conversation.

The twin brothers, Sugawara Senichi and Manji, stopped at almost the same time. Their bangs were arranged symmetrically to each other’s, and it was the one with his bangs parted to the left who introduced the two of them.

“h.e.l.looo, are you the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club? We are the Sugawaras from the Kirisaki High School Kyudo Club. We’re also first-years like you, so please treat us well. So, you there, the girls in our club wouldn’t talk to a gaudy, airheaded guy like you. Oh, and that huge, dumb-looking guy over there too. Ah, you don’t just look it, you really are dumb, right?”

Oh c.r.a.p, they did hear us. They have pretty sharp ears, Nanao thought. Then, Kaito stepped forward.

“You guys have some nerve to come here and line up like some loser doppelgangers! Why don’t you just p.i.s.s off and make your faces even more like a horror movie!”

“Wow, what’s with this rude boy?”

“Isn’t the one who’s rude here you guys?”

“Kaito, stop it. You two should go back to your own place as well.”

As Seiya was calming Kaito down, the twins’ target moved somewhere else. Scanning over the Kazemai High School club members as though evaluating them, their gazes stopped before Minato.

“…Hey, weren’t you on the same team as Shuu in middle school. This guy over here, too. When I saw the program, I was wondering where I saw your names before, but now I finally remembered. Aah, Narumiykun and Takehaykun, right? I guess you guys must be pretty good to get teamed up with Shuu?”

When the older brother Senichi was alternately looking at Minato and Seiya, the younger brother Manji did the same. When they both did the same thing like this, it looked like they were drunk to someone else watching.

“It’s really you, the guy who was the oomae for that three-person tachi. I remembered because the girls were screaming about how cool you were. If I remember correctly, didn’t you get hayake at the prefectural tournament finals and self-destructed? Have you recovered from your hayake since then, Narumiykun? Well, our kai is also short, so should we worry about it?”

“Man, a short kai and hayake are two different things.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The twins laughed strangely, but the people around them kept their mouths shut. Not because they couldn’t refute them, but because they were overwhelmed by the person who appeared from behind.

Gorgeous, un-j.a.panese, looks and disciplined movements. Someone who could not permit others to mimic him with his overwhelming presence——.

Fujiwara Shuu smiled elegantly.

“Sen, Man, you two are too talkative today. It’s better to stop on that matter. ——It’s been a while, Seiya. And, Minato.”

“…Shuu.”

As long as one continued to do kyudo, there was no escape from seeing the figure of Fujiwara Shuu. But even as he was resigned to that fact, his feet froze from seeing the person himself right before his eyes.

Shuu stepped forward, still wearing a smile, and stopped in front of Seiya, who stood in front of Minato.

“Are you still acting as Minato’s knight like always, Seiya? I was surprised when I was told that you chose another high school as well, not just Minato.”

“Aren’t you the one who never changed, Shuu? I heard that you did a twenty shot kaichuu the other day. Even in high school, the name of the ‘Young Lord’ is still going strong.”

“I have no interest in such a common name. Hey, Minato.”

Shuu went past Seiya and stood next to Minato.

In that moment, Minato stopped breathing. n.o.body could get close to the two, who were face-to-face with their right shoulders next to each other’s.

“Minato, do you remember? How Saionji-sensei, who was a former Imperial Guard, had bad hearing in his left ear, so we always brought our faces close to his right ear like this to speak to him… We were still in elementary school, so when we wanted Sensei to listen to us, we would fight for his right side.”

“I remember.”

“And, Minato,” Shuu put his hand on Minato’s left flank. “Does this still hurt?”

“…No.”

“I see, that’s good.”

“…I know that you turned your back on me, Shuu. We lost the champions.h.i.+p of the prefecturals because I got hayake, even though you got a kaichuu… I, who ran away without being able to overcome my hayake, cannot face you.”

