Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part2

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.”

A tint of anger appeared in Kaito’s eyes.

“…I don’t know how much skill you had in the past, but you’re the only one I don’t want to be in a team with. For this tournament, the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club will only take part in individual compet.i.tions. Seiya too. Go celebrate in the going-home club. So from now on, you’ll have absolutely nothing to do with kyudo.”

Minato watched Kaito’s departing back for a long time.

Going home from school, Minato stopped by Seiya’s house. His parents were busy working so it was difficult to let them know he was there, and there was no response when he pressed the bell that was directly connected to their own home. As there was nothing he could do, he took out the stick-shaped sweets called Pucky from his bag, drew a picture of a dog on the box and tossed it into their mailbox. This imitated what Seiya did to put in the intent of reconciliation after they had fights when they were little.

When he took out the sweets from his back, he took into his hand the dragonfly-patterned pouch. He noticed that the feel of it was different from usual, and when he looked at it he saw that he was holding something unexpected.

A wooden girikoire—Ma.s.san’s belonging.

It seemed that he had brought it with him by mistake. It looked like it was a favorite of his, so won’t it be inconvenient if he didn’t have it with him? Even though Minato was half-hearted about it, he went to the Yata no Mori Kyudojo.

When he peeked in, he saw many people practicing there. There were only working adults there, but he was shocked to learn that it was this crowded during daytime. He thought about dropping it off with someone, and approached a nearby woman.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes, what do you need?”

“Could you please help me pa.s.s this on to Ma.s.san, I mean, Takigawsan?”

“Eh, Takigawsan? He was supposed to have died a year ago.”

“…Huh?”

“He was someone who truly loved the bow. Oh yes, his hands were quite nimble with it.”

“No, he’s, um, the person who has been using this place since evening…”

“So you mean Takigawsan? I only come here to practice during the day, so I have only ever met him at tournaments and end-of-year parties. Also, there shouldn’t be anyone who is using this place at night recently.”

Still clutching the girikoire, he left the kyudojo. The wind was as strong as usual, and the sky was still blue.

No matter how many times he pondered it, he couldn’t understand the meaning at all. What was that woman saying? Did I hear something wrong? If he died a year ago, then who was the Ma.s.san Minato met every night?

The Ma.s.san he couldn’t meet unless the sun set.

The Ma.s.san with hands so cold that they didn’t seem to belong to a living person.

Was this what he meant when he said “You shouldn’t come to this place?” Come to think of it, he said it before as well. That he isn’t someone who exists in my reality.

No way. There’s definitely a mistake.

I saw Ma.s.san right there before my own eyes. He made a beautiful tsurune resound…

Minato ran in the wind many, many times over.

The neighborhood was already pitch-dark. The worn-out outside lights were flickering.

The clouds that covered the sky were swept away, and the moon shone brightly. The droplets spilling from the moon became the lake, and the hand extending from the lake’s surface beckoned to Minato. It felt like he would sink slowly if he set foot in it.

He heard the tsurune from the Yata no Mori Kyudojo. The beautiful tsurune resounding in the sky, a tone of longing. And yet, on this day was as melancholic as a funeral march.

When he pa.s.sed through the entrance, Ma.s.san was there dressed in traditional clothing and drawing a bow. His pale, exposed skin. His fascinating profile. The way he drew his bow to the limit so accurately that it seemed mechanical. Even with the noise from the trees, it was just like a skillful stage production.

Things that fluttered. The ones that gathered here were the forest and its inhabitants.

He begged that the night would never end.

To Minato who was standing quietly at the side, Ma.s.san made his usual smile.

“You came at just the right time. I will achieve ten-thousand shots with just two more arrows.”

“Ma.s.san, here… I think I accidentally took it with me and went home the other day, sorry.”

“Oh, it’s no big deal since a girikoire can be replaced. That’s right, I came up with a fun idea.”

Ma.s.san put his sleeve back on and headed for the waiting room, then returned with incense sticks in his hand. He went to the azuchi and was doing some kind of work in front of the targets. When he returned he had on his yugake and was tightly rubbing giriko on it.

“I want to try and see if I can recreate that scene from Zen in the Art of Archery. Minato, help me.”

By the time he finished nocking his arrow, the lights illuminated everything. The trees became black silhouettes and the night sky looked bluish. In the darkness, a wisp of white smoke was rising from the azuchi.

