In the midst of the crowded hallway were two warm hands, clasping around one another. It was a rather strange sight to see, as these two strangers blocked the traffic of students heading to class, forcing ongoers to maneuver around them. The big problem was that one of the strangers was you. The other stranger was a beautiful, young man who reminded you entirely of the ocean. His hues lulled you in like the sea and looking straight into them could almost be dangerous, as stupid and cheesy that sounded.
Quickly letting go of his hand, he followed suit and now the two of you were just standing there awkwardly. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers, he nudged his head slightly to signify that you both should start walking again. Following him down the marble staircase of the school, you tried your best to keep up with his strides, but man were his legs long. "Um... thank you for helping me," you said, clearing your throat.
"It was nothing," he responded. To your surprise, he slowed down and you were finally walking side by side with him. He then leaned towards you, causing you to grow slightly flustered at the close proximity. He glanced down at the sheet of paper in front of you and raised his eyebrows. Backing away from your personal space bubble, he looked away thoughtfully. You took a deep breath, for you could relax once again. "I have archery 2nd period too. We're in the same class."
"We are?" Simply not knowing him well enough, you didn't exactly have any strong feelings to the idea. He was nice so far, but your goal here wasn't to make friends. But at least you didn't have to spend another ten minutes trying to find the classroom this time, since you would have him.
He nodded. "I don't think we've introduced ourselves yet. What is your name?"
"[Y/N]. What's yours?"
"Namiko."
His name really matched him well.
Before you could figure out a response to his curt response, the boy -- Namiko, stopped in front of a doorway. Peaking inside the room, you could see there were rows and rows of targets, red paint lining into multiple circles until they stopped into the middle as a fat dot. The floor lined in glazy, planked wood, it was built similarly like a traditional room, with tall bamboos being grown against the wall of one side. Since there was a window of the view outside, a small ray of sunshine entered the area, casting a golden glow.
The first thing that awaited the students were a large table that contained kyudogis, archery uniforms that were robe-like and fell into black skirts for its bottom half. Taking one for yourself, the boy beside you did the same. Holding it within your arms, just like with the other class, a changing session into new uniforms awaited you.
In a carbon-copy locker room similar to before, you tugged the uniform on and stuffed your materials into a locker. Your fingers pinching the fabric of the long skirt, you held them up to prevent yourself from tripping over. Sighing to yourself, you crossed the hallway and returned to the classroom. Who knew how tiring changing could be? Were... you going to have to do this for every single class?
The teacher showed up as an older man with a long, dark gray hair and a graying beard. His slim eyes gazing at everyone in a strict manner, you couldn't help but straighten your posture the second they laid upon you. Wearing a kyudogi as well, he swept across the room with a bow in his hand. "Welcome class. This is archery and I am Asano, your instructor. I would like us not to dawdle and talk for too long, so I am going to let you do your own thing. Use the bow to shoot the arrow towards the target. I will go around to inspect everyone and help anyone if needed. Off you go."
Wait wait wait. That was it?! Mouth agape in disbelief, you turned around to see everyone getting to work already. Rushing to a large basket filled of bows, everyone wrestled to find the best one among all of them. It was only you who stood in the sidelines, confused as fuck. The feeling of panic returned, but this time being much worse. In Martial Arts, those were just the basics... but this? This was basically a pre-test!
You were going to fail immediately. You never held a bow before... you didn't know how to use it. So what made this Asano instructor think that you could just jump right into it?
Namiko returned from his bow searching and you looked down at his hands to see they were gripping on two of them. Confused, you scrunched your brows together as he held one out to you, looking a little shy. "You were looking unsure, so I got one for you too," he said, a small smile brightening his exterior. Slowly taking it from him, your hand brushed against cool, firm wood. The bow light but sturdy, it was beautifully structured and wonderfully made.
