-Friday 10th April, 2015- Early Morning
Leiko Hamada- Hamada Residence
The morning sun streaked through the crack in the curtains, the harsh light burning against Leiko's eyelids as she scowled and rubbed her eyes in a state of half-consciousness. She lay there for a while, sprawled in a messy tangle of limbs and flyaway curls; a far cry from the refined image she projected at school.
Today was a Friday, Leiko recalled sleepily, her green eyes finally fluttering open to wakefulness and staring blankly at the ceiling. Just yet two more days of school left to endure. Letting out a soft yawn, Leiko flipped the bedside alarm off five minutes before it was due, swinging her legs to the edge of the bed with a sense of purpose whilst contemplating the events of the day. Saya would be busy with her new Archery Club obsession, whilst some of the other girls she knew would be organising a group trip to the Warakuma Shopping Complex after school. There was some sort of sale going on today, Leiko recalled, and whilst discounts held little importance to her (why bother with reduced prices when she could already afford everything?), it was better than the alternative, which was locking herself up in her room and studying.
Swiftly, she padded her way into her ensuite bathroom, thumbing through her sink cabinet as she began the usual morning rituals that would consume the next hour of her day. Brush teeth, shower, straighten hair, perfume, and done. Sweeping her hair into its usual ponytail and allowing it to rest on her shoulder, Leiko adjusted her skirt one final time before heading to the dining room for breakfast.
"Morning, young Mistress." The family housekeeper greeted Leiko warmly as the young girl drew a chair and sat down expectantly. "I'm afraid I still have some croissants baking in the oven. You're up earlier than I expected."
Leiko shrugged noncommittally as a response, eliciting the usual exasperated sigh from the older woman before she bustled back into the kitchen. It was always like this, ever since the old housekeeper retired six months ago. Leiko didn't like the new girl, nor did she care to try. It was as simple as that.
Sipping at some freshly squeezed juice, Leiko's mind wandered back to the auditions that had taken place on the previous Tuesday. Masatomo's criticism of her decisions recently were still replaying in her mind, and she couldn't help but question her own logic.
The auditionee that had caused such inner conflict was Alexei Dragunov.
Just as Leiko and Masatomo had nearly finished cleaning up the auditorium, a bulky, straight-faced foreigner had approached them, claiming that there was some kind of mix up with the sign up sheet and that he was to be the last auditionee that day.
Taken by surprise at the time, Leiko had attempted to argue with his forceful and quite unwelcome behaviour, but he had quickly dismissed her with a "maybe you can find something worthwhile" line, before ordering her club members to readjust the lighting and claiming the stage with his own dominating presence.
Leiko's fingers tapped lightly on her glass as she recalled how her nails had embedded into her palms in anger; how dare he waltz in and speak to her like that? The nerve! But the senior had paid her silent outrage no mind, instead stripping himself of his jacket with no sense of shame before fixing her with an intense stare. Honestly, Leiko didn't expect much from the brawny male at this point; he appeared to be more muscle than man, and his attitude was troublesome to boot.
And yet...his audition was undeniably interesting to her the more she thought about it. He used his intimidating figure and presence to his advantage, exerting a sense of undeniable power and force to his words and actions as he eased into the role of some kind of authority figure. There was nothing romantic or understated to his performance, Leiko reflected, but yet it surprisingly worked in his favour. His interpretation was dark and steeped in pessimism, and Leiko could still feel the chills racing down her spine as she remembered the cold, distant way he delivered his finishing lines.
Masatomo had been the first one to speak once he was done, and he was none too pleased. "You've got some nerve," he sneered at the foreigner with a sense of disdain. "Guess what, buster. Auditions are closed. Thanks for wasting everyone's time though."
"Masatomo," Leiko's dismissive tone had surprised even herself at the time, and the Club President still wondered to this day what possessed her to speak the words that followed. "I'll speak." She remembered how her eyes had swivelled to the mysterious male, a conflict of emotions warring within her. "As President of the Drama Club, I'm obligated to apologise for any faults in the audition process. And whilst your presumptuous attitude leaves a lot to be desired...I must admit, I was quite taken in by your interpretation. It was a...gritty outlook on the text."
"What," Masatomo's response was deadpan and disbelieving. "You're not serious, Hamada. We're done here! It's tough shit, but we can't take any more members."
"Meetups are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Don't make me regret this decision," Leiko spoke directly to the muscled student, ignoring Masatomo's frustrated gasps altogether as she handed him the sign up sheet that had somehow omitted his name. "I don't want any funny stunts like that in my club. Just count yourself lucky that I enjoyed your performance."
And with that, Alexei Dragunov was accepted into the Drama Club, and Masatomo had been complaining about it since. Leiko was accused of being 'soft', 'irresponsible', 'foolish', amongst other colourful insults and frankly, Leiko didn't care much for Masatomo's opinion. However, the role of Drama Club President was important to her, and the words were undeniably getting under her skin. The last thing she wanted spread across school was that she was a bad President when it had scarcely been a week yet.
Perhaps she was overthinking it? As the smell of sweet pastry wafted through the room, Leiko decided that this was the case, and without another moment's thought, she focused instead on fuelling her body for the day ahead.
-Friday 10th April, 2015- After-School
Saya Ueno-Archery Range
As soon as the bell had signalled the end of lessons, Saya had dismissed herself from her friends and headed straight to the archery range. It was a painful decision for the fashionable teen; after all, the mall was having a sale today, of all days. And Hama-chan and their group of friends were going without her!
She could still feel the bitter sting of her own words as she refused their offer and turned heel for the range instead. She tried to justify her decision in her head; after all, she was still paying off her boots, and there was only so many shoes a girl could own anyway. Still, her reasoning did little to comfort her, and the more she thought about what she was missing out on, the worse she felt.
Pushing her thoughts aside, Saya reached the locker that was assigned to for the club and put away her valuables before setting foot outside. They had started their first club session on Wednesday, where they were informed they would be practicing Kyudo for the next few weeks before advancing forward. In truth, Saya held little practical knowledge of Archery, so she didn't really understand the little nuances involved with using different bows. But Rokoru-senpai looked so animated when he talked about the subject, that Saya couldn't help but feel inspired to do her best. She was going to clear Kyudo in no time!
Scrunching her long hair up into a loose ponytail, Saya claimed her assigned bow and quiver of arrows before selecting one of the firing lines to shoot. She glanced around the field as she withdrew a metallic arrow, her brow furrowing slightly as she noted her classmate, Rui Shinichi was nowhere to be found. She had never even uttered a word to the boy, but it was a little comforting to know that someone her age, and in her class, was starting along with her. With his absence, it felt like she was completely alone.
Saya ignored the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, drawing the arrow taut against the bowstring as the pulling force caused her aim to shake slightly. Biting her lip in concentration, she let loose with a twang, her heart sinking as the arrow missed her target altogether by a metre. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, cursing her lack of focus as she turned to fetch another arrow.
