(no subject)

[burningbow]

Who: Mirai, Miyume, Shizuru - and interested parties.
Where: Archery Dojo.
When: Weds 12th and Fri 14th April.
What: Watching and meetings.

An irritable low hiss came out of the third-year student's mouth as the arrow slipped out her fingers and clattered on the floor. In the quieter atmosphere of the club, she had found it easier to relax than where the loutish young men were practicing their soccer and swimming. This would be where her plans fell through, though - the noise of her failure was drawing the attention of people in the room. "Has it gotta keep missing?!"

"Yeah," Mirai said. "The way you're drawing the bow is wrong. It needs to be this way instead."

He was approaching quite slowly. He had given his apologies and was sauntering away from another third-year to help. But how silly to imagine he was doing it for her good! He was picking up the arrow from the floor before he had quite gotten there. He handed it over with a smile. And he gave a guiding hand. His offer of help didn't come from the front, though. It came from behind. He looked down at her over the shoulder of her hakama and stood peacefully behind her. The gap between them was quite close, almost non-existent. When he did move, he shifted and encircled her with his arms, and getting her to move against him didn't take very much.

"You load it like this." Something brushed on the fingers she had over the bow - his own. He gently pushed her arms down toward the ground and kept the bow pointed down with his right, thinking about safety till he knocked her legs into the correct stance by breaking them apart with his knee. "You'll turn into a tree if you stand like that."

There was a moment or two of further adjustment where he was taking his time. His hands slid back down her arms to keep the bow and its arrow in the best position he could, and the emotion in his eyes was the most warm thing. He gave her right arm a subconscious rub and tried to keep her elbow out the way, "Three fingers, not two", till he was satisfied with her stance and gave a kind smile - simply because he thought she would let him get closer that way.

That happened to be the moment he let go. There was a moment of silence as the student's white arrow flew through the air, and they watched with bated breath - till it flew a few more yards ahead then clattered to the floor a second time.

Comments

Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

Miyume watched the practice from a spot on the bleachers, not far from the door, cane propped up beside her. She'd opted to wait until practice was sure to be well underway before heading to the gymnasium, slipping in as quickly and discreetly as she could. Somehow she wasn't surprised to see Mirai assisting a female club member so enthusiastically, especially after the rumors she'd heard at school this week. The girls in Room 401 had gotten into an argument and Mirai's name had been mentioned.

Of course, she'd guessed what type of boy he was already but having a theory about someone and seeing the reality of it before her eyes were a bit different from each other. Briefly, a mixture of emotions played across her features - sadness, disappointment, and even a touch of envy though exactly who it was meant for was unclear. Then she was calm again and her solemn gaze shifted from Mirai and the girl completely to rest on another rather handsome boy practicing with his bow.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai turned to the student with a smile at this. "That was much better," he congratulated. "Keep trying. Try - be at ease in your own skin. I have to observe that your stance is getting better also. Keep it up."

He spoke in such a gentle and friendly way that he would have looked like a saint no matter what he was doing. He also plucked with utmost skill an arrow from her quiver. Far from desiring to make a game of their close contact, he simply handed it over. But there was something he did want - and wickedness came to his eyes. They seemed to pay her all of his attention.

Then his interest was gone. Gently he let go, stepping back and leaving her arms in mid-air. He turned on his heel and stared at Miyume.

"Excellent," he said. His eyes settled on her with the expression he knew what she was thinking. "Thank you for coming. It's a pleasure to see you here."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

Miyume didn't seem to notice Mirai speaking to her. Her gaze continued to linger on the archer she was currently observing. The tangle of emotions from a moment before was nowhere to be seen now, instead replaced by a steadily blossoming smile of such purity, pleasure, and innocent interest that it seemed to belong more on the face of a nymph or some other supernatural beauty. The boy, in question, looked up as if sensing he was being watched. Upon spotting her, he broke into a smile of his own and gave a friendly little wave which she returned shyly.

Not once did Miyume's eyes show the slightest hint of straying back toward Mirai.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai seemed unconcerned by this. He could see that she was talking to his kouhai because she wanted him to be uncomfortable. Except he simply could not imagine himself ever having to compete with one of the juniors. He stood there watching every exchange and expression. For his gaze would not move.