Ma.s.san raised his bow.

The waterway burbled as he parted his bow to push open his shoulders. The shooting range (yamichi) became a river with the surging water, and the tremors on the water’s surface indicated the way that should be advanced on. This place was no longer the green forest, but the blue sea. People were born of the water and returned to the water.

Ma.s.san’s entire body was covered by a blue flame. It wavered and swayed, just like the flicker of life. That shot sharp enough to the point of coolness, the air becoming chilled as the arrow flew.

So that he could hold his breath in that water, Minato watched the next shot.

Daisan, hikiwake, kai——.

The arrow left, the matooto adorning the night.

With lights, they saw two arrows stuck in the center of the target side-by-side.

“…This is incredible. It’s the first time I ever saw something like this.”

“As I expected, they didn’t become a tsugiya like the one in Zen in the Art of Archery. Thank you, Minato. With this, I have no regrets anymore…”

Ma.s.san took his gaze off Minato and looked up at the distant night sky.

Minato’s heart beat violently at seeing Ma.s.san, who seemed like he was about to vanish at any moment. There was a roar in his head. The blood in his body was surging tempestuously, struggling to find an exit.

He didn’t do things like wis.h.i.+ng on stars.

If he did decide to wish——.

Minato stood in front of Ma.s.san and grabbed him roughly with both hands.

“Ma.s.san, don’t go to nirvana!” (5)

“…Hah?”

“Are you a ghost? No wait, a zombie? You’re so cold… But I’m never letting you go! You’re still my master, after all. Until the master pa.s.ses on all his skills to his disciple, it’s his responsibility to watch over him. No wait, you don’t have to be my master. I want you to stay here, Ma.s.san. If you’re a ghost you can possess me, if you’re a vampire then I’ll give you my blood, and if you’re a zombie, umm, well…I’ll try to not mind even if it stinks a little!”

Ma.s.san’s jaw dropped and let the bow he was holding slip down to the ground.

“I’m leaving my left chest exposed in this cold weather. Your hands are getting that cold as well. Well, in the first place you do have a child’s body temperature…”

“But, I was told that Takigawsan died a year ago.”

“——That’s Takizawsan!”

“…Huh?”

When he listened to the story more carefully, he learned that it was the ninety-one-year-old Takizawsan who had died, and that woman had gotten them mixed up. Takigawa Masaki didn’t only shoot at night because he was a ghost or a zombie, but in fact it because he was the junior priest of Yata Shrine, and during the daytime he was working as the chief priest of the shrine. This kyudojo was owned by the shrine, and it seemed that the kyudo a.s.sociation was responsible for its management.

Ma.s.san burst into laughter, holding his stomach. It was a laughter like he couldn’t stand how funny the situation was.

“Oh wow, this is amazing. That 'the sillier the kid is, the cuter they are’ saying really is true. Are you relieved that I’m not a ghost?”

“How, how was I supposed to know!”

Minato hurriedly wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Ma.s.san was still laughing all the while.

He was so embarra.s.sed he could die.

“Could it be that you didn’t show up lately because you thought I was a ghost?”

“N-no. You said that this isn’t a place where I should come to.”

“Fuu returned to the forest. I was thinking that Minato should go back to where he originally lives as well. But even so, you just immediately came back. I couldn’t do anything about that.”

After the arrows were collected, the two of them sat next to each other. Ma.s.san drank his canned coffee as usual. When his throat was watered, Ma.s.san played with his girikoire.

“This girikoire was given to me by my master. He was my grandfather, as well as the previous chief priest. To tell you the truth, there is a certain meaning in my ten-thousand shots all this time.”

“Eh, it’s not on a whim?”

“I think I’ll tell you about it. Are you fine if it gets too long?”

“Uh-huh.”

“My master also worked as a lecturer at a kyudo cla.s.sroom at the prefectural budokan (martial arts hall), and though he was popular as an enjoyable teacher, he was strict on the students of his own dojo. Grandpa was too serious and stubborn, and the more seriously he taught, the more it seemed like everyone was about to quit. When I won the Inter-High in my third year of high school, he told me, 'Are you going to continue this ateyumi forever? Well, if you’re fine with it then it doesn’t matter.’ That triggered the break-off of our relations.h.i.+p. Ateyumi means 'your shooting is not kyudo, just playing around,’ so it was a humiliating word to archers who are seriously working hard. It’s like, exactly what of me are you seeing?”

