In this chapter: …s.h.i.t.
In other news, beware the one-eyed fish.
Glossary
Full list of translations
Translation Notes
1. A renshi is a martial arts rank. Someone with this t.i.tle is at least a fifth dan and has the ability to instruct in kyudo.
2. Yurumibanare is when either the left or right hand or both hands shift forward over the line connecting both shoulders at hanare. Considered to be as difficult to fix as hayake.
3. The characters used here are the same as tenouchi, but it’s read as “te no naka”, which means “in the hand”.
4. The urazori is the inward curvature or recurve of an unstrung bow. ()
5. A hanshi “exemplifies the highest degree of conduct, dignity, and perfection of ability, together with the highest quality of discernment.” ()
6. The Ogasawarryuu is a mounted archery school of kyudo. They seem to wear different, more ceremonial looking clothing for kyudo, clothes that resemble what Minato and the others are wearing in book 2 (from what I’ve seen)
7. The word used here is Satoyama, which was difficult to understand for me, but according to Wikipedia it refers to the area between foothills and farming land. Similar to satokawa from the last part except with mountains.
At Kazemai High School, the ball game tournament between cla.s.ses was being held for each grade.
Minato and Seiya were wearing t-shirts and headbands in their cla.s.s color of blue. There were ten first-year cla.s.ses, and a single compet.i.tion took forty minutes for all the games in the tournament method. The two were partic.i.p.ating in the softball game, with Seiya on first base and Minato defending the shortstop.
When they were decorated with the star of victory for the first match, they went to the sports ground for the second match, where they encountered Kaito in an imposing stance, with his red headband swaying in the wind and his arms crossed. He was just standing there silently, but he looked angry to those who did not know him.
He unfolded his arms when he saw Seiya and Minato.
“You guys are doing softball too?”
“Kaito, I’m pretty sure the soccer field isn’t here?”
“Seiyaaaa, not you too. Sheesh, it must be Nanao’s influence.”
“Where are Ryouhei and Nanao?”
“They’re doing basketball. I wish they’d do softball and then soccer like us. It would be bad if they sprained their fingers. To begin with, any club would be using this period to prepare for the prefectural tournament, so what’s with this school to have a ball game tournament right now?”
“There are a lot of schools that have their sports festivals in May. Ryouhei and Nanao will be fine since they have good reflexes.”
“You guys should also be careful about injuries, at least. I want to avoid not being able to take part in the tournament because of injuries.”
“Ah. We won’t overdo it.”
At the convening signal, the three took their positions. The red team was batting first, and the first batter was Kaito. When the outfielders shouted, “We’re ready!”, Minato lowered his hips.
The first pitch was let go, and the second pitch was swung at and missed. The spectators jeered. Kaito narrowed his eyes and readied his bat again. And then he swung—and hit. He ran to first base, and turned to the baseman Seiya with a “How was that?” look on his face.
After the second and third batters ended up hitting comebackers, it was the fourth batter’s turn. The batted ball drew a huge parabola between the second and third bases as it flew, and Minato raised his glove high above his head and caught it.
Next, it was Minato’s blue team on offense. His teammate enthusiastically entered the batter’s box, and then the ball thrown into the air from an underhanded throw was cleanly sucked into the catcher’s mitt.
Both teams ended two innings with three batters out, and then at the bottom of the third inning, the batting order came to Minato. He put the helmet on and went to the batter’s box, and there was Kaito in the left field.
The first pitch fell outside the strike zone. It had speed, and it felt like it was going right towards him, making it difficult to hit. Minato held his bat a little shorter, and resolved himself to hit it rather than making it fly. For the second ball he also carefully adjusted his eyes on the ball’s course.
But, the third ball. The ball the pitcher threw went towards an unexpected direction—towards Minato’s left flank.
In the cloud of dust, Minato was kneeling on the ground. Seiya quickly rushed over.
“Minato, are you okay!? Where did you get hit!?”
Minato, seemingly embarra.s.sed, got up.
“I didn’t get hit anywhere. I just fell over when I was dodging the ball.”
“Thank goodness… It looks like we need a pinch hitter.”
