Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part2 (1/2)

This chapter answers the question: is Ma.s.san real?

A thought occurred to me as I read this: what if Ma.s.san was the middle schooler mentioned in the prologue? The ages match up, since I believe Minato wasn’t in school back then, and this chapter reveals that Ma.s.san already graduated from university at this point in the story so he must be somewhere in his early to mid-twenties now while Minato is fifteen, hmmm…..

On a somewhat related note, I finally finished watching the first season of Free! yesterday. Not gonna lie I had to struggle to get through it because I just do not care for slice-of-life, even with cute boys. I still enjoyed it though. I also realized that there sure are a lot of similarities between Free! and Tsurune, not just in the characters…

Translation Notes

1. The shape of eight here refers to the character for eight “八”

2. Schools, as in “school of thought”, not the schools students attend

3. I have no clue what it means, except that it’s talking about a frog?? Here it is in the original j.a.panese: カエルケロケロてへぺろケロ、あわせてケロてへエケぺろルロ

4. Ritsuzen, literally meaning “standing zen meditation”, is a term used to refer to kyudo sometimes because it requires a lot of control and focus, and you have to stand to shoot. It’s complementary to sitting meditation.

5. Term used here, joubutsu (成仏), means going to nirvana/becoming a Buddha as well as pa.s.sing away.

6. This saying here,  ボタンを掛け違える, literally means “to b.u.t.ton up incorrectly” and it also means to bungle up the order of something. I looked for a lot of synonyms before settling with “not seeing eye to eye” because not only is that what happened, it also keeps the b.u.t.ton theme (since b.u.t.tons go through b.u.t.tonholes which look like eyes geddit hahahahaha I’m just using this to pat myself on the back hahahahahaha)

Glossary is , and full list of translations are

At the Kazemai High School kyudojo, the beginners were occupying themselves with rubber bow practice and subiki.

The rubber bow was a practice tool where about twenty centimeters was cut out of the part where one gripped the bow and filled in with rubber. Subiki was where one drew a bow without a nocked arrow with their right hand wearing a cotton glove. In this way they learned the Shahou Ha.s.setsu.

Ryouhei put on a brand new yugake, then stood in front of the makiwara. There were two makiwara in this kyudojo, and Nanao was standing behind him.

“Ryouhei, your ‘as.h.i.+b.u.mi’ might be too narrow. The distance between your feet should be about as long as your own yazuka, about half your height.”

Following what he was told, Ryouhei spread his feet half a step without taking his eyes off the makiwara, then drew his right foot to his left foot briefly before stepping to the right and opening the feet in a fan-shape.

“Oh yeah, that much is good. Don’t make your soles parallel, make them in the shape of the character for eight (1) at angles of about sixty degrees.”

“I didn’t know you use one feet to open in modern shooting (reishakei) and two feet in traditional (bushakei). And the arrow-holding positions are different too.”

“It’s a compet.i.tion and judging method to have a system where everyone shoots in the same way even if their kyudo schools (2) are different. Kazemai High doesn’t really belong to any school, but in terms of system we must be using the modern form of shooting.”

“Huh, that’s pretty interesting.”

When Ryouhei was pulling out his arrow from the makiwara, Kaito approached them.

“Y'all know where my bow is? I put it in the rack (yumitate) when I was getting my arrow from the target, but I can’t find it anywhere.”

From behind came a frenzied “Oh” sound. Wondering who it was, they discovered that it was Seiya.

“Sorry, I was using it. I guess I mistook it for my own bow.”

“Hah? Were you shooting someone else’s bow? Normally, you’d think it felt off.”

“I had thought that it was somewhat tougher.”

“Oi, are you alright? Your face is redder than usual.”

Kaito placed his hand on Seiya’s forehead.

“It feels hot. Wouldn’t it be better for you to take a break? You’re busy with a lot of things, right?”

“I’m fine, even though things look this way I’m used to doing all kinds of work because I was a former student council president. Putting that aside, Kaito, your hand is cool and it feels nice.”

“That’s because I just washed my hands at the azuchi.”

In front of Seiya, who had responded to him with his eyes closed, Kaito creased his eyebrows together. Looking at the two of them like that, Nanao whispered into Kaito’s ear.

“Seiya doesn’t seem like himself today.”

“Minato probably turned him down. I already got rejected too.”

“I understand he wants everyone to join the the tournament, but aren’t those two too stubborn? That Minato guy is such a calamity, being popular with both boys and girls. I’m only popular with girls on that point.”