“I have never turned my back on you even once. I didn’t say anything because I believed that there were no words of sympathy or reprimands that would suit you. ——Four years ago, when you suddenly disappeared before me, I didn’t know it was because you had suffered that injury. When we met again in middle school, I realized just how much I’ve been eagerly waiting for you. I still believe you will definitely return before me this time. Show me your kyudo again.”

“Shuu…”

“Although he never said it, Saionji-sensei never taught anyone personally no matter how much he was asked. When he believed that it was the last duty entrusted to an old archer, he took it on. He seemed convinced that that duty was the two boys before him. That meeting was a gift from the G.o.d of the bow——. I should go soon, my senpais are looking for us.”

When he looked, he saw a boy with a calm and carefree air about him and another boy, both beckoning them over with clear file folders that appeared to be idol merch.

Shuu took a step away from Minato, called the twins and left. The others, not to mention Minato, stood stock still as though wondering if they were having a dream.

But, Kaito was different. Even after the three from Kirisaki High School left, his anger did not settle down.

“Seiya and Narumiya came from Kirisaki Middle School? Seiya, when we first met, I asked you what middle school did you come from. You said something like 'I don’t think you’d know the name even if I told you.’ Aren’t they a prestigious kyudo school… I thought you guys just lost in the first round when you said you guys lost at the finals of the middle school prefectural tournament. Why did you keep quiet? Ryouhei, didn’t you know about this too?”

“Huh? I didn’t even remember the name of the middle school Minato and Seiya went to. I just knew it was a school where kyudo was popular.”

Seiya went between the two of them.

“Don’t blame Ryouhei. I just didn’t want to be interrogated if it was known that we were from Kirisaki Middle School. If you’re that curious about it, you should have looked us up, right?”

“Haa, because of this, you guys… Are you guys happy to get looked up by me? Keeping secrets means you don’t trust us. Why did students from other schools know, but we didn’t? Don’t screw around with us. Even though I was thinking that I could acknowledge you guys a little bit…” Kaito said as if spitting it out, then turned on his heel.

“Kacchan! I’ll bring Kacchan back, so just go on ahead, guys!”

Nanao chased after Kaito.

Kaito sat at the edge of a flowerbed in a courtyard away from the kyudojo. His more-than-usual sullen aura was at full throttle, uselessly intimidating pa.s.sersby. Nanao sat next to him, and tried his best to speak with a light tone.

“Ka—cchan, won’t the opening ceremony and the yawatas.h.i.+ be starting soon? Let’s get going.”

“We don’t have to be there, so isn’t it okay? I’ll stay here for now.”

“Geez, Kacchan. You didn’t have to get so angry about that, did you? They didn’t mean anything bad by hiding stuff, and hiding what middle school they came from isn’t that big of a deal.”

“That’s exactly why! What kind of teammates wouldn’t even confide stuff that isn’t that big of a deal to us? And on top of that, what’s with those twins? Fujiwara and Sugawara, stop swarming me with all that warawara internet slang. (1) I won’t forgive anyone who talks bad about our club members. That seriously p.i.s.ses me off…”

“Even Kacchan is saying bad jokes…”

“Shut up, I wasn’t joking!”

Oh, I see, Nanao thought. Kaito was angrier with himself for not being someone to depend on, even though they were all comrades, rather than having secrets hidden from him.

Kaito boasted a high hitting rate even in middle school, but he was never once chosen as a team member for a team compet.i.tion. The reason given by the advisor was that there was no spirit of cooperation with a loner, but Nanao guessed that he was instead demanding a feeling of comrades.h.i.+p too much, and the people around Kaito disliked his company. No one was as devoted to kyudo as Kaito was, and there were many who believed that it was all fine as long as they were able to have fun. Their stances were different depending on whether one thought of kyudo as a martial art or a sport, and to say nothing of the environment of club activities in middle school, where the probability of those who possessed the same amount of zeal gathering together was low.