“I said I’m fine, no need to go that overboard.”
Minato raised his hand to the pitcher, and the pitcher bowed his head. Kaito, who was watching from outfield, also felt relieved. In the end, Minato withdrew to the bench without going out to the bases.
The game continued thereafter, and the victory ended up going to the red team with a score of three to two. Because it was a tournament match, the partic.i.p.ation of the defeated blue team ended there. Minato and Seiya headed to the gym to cheer on the basketball game.
In the gym, Nanao’s pink-headbanded team and Ryouhei’s yellow-headbanded team were facing off. Ryouhei made use of his height and defended his basket, while Nanao dodged his opponents with his brisk dribbling. When he made his shot, the line of girls in the Nanao Fan Club cheered in unison.
Minato put his hand on his left flank.
“Nanao is really popular. If that cheering squad came to kyudo compet.i.tions, I’d probably freeze up.”
“Leaving that aside, Minato, are you sure you didn’t get hit by that ball? Did it graze you even a little?”
“I really didn’t get hit at all. I don’t even know why I put my hand on my wound just now.”
“By the way, do you go to your regular checkups? You went to them around this time every year, right?”
“Oh, I forgot about it. But, it’s already been four years, so it might be okay if I didn’t go.”
“Don’t do that!”
Because Seiya raised his voice, Minato was thrown off-guard and his body trembled.
“Even though you think you’re in good condition, doesn’t it still hurt sometimes? Please go to your checkup. If you like, I can ask my parents to drive you.”
“No, I didn’t ask you to go that far.”
“If you don’t like waiting, then shall I come with you as someone to kill time with?”
Minato felt uncomfortable with Seiya’s insistent suggestions.
“Didn’t I tell you that I’m fine? Why are you worrying about me so much? I’m already in high school. It’s different from when I was in elementary school.”
“I have a responsibility to worry about your health.”
“What do you mean, ‘responsibility?’ It kinda sounds like you’re feeling guilty about something, doesn’t it?”
Seiya was silenced for a moment.
Minato meant it as a joke, but his heart was beating quickly.
“…Seiya?”
“It’s my responsibility as the president of the kyudo club. The hospital is a place that you should properly go to. Understood?”
With that, Seiya moved his gaze to the basketball court.
The game ended with Ryouhei’s yellow team winning, and at the end of the tournament, the teams without the kyudo club members won the overall championships in both softball and basketball.
After the ball game tournament, Minato finished club activities earlier than usual and went to visit Yata Shrine.
The front shrine was dyed in amber, but the sky was still blue. After he finished praying, he went to the back of the shrine grounds. After a while he arrived at the pond whose surroundings they had swept clean during the training camp. The water was clear, and he could see the stems of the water lilies extending from the sandy soil as well as the colored carp swimming between the gaps as though weaving them together.
As he chased the carps with his eyes, he thought, Why did I say that?
Perhaps he was hoping for the words, “What are you talking about?”
Seiya’s concern for Minato was unnatural in some respects, and something about it couldn’t be cleared up by the word “meddling.” In the beginning he thought it was just his imagination, but he was afraid because it was looking more and more likely by the day. He wanted someone to deny those foolish delusions, to laugh them away, but he wondered who on earth he could talk about these things with.
He sat on a rock at the edge of the pond and was looking at the birds flying in the sky, when suddenly a voice called out to him.
It was Ma.s.san’s brother, Ren.
“Well, if it isn’t Minato-kun. I haven’t seen you since the training camp.”
“Ren-san, long time no see. I see that you are still staying here.”
“Don’t drive me away like that. Right now, I have a break between jobs, so I felt like relaxing.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that. I’m so sorry!”
Ren chuckled.
“You’re so serious. Do you need Masaki for something?”
“No, I was just stopping by. Ma.s.san was absent for club activities today because of business, and I heard that he doesn’t live at Yata Shrine.”
“Oh, that’s right. Masaki is going to his renseikai right now.”
“Renseikai?”
“It’s a study meeting sponsored by the prefectural party chapter for those who are taking the renshi (1) examinations. He announced that he must study more in order to teach others. When he stopped drawing the bow in Grandpa’s territory, he had been going to a famous teacher outside the prefecture to ask for teaching without even joining the kyudo club in university, so what changed his mind?”