“Nanao, Ryouhei, do you have a minute?”

“Alriiiight!”

Having been suddenly called out to, even Nanao made a weird sound. Since they brought their faces closer together to talk, they hadn’t noticed Seiya coming next to them.

“I’ll be going to Tomi-sensei after this, so could you two watch over the beginners for me?”

“Got it!”

“Thank you.”

After watching Seiya leave, Ryouhei placed his hand on Nanao’s shoulder. His eyes looked puzzled.

“Nanao, why did you immediately accept what Seiya said to you? You act so bossy towards Kaito-kun, though.”

“Seiya’s just like my homeroom teacher in elementary school, so I feel like I have to follow everything he says. Kaito’s a weakling so it’s okay with him.”

“It’s just like you to call Kaito-kun things like weakling. At first, I was really scared of him. I thought that he was someone who I must not meet eyes with. Now I’m completely fine though.”

“It’s because in the past, Kacchan couldn’t say ’kaeru kerokerote e pero kero, awasete kerote e eke pero ruro’.” (3)

“What is that?? Kaeru kerokerote e pero kero, awasete tekke…ow, I bit my tongue.”

The two’s conversation was quickly turning to a ridiculous direction, but since the people in question were having fun, there was nothing to do about it. For the girls who were listening next to them, they had absolutely no idea what was so funny. Because they were convulsing with laughter for a long time, Kaito finally shouted at them.

“You guys, don’t just stand there and chat, practice!”

“Geez, Kacchan, don’t take your anger out on us because Seiya’s gone.”

“Hah? What are you saying?”

“Don’t you watch Seiya a lot?”

“Of course. Kyudo is practicing while watching each other’s shooting forms.”

“Then, watch my shooting.”

“In your case you have too much you need to fix, so I don’t know where I should start with.”

“So you’re useless then, Kacchan.”

“I told you, don’t call me Kacchan. Daaaah—! d.a.m.n it, how many times do you plan on having this exchange!”

“Until Kacchan himself admits that he’s Kacchan, Kacchan.”

When Nanao talked, everyone around him got caught up into it and it turned very lively. Since Tomi-sensei couldn’t supervise club activities all the time, self-practice became the norm. Ryouhei’s task was to get used to the equipment, in particular to get his hand to fit his new yugake.

Meanwhile, Minato spent the whole day avoiding Seiya, and as soon as cla.s.s was over, he rushed out of the cla.s.sroom.

His bike pedals were heavy. He wondered if something strange got on his back. When he arrived at the Yata no Mori Kyudojo, he mindlessly took off his jacket and stringed a bow.

“There’s blood on your back. You sure have a lot of injuries, Minato.”

Before he noticed, Ma.s.san was standing behind him. It must have been the wound he had gotten when Seiya shoved him against the tree last night. No wonder he felt an uncomfortable feeling on his back.

“Show me. I’ll stick a bandage on it.”

“It’s fine.”

“When I stand behind you and see blood on your back, so isn’t it natural for me to be worried?”

“….Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”

He reluctantly took off his s.h.i.+rt. He s.h.i.+vered from the touch of Ma.s.san’s hands on his back when he applied the bandage. They were so cold that they didn’t seem like they belong to a living person. The scar on his left flank was seen but there was no helping that.

His shooting that night was the worst. When he faced the makiwara, the arrows pierced in diagonally, and although he was able to do the no-shoot shooting method for five seconds in front of the target, he almost let the arrow go.

Unable to just watch, Ma.s.san spoke up.

“On days where you don’t feel like it, going home without drawing too much is also a technique.”

“No, I’m drawing.”

“Got it,” Ma.s.san said with a bitter smile.

After finis.h.i.+ng half of his fifty shots, he took a break. He was drinking tea, unusually. Perhaps because there was no smell of coffee, Minato felt somewhat unsatisfied. After his short rest, Ma.s.san put on his ink-blank yugake and picked up his girikoire.

“Hmm? The cord came off from the tsurumaki. I’ll restart practicing, but Minato, you can still rest.”

“Ma.s.san, call Fuu.”

“I can’t see it in its usual tree today. Besides, Fuu won’t necessarily come even if I call it. I’m not keeping it as a pet after all. After healing its injury, it already left my hands.”

“So when you healed it, did it dump you?”

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“Noooope.”

Minato flicked the can Ma.s.san finished.

“What’s wrong? You seem anxious.”