The power created by the feeling of “liking something” was great, for better or for worse, and the more earnest that liking was, the more confusion and misunderstandings were created. Minato, Seiya and Kaito were very similar to each other not just because they wanted to get better at kyudo, but also because they harbored a longing to win in a team battle.

They really are such irritating people.

Do they know zeal flows from high places to low?

Everyone’s zeal is even able to pour into me. If you don’t take responsibility for that, won’t it be a pain?

“Alright, stop worrying about all that and let’s get going! Don’t you want to win the prefecturals?”

“Hah? What’s got into you all of a sudden, Nanao?”

“If you don’t go to the opening ceremony, I’ll keep calling you 'Kacchan’ here! Kacchan, Kacchan, Kacchan!”

“Nanaooo, you bastaaard! Do you have a grudge against me?”

“Everyone—, this person is called 'Kacchan.’ If you call his name, he will cry from happiness. When I say 'One, two,’ you say 'Kachaaan.’ One, two—”

“Nno!”

Kaito pursued the running Nanao, and two of them headed for the venue for the opening ceremony.

At that time, Minato and Seiya looked truly apologetic.

“Sorry, Ryouhei. You didn’t do anything wrong at all.”

“It’s fine, Minato. I think Kaito-kun was just a little surprised, that’s all.”

Seiya then spoke.

“Kaito might be right. I should have talked to everyone properly. And then, finding out things about your teammates from an outsider on top of that doesn’t feel too good, huh. I’m disqualified from being the club president.”

“What are you saying? You’re the only person I can consider to be the club president, Seiya. You’re smart, and nice to everyone—a friend I can really be proud of.”

“You’re making too much of me. What if I was a bad person who was trying to use everyone?”

“You’re not. I guarantee it. You’re a good guy.”

Seiya widened his eyes at Ryouhei, who spoke without any hesitation. Although he never tricked him, Ryouhei was completely unaware that Seiya’s good qualities were all because he was highly calculating and extremely careful, and he always honestly admired him. He did not know how much Seiya was healed by that purity. Ryouhei’s eyes, just like his dog Bear’s, turned towards him. He didn’t want to be the kind of man who disappointed them.

“When I get the chance, I’ll be the one talking to Kaito properly about it. First, let’s focus on the compet.i.tion.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Ever since Kaito had hit the nail on the head about him, Seiya had cosntantly reflected on whether or not he had been acting a little cold towards him. When Kaito returned right before the opening ceremony, Minato and the others felt relieved for the moment.

After the yawatas.h.i.+, the girls’ individual compet.i.tion started.

Hanazawa, s.h.i.+ragiku and Seo put on their yugake, took their bows, arrows and tsurumaki containing backup bowstrings (kaezuru) and went to the third waiting area (hikae). Tomi-sensei also accompanied them as their manager. Kaito and Nanao also headed there a little later.

The first tachi of girls did their yuu bows with the signal to “start.” While a great crowd watched, the oomae rose after nocking her arrow and went into the as.h.i.+b.u.mi position. Douzukuri, yugamae, she distinctly carried out the Shahou Ha.s.setsu.

The cheering squad for Kazemai High School took their places in a section of the stands and waited for their turn. The stands were filled with groups putting up cheering banners and girls holding uchiwa fans (2) with kasumi-mato (3) designs on them. After many tachi finished, it was finally the Kazemai High School girls’ kyudo team’s turn.

Hanazawa hit with her first shot. They all shouted out “Alright!” at the same time. Cheering in kyudo was not permitted except for calling out “Alright” and applauding, but there was an especially good feeling at the moment where one was about to witness a kaichuu. Because the archer wasn’t allowed to express emotions to their results, they could not take a triumphant pose when they hit, or feel bitter when they missed, only dispa.s.sionately moving on to their next action.

In the first round, Hanazawa hit, s.h.i.+ragiku missed, and Seo hit. The second round was miss, miss, hit… Thus, Hanazawa, s.h.i.+ragiku, and Seo put out the adequate results of two hits, two hits and three hits respectively.