Ren put his hand on his chin and raised a corner of his mouth. The suspicious sensuality of an adult man drifted in the air. Ma.s.san was also a full-fledged adult, but when compared with Ren he still had a bit of childishness left in him, and his manners were gentler as well.
“Minato-kun, have you heard any stories about this pond?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Ren removed his hand from his chin and dropped his gaze to the pond.
“It is said that a one-eyed fish lives in this pond. In a certain era, the girl selected as a sacrifice to be given to the G.o.ds was so beautiful that the villagers regretted presenting her and hid her in the forest. But, that incurred the wrath of the G.o.ds and the girl was turned into a fish wounded in one eye, and the village was. .h.i.t with famine that year. After that, it appeared that those who saw the one-eyed fish in the pond would have unexpected accidents one after the other. The ones who saw the one-eyed fish would be entranced by it, so you must never look into the pond—that’s how the legend goes. Well, there’s no one in my family who actually saw the one-eyed fish.”
“That legend is a little scary.”
“A long time ago in this area, there was a custom of wounding the special thing that was given to the G.o.ds in order to separate it from others. Perhaps you have a wound on a part of your body as well?”
The trees rustled against the borrowed background of darkening sky.
There was a long shadow at his feet.
Minato frantically resisted the urge to press the scar on his left flank.
“Ren-san, please don’t scare me. I’m just a high school student who loves kyudo.”
“Fufu, sorry. Well, I suppose I should be heading back to the office. You must not stay out late either. Take care.”
After watching Ren go, Minato cautiously peeked into the pond.
There were ripples on the surface of the pond. The sunset was being reflected, making it difficult to see the bottom, but with the exception of its high transparency, it was an extremely normal pond. However, when he spotted multiple outlines of fish, Minato’s heart thudded. It’s just carp. I must not look, I must not look, he thought without looking away, and then a milky white carp slowly appeared from the bottom, with one of its eyes crushed.
“Minato.”
Minato was frozen stiff at the sudden voice that jumped into his ears. When he looked to see where he had heard the voice from, he saw a familiar face there.
“…Ma.s.san.”
“You’ll fall in if you look into the pond that far. So, I heard from Ren that you came here. Do you need me for something?”
“No, not in particular. Ma.s.san, you were at a renseikai today…”
“It ended, so I came back now. I thought about reviewing what I was taught before I forgot it, so I stopped by for a little bit.”
“If you’re going to draw your bow, then can you let me observe for a little bit as well?”
“Ah, by all means.”
Minato followed Ma.s.san and they headed towards the Yata no Mori Kyudojo.
After he finished preparations, Ma.s.san stood at the shooting line, and Minato sat in seiza next to the judge’s seats.
“I tried asking about hayake at the renseikai. I was told that if the right elbow is before the body, then it would be easier to get hayake or yurumibanare.” (2)
While explaining, Ma.s.san parted the bow widely. His arrow went towards the target with a sharp hanare.
Once he finished his brief practice, Ma.s.san rummaged around in his bag and took out a can of coffee written with the meaning of “wonderful.”
“Here you go.”
“Thanks. You really do love coffee, don’t you, Ma.s.san.”
“Yep. It’s all delicious, whether it’s drip coffee or canned.”
While Minato drank the coffee, he stared at Ma.s.san’s hands. Those long fingers hid the technique to create a beautiful tsurune.
Drawing the bow, and releasing the arrow. There was no gap for the intervention of strategy and tactics there. What was there was the bow and person exchanging a few words. Exactly how much time was needed to gain the skill of picking up the sounds the yugake expressed, and sublimate that into tsurune? It was said that “the style is the man himself,” but his shooting also represented him. Ma.s.san’s shooting was like a tree in a forest. It combined generosity and strength.
Keenly realizing his own lack of skill, Minato sighed.
“What is it? I heard you sigh. Do you want me to call Fuu to keep you company?”
“What do you mean by keeping me company? I could hear its cry just now, so you don’t have to call it. It’s enough for me to know that it’s living in that tree. That’s right, Ma.s.san, I saw it in the pond at the back…”
“Hmm? Was there something there?”