Putting his girikoire away in his breast pocket, Ma.s.san placed his hand on Minato’s head. Like he was comforting him, like he was treating him like a child. It made him feel mixed feelings.

Minato confided to him about being invited to the kyudo club. Ma.s.san slowly blinked his almond-shaped eyes.

“——I see.”

“I haven’t said anything about wanting to join the tournament. So why won’t he leave me alone… He says he wants to do kyudo together with me, but I feel like he just wants to make up the numbers.”

“Well, I suppose there are cases of friends acting too forward, but I don’t think you are worrying to that extent about him.”

“That other guy is just selfishly reading too much into things. He’s always been meddling in everything.”

“Despite you saying that you don’t want to do kyudo anymore, you’re conveying to the other person that you still have lots of lingering attachments. Why don’t you try shouting out more straightforwardly that you love kyudo? Does he know about your hayake? Wouldn’t it be nice to cast aside that petty pride of feeling uncool and sorry that you got hayake, and try taking advantage of your friend’s kindness?”

“It’s not that I’m refusing to join because of pride. It’s just that I have no confidence.”

“In the future, when you have someone you like very much and you have to part from that person, when that time comes, are you just going to give up without doing anything because you have no confidence? There are things you cannot beat no matter how much you wish to be strong. But, if you do meet something that you truly do not want to lose, it should be able to make you cling to it and scream.”

“I’d never do such an embarra.s.sing thing in my whole life.”

Ma.s.san stood up with his bow and arrows in hand.

“Then, what do you want to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Minato, are you going to continue to draw a bow by yourself from now on?”

“By myself…”

“Don’t think that I’ll be here forever. You shouldn’t come to this place.”

A sudden wind roared.

Beneath the night sky covered with clouds, the trees rustled noisily. The dry leaves that flew from somewhere made sc.r.a.ping noises as they rolled.

Why did he say such a thing just now.

It was just like something a child would declare to a cat who they had picked up because they pitied it, then told it that they didn’t want it anymore because they had gotten bored of it.

“Ah, d.a.m.n it. Minato, here, put this in my drawstring bag.”

It seemed that Ma.s.san had mistakenly put his girikoire in his breast pocket while standing in front of the targets. He tossed it to Minato. The three triangles landed on his hand. He looked up at the distant sky to deflect his eyes.

I wish I could at least see the stars——.

But as for wis.h.i.+ng on the stars, I cannot seem to be able to do that.

After that, his feet went away from the Yata no Mori Kyudojo. When he went home, he vacantly faced his desk, robotically got through his tasks then went to bed. The long, sleepless nights. The small animal given to him by Ma.s.san was always in his dreams.

On that day, Seiya was absent. Minato had noticed that he seemed dispirited and was doing things listlessly for a long time, though now he seemed to be finally resting.

Despite avoiding him, before he knew it he was searching for Seiya. With his chest grating, as he went to the hallway, a boy was waiting for him. He raised his dropped gaze and walked slowly in front of Minato.

――It was Kaito.

“Narumiya, let’s talk for a minute, so come with me.”

At this uncommon atmosphere, his cla.s.smates who were getting ready to leave surrounded them at a distance. Kaito walked away without even glancing at the curious onlookers, and Minato followed behind.

When they went outside, a warm wind was blowing violently. It was just like what they called a spring storm. As a cloud of dust whirled up, Kaito s.h.i.+elded his eyes with his hand.

“You, stop leaving things hanging and just finish it off. Don’t raise people’s hopes like this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Seiya said he isn’t going to do individual compet.i.tions, and that he’s only going to enter team compet.i.tions.”

Minato closed his mouth, and Kaito brought his nose closer.

“Seiya and Ryouhei invited you to the kyudo club. And yet, when I see you not even bothering to show up for club activities, it doesn’t seem like you have any motivation at all? If that’s the case, then turn them down cleanly. Say you’re not joining the kyudo club.”

“…I did.”

“Well then, keep on refusing until Seiya and the others give up. You can say that you don’t want to do kyudo even if you die. Kyudo is said to be a 'ritsuzen’ (4), so a messed-up breathing is directly connected to skill. It’s subtle and delicate enough that you get warned for blinking too much. You must know that much at least, if you did kyudo in middle school?  Don’t upset Seiya.”

“I’m not going to follow your instructions. I’m the one who will make my own decisions. I think Seiya won’t forgive your b.u.t.ting in as well.”