“Oh…I kind of understand that.”

“I was tending towards hayake at that time, and even though I tried so hard to fix it, I couldn’t maintain kai long enough. If it was off it was still fine, but because I needed to hit perfectly, I felt Grandpa getting into a rage. And so, I was discarded as someone who didn’t follow instructions. Simply put, I was someone to be completely ignored. After that, I went to university but didn’t join the kyudo club. And while one thing or another happened, Grandpa pa.s.sed away… Although it was a so-called state of excommunication, in the end he was still my master for more than fifteen years. Within me remained thoughts of reconciling with him one day, and so, I started to think about what to try and do——”

“The ten-thousand shots.”

“Exactly.”

Ma.s.san deftly turned the lid of his girikoire with one hand. His hand movements seemed nostalgic. Since he put that kind of design on it, his master must have been someone with a sense of humor. Those two loved the bow too much and somewhere, they were unable to see eye-to-eye. (6)

Those were shots to send a soul to rest.

Ma.s.san was shooting ten-thousand arrows in order to talk with his deceased master.

“I almost never shot in this dojo, but in the end, I returned to this place again. I couldn’t stop drawing the bow. I felt like I got myself completely involved with a troublesome thing.”

“Ma.s.san…”

Close to the Yata no Mori Kyudojo, the red-purple Miyama azaleas were in full bloom. The sprouts in the forest that had been pointed towards the sky like they were offering prayers were now proudly spreading their leaves. The things that grew pale-colored hair in order to protect themselves were s.h.i.+ning in the moonlight.

Minato stood up.

“I want to try shooting a hitote in front of a target.”

“Aah.”

After getting dressed in kyudogi, he faced the target. He slowly raised the bow with his two hands and placed himself into its middle. Even though he could see the target, he didn’t see it. He wasn’t thinking anything. He didn’t need to. He could stay just like this. As long as possible—he was waiting for that moment to come.

When the wind blew across the nape of his neck, his arrow got stuck in the very edge of the target’s frame. With Ma.s.san watching, Minato nocked another arrow.

There was still a numbness running through his body after he released the arrow. Dominating from his brain to his feet was a feeling of ecstasy that he craved once he tasted it.

What should I do, I’m so happy.

I’m so happy that I feel like I’ll die.

Was I this hungry for the bow?

His body moved to follow nostalgic memories. Memories that he couldn’t forget even if he tried. They were marks carved into his flesh and bone. They had always been talking with each other like this——.

When the sound of rustling leaves ceased, the arrow was sucked into the target.

Ma.s.san spoke.

“Did you recover it as well?”

“Yes. ——I’m joining the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club.”

Before leaving home, Minato put his palms together in front of the memorial tablet.

His father spoke.

“Did you talk to your mother? Have a good day, Minato.”

“I’m heading off now, Dad.”

The sky was perfectly clear, and the mountains were getting increasingly bluer. From behind, a comfortable wind was blowing.

Carrying his bow and quiver, today he rode the bus to school. Because he had contacted him last night, even though it was early in the morning there was someone standing in front of the Kazemai High kyudojo. He was dressed in kyudogi and hakama and wore a gentle smile. What was different from usual was that he wasn’t wearing his familiar gla.s.ses.

“Seiya, the premium Pucky in my mailbox yesterday was delicious.”

“Welcome to the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club. ——Welcome home, Minato.”

Minato blinked his eyes. If he didn’t do that, the hot things would likely spill out.

As they slowly walked forward, he placed his hand on Seiya’s shoulder.

“I’m home, Seiya. Sorry to have kept you waiting…thanks.”

“Yes…”

Seiya felt the weight of Minato on his shoulder and closed his eyes as though he was relieved.

From the middle of the kyudojo, they heard a noisy clattering sound.

“Minato, you came! You’re late!”

“I told you not to run in the dojo.”

Ryouhei, also dressed in hakama, ran over to Minato. Their shoulders joined together like always, and the three became one.

Minato was thinking.

I’m not going to run away anymore.

If it’s for the sake of feeling the strength of these hands, I won’t be afraid of any difficulties or pain.

The three stood in a row with Minato in the middle and took one step forward towards the targets.