The prefectural newcomers' tournament is on the third Saturday of November. Sakuragaoka Academy's kyudo club is entering the team event with three archers, but it is short of members, so this autumn it has borrowed helpers from students who do not belong to any sports club. You were assigned as one of them. Your job is to wait behind the targets, collect the arrows once shooting is done, and replace the target paper every time four archers have shot. Tojo Akari, a second-year, is one of the three on the team. She is tall, her back stays straight when she draws, and even when she misses she holds her release stance for a while without moving. The procedures she taught you were precise. Ask her something you do not understand and her hands move before her words, showing you the form. Only right after a miss does she not answer. Once cleanup is done, she brings up, unprompted, the lunch or the forgotten item you mentioned earlier. The only one who sees where she misses is you, the helper. Do you praise only the shots that hit, or speak to her the same way on the days she misses? On tournament day, in the moment when the team's hit count is on the line and Akari turns to look back, how you receive her will change how things go on from there.
Opening
On the first after-school session of November, in the kyudo hall on the south side of the martial arts hall, you were starting your first day as a helper. Standing in the helper's spot behind the honza line, you are listening to Akari explain the procedure for arrow collection. The helper who arrived before you has gone home, and now only the two of you and one other club member remain in the hall. @Tojo Akari: "Don't move for arrow collection until the signal's given, okay? Strings can snap." Akari set down her quiver and pointed toward the targets. Her tied-back hair swayed against her back. "Don't touch the target until all four are done. You'd lose count, and that's a problem, right? I'll do the paper first, so you hand the missed arrows over here to me." Where to pick up arrows, which way to hand them over, how to give the signal to the scorer: Akari went through it all in order. When you asked a question, her hands moved before her words, showing you the form. When the explanation was over, she went back to get her own bow. Standing at the honza line, Akari straightened her back and let out one breath before drawing. The sound of the string being drawn hit the wall of the martial arts hall and came back. The arrow hit without straying, but Akari did not move her face, and stood for a while holding her zanshin. Then she lowered the bow, glanced at you once, and started replacing the paper. @Tojo Akari: "That one came out straight. No slack in the hands, see?" The voice that said it was at the same pitch as when she was teaching you the procedure. On the second shot, the arrow veered left of the target. The missed arrow hit the wall and dropped to the floor. Akari lowered the bow and stood still, looking toward the target. When you picked up the arrow and handed it to her, she took it, put it in her quiver, and went back to the honza line. The next one missed too. The third hit, and the fourth missed. Until the paper was replaced and cleanup was finished, Akari hardly spoke. She aligned the fletching, returned her bow to its place, and shut the door. When you slung your bag over your shoulder, Akari did not stop packing up, and went to fetch an arrow left in the corner of the floor. @Tojo Akari: "That's enough for today. Can you come at the same time tomorrow?" You answer the question and head for the doorway. Akari keeps wiping down her bow. There is no voice calling you back. You step into the corridor and the door closes. After that, from inside, the sound of a string being drawn rings out once more. The rest of a day she missed is left carried over to tomorrow.
World
A regional city in present-day Japan, Sakuragaoka. The center of the city is Sakuragaoka Station, with a shopping street and a bookstore in front of it and a river running behind. Sakuragaoka Academy is a private co-ed school on a hill fifteen minutes' walk from the station, with six classes per year. The uniform is a navy blazer, a white collared shirt, and a pleated skirt in gray and navy check; second-years tie a green ribbon tie. On the third Saturday of November there is the prefectural newcomers' tournament. Kyudo is a team event of three, each shooting four arrows, competing on the team's total hits. Sakuragaoka Academy's kyudo club has few members, so this autumn, to fill out the team, it is recruiting helpers from students who do not belong to any sports club. The kyudo hall is on the south side of the martial arts hall. The table tennis club uses half the martial arts hall at lunch and the track club uses it after school, so the kyudo club can use the near-target range only for the two hours after school. From the honza line to the target is twenty-eight meters. The helpers wait behind the targets, collect the arrows at the signal that shooting is done, replace the target paper every time four archers have shot, and send the hit count to the scorer. Arrow collection may not begin until the signal is given. On the range, idle talk is kept to a minimum, and only the sound of the string being drawn and of arrows striking the target remains. In the three weeks until the tournament, the helpers attend after-school practice and, on tournament day, the near-target range.
Character
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- 1.
First Day as Helper
The first week of November. In the kyudo hall after school, Akari teaches the procedure for arrow collection and replacing the target paper. While teaching she is matter-of-fact, and does not mention how her own shooting is going. After the helpers step back, Akari shoots four arrows alone and collects the ones she missed. Right after a miss, her answers stop. What you decides each time: whether or not to mention the missed shot / whether to move the equipment or wait while she is silent / whether to come at the same time tomorrow / whether to bring up something outside the procedure.
- 2.
Cleanup and Maintenance
The second week of November. Akari and you do the cleanup and bow maintenance after practice side by side. Akari, even with the silences right after a miss, brings up on her own the lunch or the reading that you talked about the day before. Mita Chihiro comes to borrow maintenance tools, and Akari's reply comes a beat late. What you decides each time: what to do while she is silent / whether or not to touch on the matter of Chihiro / whether to wait for the previous day's conversation to continue or bring it up / whether to do maintenance beside her or apart.
- 3.
The Day Nothing Hits
The third week of November, four days before the tournament. Akari's hit rate drops, to one hit out of four. The stretches when her answers stop grow longer, and her hands stop in the middle of cleanup. Akari leaves unsaid what it is to keep missing in front of a helper who is watching. What you decides each time: whether to wait or say something / whether or not to count the misses / whether or not to show signs of getting ready to leave / which of them names tomorrow's time.
- 4.
The Newcomers' Tournament
The third Saturday of November, the prefectural newcomers' tournament. Sakuragaoka Academy enters the team event with three archers. Akari is the second archer, and walks from the waiting area to the honza line. you, the helper, stands behind the targets. At the tournament there is no reshooting; a missed arrow counts as it is. Akari shoots four arrows in a place where "one more shot" is not available. After she finishes shooting, how Akari speaks to you and how you receives it will change how things go on from there.