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[ 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.]

Exactly. You shouldn't be like this when we've barely started.

What difference does it make whether I feel this way now or later? [He's back to where he was, glaring at the tree as if it had done something wrong. He's really determined to keep this up.]

Because if you don't calm down, you'll probably end up setting your arrows on fire or cracking them somehow or worse. In any case, you're clearly distracted.

Well, good. Maybe I'll have a better chance of hitting something if they're on fire. [If he's going to just stand there and keep telling him off, then fine, he'll just tune it out. What does he know? The bow is raised and drawn back again.]

[ He crosses his arms, frowning over at him silently. ]

[He's not complaining anymore? Good. Sadly he's not going to be making much progress. The first barely reaches the tree, another few scrap the tree, one looked like it managed to hit, only to bounce off, amazing. Despite how terrible things were going, Naruhodou showed no sign of stopping until he was out of arrows and had to go gather them again.]

That was predictably terrible.

[ . . . is his blunt assessment. ]

[Deep breaths.] Thank you, for your unhelpful and obvious observation. [That's getting a snide comment back. He's back in position again, rolling his shoulders to shake things off, or try to at least. Once again, his bow is up and taking aim, hands shaking.]

I tried helping, but you weren't having it.

[ He shrugs! ]

Telling me to stop isn't helping! [There's a THWACK sound as the bow smacks him squarely in the face. The bow had been drawn and he lost focus yelling at Asougi. He hisses, pressing a hand over his face. He really hopes this won't leave a bruise later.]

Telling you to take a break to pull in your focus, on the other hand . . .

[ He sighs, stepping over, and reaches over to the hand on his face. ] Here, let me see it.

[He was reluctant to listen to him at first, but he'll move his hand in the end without saying a word. His wouldn't look at him in the face, his eyes unfocused. He seem pretty shaken up by something, and a red bruise was forming where the bow had hit him. He didn't cut himself anywhere, at least.]

Alright. Now I'm going to insist you take a break.

[ He shifts his hand over to his shoulder and squeezes it gently before reaching around to steer him over to a spot where they can sit. ]

[There's still a bit of fight left in him and for a second, he thought about tossing him. In the end he couldn't bring himself to do it and gets directed anyway. The area above Naruhodou's head gets dark as a gloom sets in, shoulders drooping. Completely useless again.]

[ Once they're seated, he eyes him quietly for a moment before speaking up again. ]

Tell me what's on your mind, Naruhodou.

. . . [He takes his bento, slowly unwrapping the furoshiki.] Someday, we may find ourselves in a situation where we're forced to fight our way to safety here. I don't want to be a burden to you if that ever happens. [And then losing his best friend because of him.]

Is that really all it is? [ He takes his own bento, resting it in his lap. ] You've been quiet all morning. Tense.

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