“…the one-eyed fish…”
“One-eyed fish? Ah! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Ren, he did it again. That’s just an injured carp that’s not for sale, given to Yata Shrine. Ren isn’t just an ill.u.s.trator, he also writes children’s literature, but his specialty is scary stories. The one-eyed fish legend was his creation. In other words, it’s a lie!”
“Oh, I see… Thank goodness, I thought I saw something bad.”
“I can’t believe someone other than a little kid thought that story was true…”
Ma.s.san convulsed with laughter. He almost spilled the canned coffee in his hand and hurriedly put it aside.
“Don’t laugh so hard…! I was seriously freaked out!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. But, even if you say not to laugh…kuku…”
Probably because it fitted his sense of humor, he continued laughing for a long time.
But, Minato was happy. It was as though he was laughing away the words he said to Seiya. After he thanked him, Minato left the Yata no Mori Kyudojo. He looked up to see the moon suspended in the night sky, and resolved himself. To get the answer to the question that had originated.
Because the answer wasn’t the other person, but in the palm of his hand. (3)
It was almost the end of May.
They were going to do a practice compet.i.tion on the weekend, and the prefectural tournament finals will take place a week after that. After finishing practice, Minato and Seiya rode their bikes home together.
When he arrived in front of his house, Seiya got off his bike.
“It’s almost the big match.”
“Yeah.”
“Everyone finished up without anything feeling wrong. We can all settle down like this.”
“Seiya, after you put your bike away, could you come under that tree over there? I want to talk to you about something.”
Seiya wrinkled his brows for a moment, but he nodded.
The stars twinkled in the bluish night sky. The moon nestled close to the mountains, giving off a somber light. The two stood shoulder-to-shoulder under the tree.
“First off, a report from me. I booked an appointment for the regular checkups. It’s after the prefectural tournament, though.”
“Oh, that makes me relieved. So, this isn’t the only thing you wanted to talk about, right?”
“Yes, it’s a serious talk. I’m going to ask you about something, Seiya. Since I braced myself to do this, I want you to answer without teasing me.”
“What’s wrong, you’re acting so formal? Do you have to talk about this right before the compet.i.tion?”
“Yes. If I don’t ask now, then it might lead to the same result from a year ago.”
“I see… So, what is it?”
Minato let the words out in one breath.
“Seiya, why didn’t you go on to Kirisaki High School, but chose the same high school as me? Why are you trying to get me to do kyudo?”
He felt like a long time had pa.s.sed.
Seiya broke the silence, exhaling a long breath.
“I swore that I would protect Minato on behalf of Minato’s mother. It is my duty to create an environment where you can draw a bow.”
“Could it be that you spoke with Mom at the hospital she was transported to? Did you make such a promise there?”
“No. ——It was my fault that your mother died. That you suffered a wound that would never disappear for the rest of your life.”
A silence harsh enough to hurt his ears enveloped their surroundings. The rustling of leaves he should had always heard were completely missing. The stagnant air took on a heat, and made Minato’s body hot. His sweaty right hand was unconsciously clasping his other arm.
“What are you talking about, that was an accident. An accident where a runaway vehicle ran over someone walking on the sidewalk. The police concluded that as well, and there were a lot of witnesses so there was no doubt about it. Why are you saying such a thing? Didn’t you just happen to be at the scene by chance?”
“Don’t you remember? On that day, you were walking with your mother. On that road, I stopped you to talk. I said goodbye and left, heading in the opposite direction. And then, a terribly fast car pa.s.sed by me… If I had turned around, if I had turned around…”
Seiya covered his face with his hands. He brushed his hair upwards with a trembling hand.
“If…It’s all suppositions now. If, at that time, I hadn’t stopped you, the two of you would have pa.s.sed that place sooner, and then you wouldn’t have been involved in an accident——. It was I who injured you and s.n.a.t.c.hed your mother away from you. So I swore that I will fully atone for the sin of injuring you. I will protect you…”
“Seiya…”
Had Seiya always been holding those feelings for four years since that accident?