There was a break in the silence; students were firing at the range. Then Mirai was calling to the boy in question, gesturing to the empty vessels first - which needed to be refilled. He was staring at him with his cold eyes to get to work. It would not be received strangely - helping new people was his role.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

Miyume suppressed her laughter but couldn't completely hide her amusement. For an instant, her smile shifted into a slight smirk but the change was so swift, it could have easily been dismissed as a figment of imagination. Once the boy had been sent off to fill the bins, her gaze slowly drifted back toward Mirai. Upon seeing him, she smiled brightly, appearing genuinely thrilled to see him. Miyume tucked a lock of hair behind one ear and leaned forward slightly, the very picture of barely concealed excitement.

"Hello, senpai," she greeted, waving to Mirai with far more enthusiasm than she had the boy a moment ago.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai's smile grew. It was not unattractive. He saw, perceiving through even the thickest of Miyume's darkness, answers to many of his suspicions that she tried to hide with her keen mind. Not being a fool like the student, he flashed a little devious smile and chose to grant her secrecy.

"Miyume-chan. It's been a long time."

A short greeting. Then the urge to put her on the spot, "Would you enjoy a lesson with us?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

The girl smiled with a pleasant blandness that contradicted the glimmer of arousal in her eyes. Her cheeks were a little flushed, her lips slightly parted, and she fidgeted a little on the bench. As if suddenly feeling very self-conscious, she pressed her knees together.

"Oh, I don't know, senpai," she said, twisting a lock around her finger in a very convincing display of beginner's anxiety. "I might mess up. I don't think I have the upper body strength for it."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai felt his greed rise up. Obvious ploy or not, Miyume was cleverly giving him exactly the image he wanted, and seemed to understand. She believed a little tenderness was something he needed. He went cheerfully into the bleachers, with quite a nice smile on his face as he sat down next to her, one hand on his side.

"Is that what you think?"

Underneath his smile, not for the first time, was something deviant. "Sounds like you've listened to your mother. She's right, I'll admit that. But... the truth is she's not here. My feeling is you can do it if you want it," he said encouragingly.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

"Oh, that's not what my mother says. That's what I say," Miyume said with another of her mysterious little smiles, tone light and vaguely teasing. "It's what I know."

The whole time she was speaking, she'd been scooting closer toward him in a very obvious manner. Just when it seemed like she might keep going until she wound up in his lap, she stopped just when her thigh was barely brushing Mirai's hand.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Something lightly brushed the trousers covering Mirai's leg.

He opened his eyes almost immediately. Then, although he was sure it had been done on purpose, he tried to return the contact by patting Miyume's leg affectionately. His fingers trailed down it with a light and pleasant contact that he gently lifted. He seemed happy. His smile had grown wide. He appreciated what she was doing. He was unable to avoid looking pleasured by it. Understanding, oh welcome understanding!

The energy he was feeling was pushed out when he stretched himself portentously in the air and rested his feet on a lower bench.

He remarked to Miyume, in his deep-sounding voice, "Oh? Will you tell me what else you know?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

"I know lots of things," Miyume replied, her own smile widening, echoing Mirai's pleasure with her own. She sat next to him, demure and apparently quite content as she was.

"Pick one thing to ask," she continued, playing idly with the ends of her hair. "And I'll answer you." Then that light-hearted sense of mischief returned, this time accompanied by something just a little bit darker and wicked.

"But just one thing." For now. "So choose carefully."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai listened and nodded at each new arrow being fired at the range, where new students were now training after having taken a short rest. He could see that they had waited for a turn; when he was down amongst his club members, he usually tried not to wait for a turn in anything.

He chuckled gracefully. "Such a generous offer. If I ask you what I'm thinking, you'll have to tell a teacher... eh?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[phantomcloud]

The flush returned and her smile widened more, turning just a little bit more wicked. She lifted her hand, resting it briefly on Mirai's knee. As she had the day they'd met, she traced the kanji in her name there, this time quite lazily while in direct contact. Her touch remained very light, however. Mirai could easily move away or remove her hand with ease should he desire.

"Do I really seem like the kind of girl that kisses and tells, senpai?" she murmured with a chuckle of her own.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[allisnothing]

Later, towards the later end of the practice, Haruka found her way to the archery dojo, listening from the near the entrance and ignoring the occasional glance her way.

