Practice
"The tournament against Sakurako Gakuen is in two days."
"Yeah…think we'll be ready?"
"With all the training and practice Ishikawa-senpai has put us through, we better be ready." Rei sat in a corner of the dojo quietly, his eyes closed. He heard the whispered conversation from the three Kujin Gakuen archery team members during the afternoon practice.
It was true, he had trained them hard the last few days to get them prepared. He hoped that if he prepared them enough, he himself wouldn't have to participate in the meet. As captain of the team, Rei wasn't exempted from participating in school meets. But he preferred not to participate in as many as possible; he didn't like people getting the impression that he wanted to show off his skills before them.
The match against Sakurako would also be the last meet before school broke for summer break. It would be a nice summer for them all if the members of Kujin's squad could win the meet, especially if they won without the help of their prized captain.
"Yo, Sensei." Rei opened his eyes and looked up to find the grinning face of Yuusuke staring down at him before the elder man plomped down next to him.
"Genki ka, Sensei?" Yuusuke asked cheerfully, waiting for a spot to open on the practice floor.
"Thought you said you had work today," Rei replied, his face expressionless as usual.
"Yeah, well I switched hours with one of my co-workers. She wanted some extra hours to buy a really expensive birthday gift for her boyfriend."
"So desu ka." Yuusuke frowned. Rei normally wasn't talkative, but he was more quiet than usual that day. The student found it a challenge to try and get his instructor to say more than four sentences or to crack a smile or frown. But Rei seemed distracted today; Yuusuke found himself wondering why.
"Sensei, something bothering you?"
"Just thinking of the meet against Sakurako in two days." Yuusuke examined his face, knowing Rei could sense his gaze on him.
"There's something else bothering you." In a flash, Rei's green eyes were upon him, staring into Yuusuke's brown ones. The college boy flinched, never having seen such an intense gaze focused on his person. They remained that way, holding the other's gaze for quite some time.
The contact was broken as Rei stood, strolling over to examine the form of some junior high students. Yuusuke let go of a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He could tell something was bothering Rei, but couldn't tell why.
"Mariko-chan, Keiko-chan," he called, addressing the two girls to his immediate right. They stopped their conversation and turned to him, flashing pretty smiles.
"Nani ka, Arisugawa-san?" Kitano Keiko asked as Yuusuke shuffled closer to them.
"What's up with Sensei? He looks a little distracted."
"So ne," Mariko commented. "Senpai's had that look on his face for two days now. Something's been bothering him but nobody knows what. We all thought it was because of the meet against Sakurako coming up. But Senpai's never been this nervous before. Actually, he's never been nervous before about a match."
"Could it be that he's afraid you're going to lose on Saturday?"
"Iie, it's not that," Keiko said, shaking her head, tossing her long brown locks here and there. "Ishikawa-senpai doesn't care about winning. He only cares about the team or the dojo doing the best we can at the meets and tournaments."
"Is he worried, then, that someone is not performing as well as they should?" The two girls thought about what he said before replying.
"It's possible," Mariko said. She turned, indicating a girl in the far corner with shoulder length raven hair and brown eyes. She had the look of someone who was afraid of disappointing others by not doing her best.
"Kawai Mina-chan is in my class," Keiko said. "She just joined the team about a month ago. She's not bad with a bow, but none of her arrows have hit the center target so far. She is the last archer to perform at the meet on Saturday. If she performs well, then we can win. But if she performs poorly, then Ishikawa-senpai will have to shoot. Senpai…."
"Doesn't like performing in meets unless he has too, yeah, I know. So then, he's worried that unless Mina-chan can do well, he'll have to shoot."
"Maybe. But Mina-chan is worried too. She told me today that she doesn't want to disappoint the team. She knows that even if she does poorly, Senpai will still be kind to her and wouldn't mind if she remained on the team. Even if he says so, though, she'll feel like leaving because she failed."
"Kawai so," Mariko whispered. The three sat in silence for a time. Yuusuke was about to say something before a voice interrupted him; it was Rei's.
"Ja, minna," he called, turning to them all. "That's all for today. There's no practice tomorrow. Kujin team, rest up and gather at the school gates Saturday morning for the meet."
"Hai!" Yuusuke filed out with the others. As he passed the threshold and entered the main house, he saw Rei kneel in front of Mina out of the corner of his eye. He let the others pass him and remained near the door, leaning close to listen.
"Gomen, Senpai," he heard Mina's small voice say. "I'm the one who's made you worried the last few days. It's because I might not be ready for the meet on Saturday."
"All you need is a little more practice," Rei replied in his calm voice. "It doesn't matter if you can hit the center or not. As long as you come close, it'll be all right."
"I'd like for us to win though. It's the last meet we'll have for a month. Summer break is only a week away. After that, it'll be the middle of September before the next match arrives."
"Winning isn't everything."
"I know that, but it would still be nice to win. Honto ni gomen nasai, Senpai."
"Kawai-san, yamerou."
"Demo…"
"Yamerou yo. All you need is a little more practice. I ended practice early today. Take the next hour and work on your form. Once you get your form right, you'll do fine. You're leaning a little forward before releasing your arrow. Stand a little straighter before you shoot, it'll make a difference."
"Hai, Senpai." Yuusuke heard a rustle of fabric as Rei stood and headed in his direction.
"All it takes is practice, na, Sensei?" he said as Rei emerged from the dojo. He slid the door shut before turning to Yuusuke.
"You intend to let her practice alone?"
"Why not?" the Ishikawa instructor countered. "I let you practice alone. Now almost all of your arrows hits the center."
"Yeah, but it took me four and a half hours."
"Only on your first day. Kawai-san has been practicing for a month. She'll get it right before she leaves." Yuusuke stared at him, becoming more and more intrigued with the young man before him. He found himself beginning to study Rei's face, noting the gleam in the green eyes, the calm in the youthful face. Likewise Rei studied him, noticing the twinkling in the brown eyes that always gave Yuusuke the appearance that he was smiling even when he frowned.
"You really are kind, Sensei."
"Rei."
"Eh?" Yuusuke stared at him, shock written clearly on his face. Rei simply turned and headed for the changing room, his back to Yuusuke as he spoke.
"Just Rei. Don't call me Sensei anymore. It's odd coming from you. You're older than most of the students, older than me. It's odd hearing you refer to me as Sensei." He shouted after him, needing an explanation, needing to say anything.
"You have older students, don't you? I heard businessmen come here to learn from you. Don't they call you Sensei?"
"Iya, they just call me Rei or Ishikawa-kun. And they only come on the weekends." Yuusuke was about to say more before Rei turned the corner. As he did so, he could hear the thud of an arrow against a target followed by a surprised, overjoyed cry. Yuusuke grinned, learning against the closed wooden door.
"Practice is all it takes, huh?"
You really are interesting, Ishikawa Rei, he thought before pushing off the door and heading to the changing room himself.