ryuwrighthistory | Empatheias IC inbox

[He gives him a look in return.] Hey, that's not a very encouraging thing to say to your friend. [He gives him a nudge.] Worried I may actually beat you?

Hardly. [ He nudges him back in turn, but that smirk turns into a smile. ] But give it your all, Naruhodou.

I will! [He's pump now. Though he doubts he'll make real progress on the first day, maybe someday he'll succeed at this without making a fool of himself, no he definitely has to.

He'll take him to the spot he mentioned once they were in the park. It was quiet and secluded, the lake still visible through the trees.] It's a little out of the way, but that means not many people come through here. [Why though is the question.]

[ He cranes his neck, taking in their surroundings for a moment before nodding slowly. ]

A quiet picnic, huh?

I figured that's what you'd prefer. [He smiles, finally letting go of his hand so he could put down his things.]

I remember we used to sit under that one tree near the music department at the university, when the weather was nice like this. We could always hear the students performing since they'd have their windows open.

[ He smiles at that, closing his eyes and breathing in, as if he's back there all over again. ]

. . . mm. I remember that. We'd stay there for entirely too long just listening.

Hehe, somehow we still made it to class in time. It was really nice, especially when the cherry blossoms were in bloom. Although, we end up with petals all over our stuff.

I'd find them in my bag later on in the day, you know. Honestly . . .

Well, that's better than finding something unpleasant has crawled into your bag. [He shudders at the one time a spider had crawled into his bag and he let out a scream in the middle of class. Embarrassing.

He takes this time to examine his bow. They were basic in design, something he just grabbed from a shop. It's just for practice after all, so they didn't really need anything fancy. ]

[ He glances over at Naruhodou's bow, then up at him. ]

Nervous?

No. [He probably answered that too quickly. He raises the bow in his hand, aiming it toward one of the trees.] It's just been a while since I held a bow, that's all.

Mmhmm. [ He doesn't sound convinced, giving him a critical look for a moment before shaking his head. ] Well. I suppose you didn't have any reason to use one here before.

. . .No, but I should have learned anyway. [That sounded rather serious, coming from him. He takes a deep breath.] How should we do this? Aim for a target, hit as many trees as possible?

[ He frowns for a moment before filing that away for later, when they're sitting down and eating. For now— ]

Let's start simple, yes. Aim for a target. Try for consistency in where you hit it.

[He nods, taking an arrow out of his quiver. He already picked the target, so now it's just making the hit. If only his hands would remain steady as he drew back his bow. The muscle memory was clearly not quite there from lack of practice. It's just a practice shot, see where he is, that's all, no pressure. When he lets the arrow loose, it just scraps the tree...which is better than missing it entirely, what he was really worried about.]

[ He steps over behind him, resting a hand on his upper arm lightly. ]

You're thinking too hard again.

[He lets out some air he had apparently been holding in. He needs to calm down, somehow. Giving himself a moment to get his bearings, he raises his bow once more.]

[ He leaves his hand where it is, watching him carefully. ]

[He could probably tell Naruhodou is still pretty tense as he draws back his bow. If this doesn't work, how is he going to keep himself and Asougi safe? He scraps the tree again, on the other side this time.]

. . . I think we should eat first and then give it a try afterwards.

[ He pats at his shoulder gently at that. ]

No. [He pulls another arrow more deliberately, eyes still on his target.] I'm not hungry right now anyway.

[Is he really serious about taking a break now? They only just started. It's just been a while, that's all. At least he's not entirely missing the tree. Third time he misses the tree entirely, cursing under his breath.]

You're too worked up right now to concentrate properly.

[ This time, it's a blunt, abrupt statement. ]

Taking a break isn't going to fix that. [He retorts, walking off to go and retrieve the arrows. If he doesn't get pass this wall, he's never going to get anywhere. A break is only going to prolong the issue.]

And pushing yourself like this is?

[ It's like he already knows the answer. He crosses his arms, giving him a stern look. ]

We've barely started! [Does he realize he's only making him get more worked up? Gosh.]

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