Even though he was so close, he hadn’t noticed that pain. His hayake problems were like dust compared to what Seiya was dealing with.
When Minato confided what was in his heart, Ma.s.san had said, “That must have been so painful for you.” Those words weren’t words of sympathy or consolation, and because they were words that came from truth, they were able to resonate with him. Things that were true were good, and things that were good were beautiful. Just like that tsurune that had captivated him in the forest.
He wanted to convey his honest feelings with his own words. He would accept all of Seiya’s fragility and insecurity.
——This time, it’s my turn to protect you.
A wind started to blow, ruffling through Minato’s and Seiya’s hair.
“I’ve always thought that you were smart, Seiya, but you’re actually surprisingly dumb.”
“…Huh?”
“Am I wrong? It was you who kept me on the earth. Because you stopped us at that time, I only got injured. I’m here thanks to you. Thank you, Seiya. I think I really am a lucky guy.”
“Minato… I’m a sneaky person. Maybe I said all that because I knew that you would forgive me?”
“Uh huh, that’s fine. Even if you become a vicious criminal who shakes up the world, even if you get a contagious disease without a cure that leads to death, I don’t plan on ever stopping to be your friend. Even if it’s at a prison at the farthest ends of the north, even if it’s at an isolation ward, I will come to meet you.”
“What’s with all that… Did you plan on looking cool by saying all that?”
“Of course.”
Seiya smiled with his whole face, and put his head on Minato’s shoulder.
You can lean on me sometimes.
I won’t collapse.
Minato wanted to stand firm on the ground. Not too stiffly, not too limply, but flexibly. Even if it was impossible right now, he wanted to spend time finding a way to do that.
“Minato, I just want you to believe this. I love kyudo too. I’m not drawing the bow for someone else’s sake, but because I love it.”
“Yes.”
The wind grazing against the back of his neck cooled down his slight fever.
While feeling the weight on his shoulder, Minato gently closed his eyes.
On the holiday, after finishing their practice compet.i.tion, Ma.s.san drove the five boys in his car, setting off for the kyudo equipment store in town. They were going to buy consumables for the club, such as target paper and bowstrings. While Ryouhei and Nanao were unfolding their comedy routine in place of the radio, Kaito slept with his arms folded. Seiya’s face was unusually calm, as though an evil spirit had been taken out of him.
When they entered the store, they saw many bows and arrows lined up on the wall. Items like yumimaki (cover wraps for bows) and s.h.i.tagake (inner glove worn under the yugake) in traditional j.a.panese patterns, and key holders in the shape of targets crowded the shelves, an a.s.sortment sure to make an archer’s heart pound. While Seiya received the goods, the others looked around the store.
Ryouhei opened a drawer filled with bowstrings, took one out and showed it to Nanao.
“In order make sure it won’t break in the next compet.i.tion, I thought that I would use a thicker string than the one I’m using right now, but isn’t the thickness of the string limited to four levels?”
“I’ve heard of people using the wire strings used in archery with thirty-kilo bows, but since you use a seventeen-kilo bow, which is one kilo stronger than Kacchan’s, I think you should use a string made of synthetic fibers like Kevlar or aramid. The thinner ones also make good tsurune. I replaced mine two weeks before the compet.i.tion even though it was a new one.”
“Everyone’s coming up with their own strategy, huh.”
“A broken string isn’t all bad, you know. It’s unrelated to us because we use gla.s.s bows, but it seems that bamboo bows occasionally have their strings broken, because the urazori (4) can be restored with the recoil from the breaking. Plus, the string that breaks right in the middle is used as an amulet of easy delivery. People have been asked to do it for other people’s grandchildren.”
“Oh, so it becomes an amulet.”
Kaito supplemented Nanao’s words.
“The point is that there’s no problem even if it breaks. You already experienced a tsurugire in a compet.i.tion, so you ain’t getting panicked like before, right?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Rea.s.sured by the two of them, Ryouhei confidently bought the same strings he always used.
When they finished their errand, the six stopped by a café. It was an impressive place with a fireplace and bare pillars and beams. Ma.s.san, Minato and Nanao sat on one side of a table, and Kaito sat facing Ma.s.san, with Seiya and Ryouhei next to him. Minato spread a kyudo equipment brochure on the table, and Seiya peered at it from the other side.