She distinguished voices and who seemed to be doing well and who were cursing more than others and who sounded like they were getting smacked by their stringbows. Arrows clattered against the ground, thunked against boards, and whistled through the air (or in one particular case, the archer was distracted and the arrow only got a few feet).

Overall, she'd developed a decent mental map of things.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai stood at the end focusing, with noises of arrows flying past him at his left ear. The conversation with Miyume had happened so fast that, at first, all he could think of was releasing his energy. He lowered his bow to load an arrow against the string and the slender fingers of his left hand pulled it back tight. Though he could feel the weight of the bow when he lifted it in front of him, there nearly wasn't as great a weight on his shoulders.

He was letting the string go. The release was a great weight off his mind, and as soon as he dropped the tension the arrow penetrated the target with a satisfying thud. Although he had no idea Haruka was that close, and he simply murmured "ch!" to himself in frustration.

Re: Friday, April 14th

[allisnothing]

Somewhere in Haruka's mental map, she started mapping where she heard Imaizumi. He was pretty close to her right now.

She'd been hearing a lot of things about him too, in the sound-scape.

'Wow, most be great to be captain.'

'Tch. Already after first years? Seriously?'

'He corrected by stance and I started hitting the middle consistently! I almost to mess up my stance again teeehehee...'

'Did you see the way he was touching her? Am I really the only one noticing that? He totally chased me away just so he could have her!'

The gossip seemed to have winded down mostly but she still caught snatches here or there.

Interesting mix.

After hearing Imaizumi's frustrated sound, despite his arrow going 'thunk', she commented, "Miss what you were aiming for, senpai?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

After another round of firing arrows and listening to the rumours, Mirai was forced to accept that he would be the topic of conversation for a while. He carefully fired another arrow into the centre - again without regard for what was happening around him. They were firing weapons and too stupid to understand what had happened.

He drew his hand slowly down his own bow and smiled. That was all he needed. He lay the weapon on the floor when he heard another of his special friends speaking to him, and it lay there as he turned to give her a smile.

"Kiri-chan! You just can't stay away, can you? What if people talk?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[allisnothing]

Haruka tilted her head, listened for a moment, and then nodded towards the direction of general chatter.

"Huh. Already sounds like a lot of talk without me here," she replied. She shrugged. "I can always still leave."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

"No, please. It's very nice having you here," Mirai said to her. His voice was very quiet and unemotional. "You don't even seem afraid. I can't believe you would willingly come here knowing all that." He looked around - no doubt meaning the crowd and the rumours it spread. "If you come here of your own decision, you can't really blame me for anything."

His tone began sounding hopeful. "... So now, this means you will stay a little longer?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[allisnothing]

"I'm an actor. I could be secretly trembling inside," Haruka said with a straight face, but she didn't show a trace of it fear or bother. At the crowd or being around Imaizumi.

"But I choose this fate of my own will, to increase my spiritual experience and to just hang. And I said I'd show so yeah."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai collected his weapon and arrows together and arranged them in a pile beside his feet. "True. But I also told you - come to me an hour before the end and I will show you something special. Maybe," he said, "you should be more careful with your time."

Nothing was said, either then or for a while. Mirai finished collecting the arrows into the vessel and climbed to his feet. "That tardiness will become dangerous as you near finals, won't it? Or is it possible you were lying and didn't want to visit me at all?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[allisnothing]

"Sorry. Surprise drama club practice happened," she replied, looking and sounding completely genuine. After a moment, though, she turned her head skywards,

"Pretty sure those weren't your exact words. But sucky for me. At least I caught you for part of it?"

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai laughed and stood up to speak to Haruka directly. That had been quite the answer. "I guess you did. I feel so glad."

Haruka would hear the amusement in his voice as he asked, "You came here to have a spiritual experience, right? I will feel so bad if you leave empty-handed."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[allisnothing]

"That's how you put it," Haruka replied, but nodded. "I'm open to it if you want to provide. On this day or some other day."

Re: Friday, April 14th

[burningbow]

Mirai began walking away. A rustling of clothes would provide at least some noise on the sound-scape for Haruka, because there, inside, was his phone. He kept it in there because he had been busy lately. He hoped someone would call him soon.

"You're just so eager, aren't you?" he said, "... To want spiritual cleansing by me?"

Hadn't she heard the rumours?