"Thank you so much," you murmured, your eyes softening. He was so, so nice and his presence alone was calming to you, preventing the internal panic that begged to spill out. He gave you a curt nod and walked over to an open target in the room, which was in the far end. Spotting an open target beside his, you quickly went over there too.
At your little station were a handful of arrows that had silver tips so sharp it looked as if they could cut you with a touch. Slender and carved flawlessly, small, beige feathers dotted at its ends. Hesitantly picking one up after seeing many others doing the same, your hands shook in experience. What would you do now? Put its ends against the string of the bow, right?
Desperately praying that it was as easy as it looked on TV, you lifted the arrow up and tried to connect the two items together. After a few tries, it worked, but what you found out that the hardest part was keeping them together while still pulling your arm back to shoot the shot. Staring at the target in strong concentration, you carefully pulled the arrow back... but it slipped right out of the string.
Over and over again, it did the same thing each time. When the arrow finally fell due to your sweaty palms, you finally let out a frustrated groan. Breathing heavily, you stared at other people's progress to feel all the confidence deflate from you. The students had at least five arrows etched into the targets by now -- maybe not straight into the bullseye, but at least it was on the target.
It was at the moment you turned to your left that your jaw dropped in both dismay and awe. Standing in a perfect posture, a strong arm pulled the string back to let the arrow go, causing it to soar through the air at lightning speed. Smack in the middle and ripping through other previous arrows, it landed on the bullseye. Judging by the other arrows, at least seven other arrows were shot in the same spot.
Of course. Of course Namiko was a talented bitch. He was probably an elite too, wasn't he? Scowling, you cursed at your luck. Why did you keep running into these elites? How were you supposed to live a peaceful life when these fools were running around?
In the distance was instructor Asano, his arms behind his back as his beady hues analyzed every move and every arrow on each target. Widening your eyes, you scrambled over to the arrows and picked one up. With your mind in a frenzy, you rushed over to the boy a few feet away and got right into his face. Bewildered, coral lips parted in confusion and blue eyes blinked blankly.
"Help me, Namiko! Shoot an arrow at my target for me," you whispered, shoving the arrow at him.
"W-wait, what?" he exclaimed, stumbling over his words.
"Just do it!"
He pushed the arrow away from him and shook his head, his forehead furrowing. "This is cheating though--"
Goddammit. What was with this boy and his morals? Pushing said materials back and forth from one person to the other, the two of you were beginning to look silly. You could only hope no one was watching you. "Asano is coming soon and I have like... no arrows on the fucking target. Please, be a friend and save me!" Putting on your best puppy face, you pouted and blinked at him with sad eyes.
To this, he actually relented and you almost cried in joy when he nodded in agreement. "Where do you want the arrow to be?"
"Um... uh... the second circle maybe?"
Without moving an inch, he slipped an arrow onto his bow and shot it. It went right where you asked it to be: the second circle.
The moment Asano came towards your station, you almost couldn't breathe. "What is your name?" he asked you.
"[Y/N]," you answered. You watched as he searched for your name on the roster.
Afterwards, he pulled no punches. "I see... Why do you only have one arrow on the target?"
"Oh..." You let out a nervous laugh and scratched the top of your head. He appeared unamused and stony, making the situation a million times more uncomfortable. "That's... that's because I've been getting cramps on my hands today, you see..."
Judging by his expression and his grimace, he was not buying it.
"Ahh, no. It's my fault, Asano. I was distracting her by teaching her a few tips on archery." A third person entered the conversation. It was Namiko once again. How many times was he going to save your ass today? And why was he willing to help you?
The old instructor turned to the sound of Namiko's voice. "Alright then," he said, slowly nodding. "And I see you're doing as wonderful as always, elite."
The second Asano mentioned that word, the blue haired male instantly stiffen. His jaw clenching and his eyes narrowing, his sweet persona was entirely taken over by a darkened expression. He almost looked like an entirely different person... and it was terrifying. You had no words. It seemed to be there was much more to Namiko than you had initially thought.