“Are you going to buy something new, Minato?”
“The feathers of the arrows I’ve been using since middle school are getting damaged, so I’m wondering if I should change all of them.”
“Tomi-sensei talked about the importance of equipment, so it might be good to do that.”
One could order arrows by the color, thickness, and material of the shaft (no); the feathers; the nock; the arrowhead (itatsuki or yajiri), and the color of the lower feather binding (hagiito). Because the arrows of many people were placed together in the arrow box (yatatebako), one searched for their arrows with their hagiito color as a guide. Minato’s was evergreen.
“Ma.s.san, which kind do you recommend?”
“Well, you’re using turkey feathers right now, and the tips of those feathers are cut evenly and the shafts are dyed, but I recommend that you use feather tips that haven’t been cut. That way the arrows will fly better. Cheap ones will do fine. Bamboo arrows with the outer tail feathers of hawks cost some ten-thousand yen each.”
“I definitely can’t afford those.”
“For us it’s pearls before swine, so only those in a sensei’s cla.s.s can use them. Carbon bows and arrows are also okay, but for students, the relatively inexpensive and not easily damaged fibergla.s.s bows and aluminum arrows are sufficient. A bamboo bow will take time to nurture, but if you want to try using one, you can have Master’s bow.”
“By the way, I don’t know the name of your master. Is he called Takigawa?”
“It’s Yasaka. Eighth dan hanshi Yasaka Akihiro (5). I thought you knew that.”
“What, he was such a great and famous sensei! But, I never saw Yasaksensei’s name at the Yata no Mori Kyudojo. Even though normally, his name would remain in the honorable certificates in the dojo.”
“I think his name was left in the Ogasawarryuu school cla.s.sroom (6). Master was someone who didn’t like having things like certificates with his name on them decorating a dojo.”
“Is his last name different from yours because he was your grandfather on your mother’s side?”
“Although that is true, my mother also remarried. Takigawa was the family name I took on during my third year in high school. I used my old name when I was partic.i.p.ating in Inter-High.”
So that was why Seiya couldn’t find anything on Ma.s.san even though he was searching for the past records of “Takigawa Masaki.”
“I’m convinced that you are a master. Anyone would want to try draw a bow if such an amazing person was near them.”
“I was holding a bow before I even knew anything rather than doing it voluntarily. What made you start kyudo, Minato?”
“When I was little, ten years ago, my mom and I saw the shooting of the winner of a kyudo compet.i.tion and I never forgot it. The tsurune of that archer and yours were exactly alike.”
“Oh, really.”
Ma.s.san placed a long finger to his temple.
After finishing a light meal, Ma.s.san and Seiya remained in the café to do accounting work while the other four left first.
The road in front of the café had heavy traffic, the town overflowing with energy. Because they usually lived near the mountains (7), they were overwhelmed by the showy colors of signboards and the crowds of people. Nanao, Ryouhei, and Kaito found a bookstore a while back and left immediately, saying that they were going to go check it out for a little bit.
As Minato was standing around bored, a white cat appeared from behind a tree on the street and crossed in front of him. Seeing it, he felt a chill run down his back.
It was injured on its left front paw.
Even the cat had a wound. He had no problem seeing it, and he had witnessed many animals with injuries up until then. But, perhaps because he heard that one-eyed fish story from Ren just the other day, he had a somewhat bad feeling.
Perhaps it was what they called foreboding. At the training camp, Ma.s.san had said that Ren had something like an ability to sense the supernatural. When coincidences overlapped, it might be a harbinger of something unusual happening, whether good or bad.
There’s no way… I’m thinking too much into it.
It happened at the moment Minato thought better of himself. At the same time as the sound of squealing tires, a large amount of timber spilled from the load-carrying tray of a small truck, coming right at him.
Even though he was seeing it, his body stiffened and could not move.
——I’m done for!
But then, something sent Minato flying and he fell to the ground.
When he realized, the timber was scattered around him, and Ma.s.san, with blood flowing from his head, had collapsed before him.