The Kyudo Club
1483 Words
The School day seemed to drag on. Maybe it is true what they say that time moves faster when you’re having fun. Then came Lunch. The bell rang and there was a collective sigh of relief that rippled through the class. People got up, some heading to the canteen and others sitting in seats next to friends. I bring my own food from home. I say my own, but Mom did make it. Picking up my lunch box, I hadn’t even stood up before I heard a voice
“Sayucchi! Wanna eat together?”
“Sure~”
I got up, holding my lunch box. I only then turned to look at who had called me. An old childhood friend of mine.
Shinome Yugumi or Shi-chan as I call her is also a member of the Kyudo club. She joined the club with me, moreso because she wanted to stick with someone she knew. Despite always being more on the quiet side, she is a pretty friendly person. She smiled at me as I made my way next to her seat.
Not that many people ate in the classroom, many preferring to eat in the canteen or outside. I dragged out a chair and set it next to her table.
“Is club meeting after school?”
“Of course. You coming?”
“If you’re going, sure. I mean, I probably would have gone either way.”
“Heh”
I chuckled as I opened my lunch box. Mom had packed a basic rice based bento for me.
“I should train too. Maybe I might qualify for the inter school contest.”
“Work hard! You can do it~”
“Easy for you to say Sayucchi, you make it look easy.”
She stared sideways at me to which I chuckled nervously
“Well, if you practice-”
“You could put more effort into the advice.”
She said looking at me with mock annoyment to which I pouted a bit
“Mou, what else was I supposed to say?”
“Hmm, I don’t know, maybe something less overused like… I don’t know.”
I giggled at that. Overall I am miles better than Shinome at Kyudo, she always came to practice and was slowly going from atrocious to acceptably accurate. I slowly ate my lunch as we talked. Shinome had started eating before me.
“Hmm, I don’t know any less overused ones either.”
“Obviously.”
“Hey! What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing in particular.”
I finished eating and rested my head on the desk
“Ahh, Being a second year student is tiring.”
I complained
“True. These topics are run through so quickly.”
“We’ll be having tests in a few weeks too.”
“Well, you should have no problem with that either.”
“My grades are average at best. Your grades are normally higher than mine.”
“Yeah, but you work hard.”
“You still work harder and do better.”
“Eh, It’s normal for me to study that much.”
She was much smarter than me. I somehow always got decently good grades on all tests. Personally, I consider them lucky lucky grades.
After another good while of talking, the bell rang again and students poured back into the class. I put the chair back at it’s table and made my way to my desk. The teacher for our next subject entered again and the same old routine seemed to continue. We rushed through the topic and yet I managed to keep up with the notes.
Somehow these next few lessons seemed to go by quicker. It was soon enough time for school to end. At the end of school most students do 2 things. Many attend a cram school, and many go to their respective clubs, and some go home, normally with friends. I got up and made my way through the building with Shinome, going down the stairs to the ground floor. The Kyudo club had a room with a range near the far end of the school. There was a changing room next to it to change into your Kyudo attire, which consisted of a traditional white Kyudogi with a long black Hakama, which is like a long skirt. I made my way down a path which passed by the field. Looking out at the field I looked at the baseball club prepping for their club work. Entering the Kyudo club room, I made my way to my locker. All members have a locker for their attire. The Yumi (Bows) and the Ya (Arrows) are kept in the club room. Opening my locker I would take out my clothes, which are always neatly folded and kept. Taking off my blazer I would hang it on the door handle as I unbuttoned my shirt and folded it, keeping it in the locker. Shinome entered behind me, accompanied by none other than Asaki-senpai.
“Hey there Bedhead-chan, Shi-chan!”
She would say in her cheery tone as she set down her bag on the bench and reached into her own locker.
“Hi Asaki-senpai.”
The two of us seemed to answer in unison. She laughed whilst unbuttoning her shirt. She had somehow already managed to take off her blazer and tie. Meanwhile, I was just pulling on my Hakama and adjusting it, my skirt neatly folded in the locker. I picked up my Muneate (Chest Guard) and was in the process of putting it on. A couple of other bags were already next to lockers. Some of the other club members had already arrived. I adjusted my Muneate a bit before walking out of the changing room into the main club room. Our gloves were kept in drawers and were usually labelled. The bows were kept in a corner of the room and the front of said room was open to the range, 2 target circles stood some distance away. Some other students were there. Hitoru Kawajima, a 2nd Year Member was one of two males in the club. Generally seen as an easy-going character, he, like me, didn't care much about his hair, which was messy and ruffled. The other was Itachi Kenzaki, a 3rd Year Member. He was generally known to be one of the best shots, behind Asaki-senpai. His hair was short and dark brown, and almost always with a neat partition. I refer to him as Kenzaki-senpai. There were also a couple of first Years who seemed to be new. And of course, I can’t forget Club Vice President Kinoki Nakanishi. She was appointed Vice President more for her personality, which is one of extreme diligence. She was a decent shot, and always helped people. By now some people just waved at me, and I smiled back. They were just getting ready to take some shots. The Vice President was showing one of the first year girls, who seemed dead set on holding this bow the right way. The other girl was being taught by Kenozaki-senpai and seemed to be having a much harder time holding the bow and assuming the right posture. The other members that were there were helping in their own ways. I set out helping Hitoru-kun sort the arrows. There are different kinds of arrows used in Kyudo. What we use mostly are Aluminium Kazuya, which are target practice arrows. The aluminium makes them more durable for use. Of course, using any arrows, we are strict about safety. Arrows can only be used facing the target.
I helped him organise the arrows and make sure they were in a good enough condition to be used.
“Oh? Thanks Nishihara-san.”
“No worries~”
He seemed a bit surprised at me helping. I picked up the arrows, making sure they were fit to use and he would move the arrows around. He was the one to attempt to start a conversation
“What do you think of the new First Years?”
“Huh? Well, they seem to be enthusiastic about it.”
“I agree with that. They seem to be newbies but they’re already working quite hard.”
“I’m optimistic about them.”
“Yeah. They should improve quickly from here on.”
At that moment I turned my head a bit. Asaki-senpai and Shinome had finished changing and were also outside, helping and chatting to the new First Years.
“They’ll fit right in.”
“Ha, of course. We welcome any new members.”
He was right. We were a very welcoming club. Eventually we would start advertising the club more, with posters and stuff. Until then the people who joined were curious about the club. But I could already see these 2 girls becoming some good shots.
Hopefully, the first 2 of many more.
- Writer
