Leiko Hamada- Warakuma Shopping Complex
Leiko had been completely, undeniably, irrevocably bored out of her mind.
Her lips twitched into a scowl as she felt the soles of her feet ache slightly from their long perusal of the mall, the weights of the bags filled with meaningless accessories slowly digging into her arms with a slight sting. The trip had been long and arduous with the absence of Saya, whose boundless enthusiasm and bloodhound-like capabilities made the whole experience much more tolerable. Instead, Leiko was expected to dictate the pace, and she just wasn't good at it. Leading people was one thing, but trying to do it while feigning interest in something she just didn't care about was a chore. And when the conversation topic started going somewhere awkward, she was quick to dismiss herself.
Glancing down at the time on her phone, Leiko ignored the strange people who walked past her with an air of indifference as she walked the block back to her home. There were some weird people around in Warakuma these days, and for anyone who had lived there long enough, it was obvious. It was all some sort of cliquey nonsense, spreading across the youth demographic like wildfire, and Leiko had no patience for it. Why were people fussing about it? Teenagers' moods changed all the time.
Letting out a small huff of air, Leiko noted that it was a little cold for an April evening. Well, it wouldn't be long until she was home anyway, she mused, slightly regretting her choice to walk home with her school things as well as her bags of shopping as she crept up the street closer to her estate.
Saya Ueno: Warakuma High- Archery Range
After dismissing Rokoru-senpai's concerns over her Archery skills, Saya couldn't help but notice that something else was distracting the Club President. Sulking slightly at how quickly their short-lived conversation ended, her eyes followed the trail of his gaze to an unfamiliar student that Saya had never met before. Lean with short black hair, the male gave off an air of arrogance as he cocked his bow, aiming for one of the targets down the range. For a moment, Saya could swear that his eyes flickered over to her and Rokoru for a brief second, before he let loose of the arrow, the projectile whistling straight into the dyed red bullseye.
He's good. It was a helpless observation, and an accurate one at that, as the mysterious male pelted three more 'bullseyes' with what hardly could be called effort. Saya couldn't help but be impressed by the show, and the sentiment was shared with her other clubmates as she heard them immediately break into gossip about this new archer. It wasn't long until Saya learned that this student was a third year with some bad history within the Archery Club, and apparently had a fight of some sort with with the leaders at the time, which culminated in an outright fight and a ban. Or, so it had seemed. So his name is Akira Kirigakure...wait, that Akira?! Realization dawned on Saya, as the blood quickly drained from her face. Akira was notorious in the school for being a troublemaker with a lust for fighting, and of course, she had endeavoured to stay out of the way of people like that as much as possible. And now she was going to be in the same club as him?
Trying not to fly into a panic (after all, it would look seriously uncool in front of Rokoru-senpai), she merely watched on in stunned silence as the senior called Akira loaded his bow with another arrow and-
Thwack! A near miss. It would have been hard for Saya to tell, if not for Kirigakure's loud lament about the fact. Still...Saya couldn't help but admit to herself that the rebel teen was good with a bow, and it made her wonder briefly if she could ever get as good as that. It was a far off dream, but the thought of slinging arrows with the same effortless precision was enough to get Saya pumped all over again, her fingers twirling the arrow in her hands in anticipation as she quickly planned her next attempt.
Or...she would have, if she hadn't noticed Rokoru suddenly raise his own bow, instilling awe from the small gathering crowd as the sound of pelting arrows suddenly stilled. The tension was thick, and Saya could feel her heart leap in her mouth as he drew the arrow back against the string with a powerful flex of his arms and a determined glint in his eyes. He was going to shoot. Right in front of her!
Clapping her hand against her mouth to keep herself from letting out an excited squeal, Saya's eyes absorbed the powerful way he held his stance, every second notching into her mind. It wasn't difficult to notice how the fabric of his jacket strained against his sinewy build, every tendon stretched and firm from holding the poise of the shot.
As a hot flush crept onto her cheeks, Saya was quickly brought back to attention as the sound of metal piercing wood broke the tense silence. A direct bullseye. Not only did Rokoru-senpai look cool holding a bow, but he was seriously good at it too. And she got to watch him in action, up close. Saya felt a little dazed as she watched on quietly, suppressing the gasps of excitement that threatened to bubble forth with every successful strike.
Two more arrows joined the first, the force of the shots clapping like thunder as the crowd bustled into quiet murmurs of praise. Amongst them, the name Kirigakure surfaced again, and as Saya glanced over at the aforementioned student, she finally realised why. It seemed as if Rokoru-senpai was challenging Kirigakure's performance with one of his own.
Saya couldn't help but grin at that fact, her eyes returning to the club president as she waited for the inevitable. Rokoru-senpai was most definitely the best archer in Warakuma High, and Saya would severely disregard anyone who said differently. Especially someone like Kirigakure, no matter how technically skilled he was.
Biting down on her thumbnail from nervous excitement, Saya watched with bated breath as Rokoru aimed another arrow at the target. Every bone in her body ached to cheer him on, but she fought to hold her tongue, in case she distracted him from landing another perfect shot.
With another flex of his arm, Rokoru fired again, and for a brief moment, Saya honestly believed he had struck the centre like the previous three. It would have gone totally unnoticed, had it not been for the tutting sounds from the more senior members of the club. Ah, so Rokoru-senpai's shot had actually slipped slightly out of the red. It was no big deal! Kirigakure had done the same, so Saya would merely enjoy and watch the show whilst the rivalry ended in a nice clean draw.
And then...he missed.
It took a few seconds for Saya to process as she blinked dumbly at the arrow, lodged into one of the outer rings of the target. Not only had he missed the centre, but he had struck a different target altogether.
She didn't understand. Did Rokoru-senpai throw off the shot on purpose? Was he worried about making that other guy look bad? She entertained the notion for a moment, adamantly refusing that her senior would make such a juvenile mistake, but one look at Rokoru-senpai's face told her that the shot had been anything but intentional. And for once, Saya was at a complete loss on what to say.
Awkwardly, she drummed her fingers on the arrow in her hands, inwardly debating on whether she should say anything to him. She felt a strong impulse to say something encouraging, or to at least make him feel better, but Saya wasn't completely without tact, and she had a feeling that being comforted by a novice would only make him feel even more insulted. When that Kirigakure guy decided to approach him to add salt to his wounds, that only convinced her even more that it was a bad idea.
Slowly, Saya felt her concern wash away into anger, her eyebrow twitching as she watched Akira give a cocky wave before saying his piece and dismissing himself from the range. The nerve. Suddenly bolstered by an unforeseen resolve, Saya set her bow and quiver of arrows aside before quietly slinking away from the field.
"H-Hey, y-you!" The confrontation was a far cry from the intimidating showdown that Saya had imagined as she chased down Kirigakure, her face a contorting image of rage and apprehension as she jabbed a wavering pointed finger in his direction. "Y-You didn't have to be such a jerk back there, you know!" As soon as the insult left her lips, Saya felt her body freeze in horror. Oh god, what did she just say to Akira Kirigakure? He's going to kill me...! I'm gonna die I'm gonna die I'm gonna die...!