On the other hand, for the boys, Kaito was out of form. Even though he hit for his first shot, for his second and third shots he kept landing his arrow right in front of the target.

For Minato in the stands, Kaito’s bad form felt like it was his own. He wondered if the confrontation with Kirisaki High School from before had a bad effect on him. Next to him, Ma.s.san also had a “hmm” look on his face.

“Isn’t it unusual for Kaito be nervous? His tenouchi turned back to its form from before the training camp.”

Even though it could have been fixed with one shout, once nyuujou began no one could give advice to the archers. That applied to even Tomi-sensei, who was standing right next to the shajo as the manager.

After all the individual compet.i.tions ended, the results were Motomura and Shuu from Kirisaki High School both getting kaichuu, and then after the subsequent izume compet.i.tion (4), Shuu was crowned as the victor of the boys’ compet.i.tion. For Kazemai High School, Seo with seven hits would be advancing to the prefectural finals, but Nanao with five hits, Hanazawa with four hits, and Kaito and s.h.i.+ragiku with three hits would unfortunately not be advancing. Everyone got advice from Tomi-sensei, and there were few words spoken as they set forth on their way home.

For the second day’s team compet.i.tion, the sky was covered with gray clouds—a completely change from the day before.

The first round. When the first tachi finished, the target viewers went to the azuchi to perform verification work. They held out a number plate that displayed the number of hits, and were crouching down on the left side of each target. An announcement came on.

“Please return the arrows. The results will be announced as follows. First shajo, for the first group:  one, three, two, one, four, total eleven hits. Second shajo, for the second group: two, zero, one, one, two, total six hits. That is all.”

By chance, Kirisaki High School and Kazemai High School ended up shooting alongside each other, with Kirisaki in the first shajo and Kazemai in the second. The shooting order for Kirisaki was Motomura, Senichi, Manji, Sase, and Shuu.

With the confirmation of names in the third hikae, the officials gathered their tsurumaki. They were worried about what would happen with Kaito’s poor condition in the individuals, but instead of returning to his normal mode, he was more motivated than ever.

“It’s possible to make up the difference between us and Kirisaki. Everyone, put in more spirit!”

“Roger!” Ryouhei and Nanao responded.

Minato could barely sleep last night, probably because of his meeting with Shuu, but now his head felt strangely clear. He was glad to know that Shuu hadn’t given up on him, and a strong desire was born within him, not only for his hayake to not act up at all, but also to not expose an unsightly figure to Shuu.

A desire that was too strong—an obsession that the bow hated.

The nyuujou began. At the signal to start, they did their yuu bows, then stood up and went to the shooting line. Minato hid his fast-beating heart, putting on an expression of ignorance as he chose a hitote from four arrows.

The first shot. The oomae for Kirisaki High School was the third-year Motomura. A person who shot calmly, appropriate for a club president, he won the individual compet.i.tion at the prefectural tournament last year. He drew his bow as though he was having a leisurely conversation with it, and hit right on the target.

On the other hand, Kaito shot offensively with plenty of vigor, releasing an arrow with a force that made his opponent flinch from the spirit, no matter that it was just an unmoving target. However, he still hadn’t come out of his slump from the day before, and his arrow went over the target.

When the oomae entered kai, the second archer of each team began uchiokos.h.i.+. Since gyousha was carried out at intervals in individual compet.i.tions, one raised their bow at the previous person’s “tsurune,” but team compet.i.tions had a time limit so the intervals were quickened. Ryouhei stood up when the person before him finished his douzukuri, and smoothly switched over to shooting.  

However, tsurune consecutively resounded twice from Kirisaki High School. That was because their second and third archers Senichi and Manji shot their arrows in exact rapid succession. Kirisaki’s cheering squad seemed used to it, since they cheered “Alright!” “Alright!” rhythmically. But others were semi-dumbfounded at the unexpectedly quick hanare of the third archer. It could be understood if the time limit was imminent, but there was no need to shoot it that fast from the start.

