Chapter 123: The heart dances in the sky with the arrow.

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The heart dances in the sky with the arrow.When drawing the bow, silence is etiquette. Most spectators who appreciate Kyudo understand this. But that’s only part of the reason; more importantly, their attention becomes tense and focused with the archer’s pulling of the kake. They are all watching that sharp arrow to see if it can find the right path. Step forward, form the stance, ready the bow, lift. Uesugi Sakura at the lead position calmly raises the longbow, his perfect posture without a single flaw. His clear and handsome appearance combined with his calm and steady movements made the watching audience’s eyes light up. The slender Japanese bow is raised above the shoulder, the scent of grass lingering in the breath. Press the arrow, draw one-third. Both hands evenly pull apart, the force of the string gradually gathering at the green arrow tail, maintaining it briefly before his slender hand swiftly draws the bowstring. Kai. The right cheek lightly touches the arrow, the entire body freezes, his cool and unyielding eyes fixed on the distant target, the bowstring taut, the small arrowhead aimed precisely. The multitude of spectators, guided by his actions, are slightly trembling in spirit. Hanare. In an instant, the string releases the arrow, the high and distinctive sound of the string stirring the hair around ears, vibrating the eardrums of the crowd. A streak of green flashes through everyone’s sight, the whistling sound piercing the air lighting up the venue. Bang. Crisp, resonant. The arrow shoots straight into the bullseye. Uesugi Sakura’s handsome and composed demeanor remains unchanged, his kake-clad right hand extending two fingers steadily backward, the trembling bow forming a natural return in his left hand. Residual Heart. "Oh." In the stands, Adviser Ikemoto from Mizuki High School couldn’t help but exclaim. "Good! (yoshi)" With the sound of the bullseye hit, the girls from Kamigoe High School’s cheering squad, along with a large number of spectators, enthusiastically cheered "Good" in unison. As it was the preliminaries, the cheering squad was actually only Chitose Mai and Sakurai Fumiko shouting. Ogata Asaka didn’t say anything; she didn’t like speaking loudly. "Hanabi-chan, why aren’t you cheering for your Sakura-kun?" "Hanabi... can’t shout loudly..." Hanamaru Hanabi lowered her clapping hands and said in a soft voice. She clasped her small hands on her skirt hem, her eyes sparkling as she looked towards the dojo at Uesugi Sakura, who was sitting down with a dignified posture again. The dazzling clean movement from just now still lingered in her mind. "Sakura-kun... is really amazing...." Uesugi Sakura placed the longbow at a diagonal as usual, unaffected by the cheers of the audience, preparing the starting shooting form for the next arrow. Following his string sound, Yagi Ruijin at the second position also released his arrow, the straight line directly targeting the circular target 28 meters away. Bang. "Good!" The cheering from the stands arose once more. The members of Kamigoe Kyudo Club proceeded one step at a time with the actions beginning from stepping forward, forming the stance, readying the bow, lifting, drawing, kai, hanare, and Residual Heart. The Shooting Technique Eight Steps proceeded in order, seemingly influenced by Uesugi Sakura’s beautifully stunning first shot, each of them faced this preliminary with their best posture. The string sound fluttered, the sound fell. Each arrow flew towards the target. Sugita Shuhei, with a heart as calm as a lake, took on the pressure from all the previous bullseyes and released an equally steady but stylistically different final arrow than Uesugi Sakura’s. Bang. Slightly away from the previous arrows, yet another bullseye arrow. Sugita Shuhei supported the bow with his left hand, slowly retreating to the seat behind him. The staff pushed out the final circle. The result of the first round: four, three, three, two, four, totaling 16 hits. Due to one arrow’s tail touching the ground, it was judged invalid. The strength of a top team. Unexpectedly, Kamigoe still had such capable members. In the stands, Yagi Ruijin looked at Shimokawa Binro sitting in front of him without any expression. Fuya Nanori’s phrase "Be slow in speech but quick in action" was indeed on point. The second round of shooting began shortly after. Uesugi Sakura at the lead position maintained his previous style. Even people not very familiar with Kyudo could tell the difference between him and the other high school players by comparing the past and current. In terms of shooting form, hit rate, stability, none could compare to the average Kyudo player. The audience eagerly anticipated whether he could achieve all eight hits. Some had heard a bit about him being a Kyudo novice, making it even more puzzling, finally attributing it to misinformation. —————— The broadcast voice: "Now announcing the competition results, First Shooting Range, Kamigoe High School. First round, four, three, three, two, four, totaling 16 hits. Second round, four, three, two, two, four, totaling 15 hits. Total 31 hits. Third Shooting Range, Hirooka High School. First round, two, zero, one, one, three, totaling 7 hits. Second round, one, two, zero, two, three, totaling 8 hits. Total 15 hits. Above." Hirooka High School was right behind Kamigoe High School’s shooting range, shooting concurrently. "Clean shooting form." On the left side of the stands, watching Kamigoe Kyudo Club members walk out of the dojo with their bows, Fuya Nanori, glowing with elegance, quietly noted. "Oh, oh, who would have thought Kamigoe, usually silent in team competitions, would be this dark horse," said Hakogoe Yuusuke, Mizuki High School’s robust mid-range archer this time. "Two eight-shot, full hits, lead and rear positions, seem to be their trump cards." Fuchigami Atsushi, wearing square glasses with a slim face, twirled a pen in his hand. "Wasn’t he said to be a novice?" "Having seen his stance, do you think that’s likely?" Shimokawa Binro asked without much expression. Adviser Ikemoto stood up from the stands, turned to face the people behind him: "With the shooting form he demonstrated... I believe everyone can understand the significance it represents." "..." After a second of silence, Adviser Ikemoto’s tone became heavier: "Don’t be too complacent." —————— The preliminary results, ranking second, only following Mizuki High School’s 36 hits. Uesugi Sakura, holding the bamboo bow, saw a bird flying overhead as he walked out of the venue. "Thank you," Kanai Hideyoshi suddenly said. "Thank you for what?" Uesugi Sakura replied. "Being my first time in such an event, under so many eyes, I was quite nervous... but your first arrow was so beautiful." "Nothing significant." "To me, it was significant." Kanai Hideyoshi paused, "I joined the Kyudo Club at the beginning of my first year in high school. "At that time, Mizuki maintained the name of a Kyudo powerhouse, many seniors who helped me repeatedly lost under their hands, time and again leaving the competitions disappointed until graduation without achieving their aspirations... "Frustrated by my weak skills, I never dared to pick up the longbow to confront them." "If I couldn’t even surpass my seniors, how could I confront them?" "This year, I’m in my third year, my skills have declined considerably since then. Alone, I couldn’t summon the courage to confront Mizuki." Kanai Hideyoshi paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone’s faces. "Next year, I’ll graduate, ending my three-year memory with the Kyudo Club. This is my first and last competition." "Thank you all."