Bewildered by the twins’ time-difference attack, Ryouhei, who was entering hikiwake, missed the timing of his hanare and lost his chance to get a hit. Seiya, going after him in third, kept his own pace and got a hit.

Kirisaki High School’s fourth was the vice-president Sase. Sase was an idol lover and called disappointingly handsome by those around him, but he was the type of person who only had to know the key points of hitting the target once, and then he would never miss on that day. He nimbly did hikiwake and clinched a hit.

Kazemai High School’s fourth, Nanao, was always sparkling. Him feeling the strong urge to please others might have been because of the idol-like disposition he was born with. When he got a hit, there was a big cheer from the girls.

The ochi of Kirisaki High School was Shuu. His shooting was different from that of a high schooler. Perhaps it was because his grace was revealing itself from within. It was still different from Ma.s.san’s dignified shots, but they both had a picturesque quality in common. He capitalised on the physique he was blessed with, and elegantly and grandly performed hikiwake. A strong kai without the slightest tremor. At the right time, his readied arrow ran ahead. He of course hit the target.

Kirisaki High School’s intervals were quick, and Motomura finished his second shot with a hit, but Minato was slowly raising his bow.

Minato’s shot was similar to the moment one immersed one’s hand in running river water. The beauty of the limpid water and its crisp coldness were pleasant. He stretched out at kai, then got a hit on the three o'clock position on the target.

At his second shot as well, Kaito did not hit.

And then, to make matters worse, Ryouhei had a “s.h.i.+tsu” even though he had hit.

When shooting, there were times when a mistake could be made. This was called a s.h.i.+tsu, and it could be dropping the bow at hanare, or it could be a “hazukobore” where the nocked arrow came loose from the string during the gyousha after torikake (nocking the arrow), but in Ryouhei’s case it was a “tsurugire” (bowstring break).

Ryouhei’s head turned completely blank. There was an etiquette for dealing with s.h.i.+tsu, and it must be carried through properly, but he was at a complete loss as to what to do with his hands. Ah, he remembered. I move the broken string closer with my foot and get into kiza, pick up the string and hold it with my left hand and roll it into a ring with my right hand, then pick my bow up with the other hand, slide back to the shooting line on my knees and do a yuu bow that signifies shame.

He handed over his bow and broken string to the facilitator, and then the manager re-stringed the backup string outside the shajo, but during that time the other members continued shooting, with Seiya and Nanao hitting, but Minato missing. Ryouhei could not move onto the next movement because he had no bow, so he restlessly waited for it to be returned to him.

When he received his bow with the stringed bowstring, he quickly finished nocking his arrow and stood up. Although there wasn’t much time lost even with a broken string, Kirisaki High School had faster intervals than the norm, with Manji already finis.h.i.+ng his third shot. For that reason, Ryouhei got the wrong impression that they were late.

As Kazemai High School also went into its third set, Kaito finally got his shooting down. The cheering squad also cheered with all that they had.

Ryouhei hurriedly did hikiwake, and even Seiya did hikiwake as though following him. Nanao, standing behind them, also got fl.u.s.tered. If Seiya shot earlier than Ryouhei, then even if his arrow hit it would be invalid. Caught up in it, Nanao shortened the interval as well and lifted up his bow. Perhaps because he lifted his bow quicker than usual, the arrow missed the target along with an unpleasant-sounding tsurune.

While Kirisaki High School was smoothly making matooto (sound of arrow hitting target) resound, for Kazemai High School only Kaito and Seiya hit for their third shots. Minato was swallowed up by the premature course of events, and he ended up holding out at kai longer than usual. But, on the contrary his hanare became slacker, and his arrow bounced once before hitting the target.

In the stands, Hanazawa, s.h.i.+ragiku, and Seo were fretting.

“I wish they’d also count arrows that bounced once as a hit.”

“It is because 'hakiya’ are arrows that swept against the ground and did not properly reach the target.”

“Kirisaki High School has so far almost never missed. I can’t believe this is just the qualifiers for the prefectural tournament.”

Ryouhei’s rhythm was completely thrown off by his tsurugire. The matooto coming from the first shajo and the cheers from the stands made him feel as though he was being rushed. The more he thought about how bad it was to be slow because there was a time limit, the more he got impatient, until he couldn’t even do torikake.  

As though laughing at the Kazemai High School club members, Kirisaki High School went into their fourth set, one by one clinching kaichuu. Shuu got his kaichuu, just as expected, and exited the shajo while bathed in thunderous applause. That gave more and more pressure, and Ryouhei did not understand at all what he was doing right now.

At the fourth set, Kaito and Ryouhei missed their last shots and exited. Infected by their impatience, Seiya also missed his chance to get a hit, but Nanao managed to recover somehow, and Minato also got a hit with his last arrow just as the warning bell sounded.

After Minato exited the shajo, the announcement informing the results came on.

“The results will be announced as follows. First shajo, group seventeen: four, three, four, four, total eighteen hits. Second shajo, group eighteen: one, one, three, three, two, total ten hits. That is all.”

Ryouhei knitted his brows together.

“Haa, why did my string break right at that time… Even though I replaced it with a new one yesterday.”

Hearing that, Nanao had an “aah” look on his face.

“Normally, it breaks in the middle, but yours snapped from the end.  Occasionally, there are strings that have ends that immediately snap. Also, it’s not good to change to a new one just before a match, since the string isn’t experienced.”

“I see, I didn’t know…”

“Well, tsurugire is common, you know? Let’s switch our heads now!”

Tomi-sensei patted Kaito on the back.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Predicting outcomes can be a hit-or-miss affair. Let’s make a comeback for the next round.”

“…Okay.” Kaito answered with a meek expression.

In the afternoon, the second round began, but the wind that would boost the five from Kazemai High School did not blow.

Even Seiya, who was in good form during the first round, missed his first shot, and then the five ended up in the state where there was only a total of three hits by the time half of the ten shots were drawn. From behind Kirisaki High School, who was smoothly making matooto resound, the shouts of “Alright!” did not stop as the shooting continued.

Ryouhei’s chest pounded as his palms became slippery with sweat.

Kaito fell into a state of losing self-confidence.

What’s wrong with me. No matter how much I ask and answer myself what’s wrong with me, this wave of slumps won’t end. Somehow or other, I don’t care how, please let one arrow hit, please, he ardently prayed.

Perhaps because Kaito’s wish reached someone, all five members. .h.i.t the target for their third set.

The results after the two rounds were finished were as followed.

(Circle means. .h.i.t, x means miss; shots in order from left to right)

Kaito: ××〇×　××〇× 2

Ryouhei: ×〇××　××〇× 2

Seiya: 〇〇〇×　×〇〇〇 6

Nanao: 〇〇×〇　〇×〇〇 6

Minato: 〇××〇　×〇〇× 4

A “hawake” with twenty hits out of forty shots.

Ryouhei murmured as he looked at the record table on the wall.

“Could we advance to the finals with this…?”

“There’s a fifty-fifty chance. We can only wait for the results for all the teams to come out, I guess.”

Nanao rubbed his cheek with his thumb.

Kazemai High School got tenth place in the results from the prefectural tournament qualifiers.

They just barely made the last qualifying place.

Meanwhile for Kirisaki High School, Motomura and Shuu both got eight-shot kaichuu, Sase and Senichi got seven hits, and Manji got six hits—obtaining the high achievement of getting thirty-six hits out of forty shots, and achieved a pa.s.sage to a first place that overwhelmingly outdistanced the others.