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purplesunrisefanfic · 4 years

Note

Would you be willing to share a couple of YOUR Abby fantasies with us, your adoring, always horny, Abby simping fans?

Sure! And thank you, this was a fun ask ❤️💕💪

Abby Sexual Fantasties

(Abby/reader OR a mixture of Abby/author and Abby/GN!reader)

Fair warning, my fantasies are even more high-key kinky than my fics so major warning for very graphic and explicit sexual content, hardcore BDSM and arguable edgeplay. Also, as far I’m concerned Abby switches, don’t @ me about your HCs that she’s a rigid “top” or whatever else, @ me about your graphic sexual fantasies of Abby instead. 😈

I don’t want to warn in detail and thereby effectively imply I have caught everything that might need a warning because I fear I will miss something, so anyone who has specific triggers, please inbox me the specifics (Anon is on) and I’ll reply either saying this post is fine or with a redacted version suitable for you personally. And please do ask, I’m happy to help with this stuff. 💛

Gender and Bodies Note: I have written this in two different formats. The first was using “you” so it’s easier to reader-insert but the “you” is based on my fantasies, ie me and the body I have. I’m AFAB (and not knowingly intersex) with my original layout/plumbing and am comfortable with all the sex options my body has available. As far as I’m aware I don’t reference anything that couldn’t work the same for someone who has had a vaginoplasty, except that I talk about getting extremely wet beyond what might be possible for many vagina-havers. Maybe even most other vagina-havers tbh, bc I have a noted ability to get soaked way beyond what most people who self-lubricate can. It’s actually partly a coping thing that it so regularly features in my fantasies tbh because it helps to think of it in sexy way when the actual reality is that trying to get off is often like trying to build up friction on a freakin’ slip n’ slide! 😂

If you don’t want to read a “you” with such characteristics, scroll down and I’ll rewrite the necessary sections with an “I” so you can read these with an author-insert instead of a reader-insert. Look for a line made of emojis.

Reminder: App/mobile site = no read more breaks, don’t @ me, @ Tumblr bc it annoys the eff outta me too! (Tumblr, if you’re listening, please please fix this shite ASAP.)

Abby/Reader version (Warning: This version is body-specific):

Assuming, which I do, that @pinkchubbiebunnie is correct that Abby cannon has a hairpulling kink, (well spotted and much appreciated detail btw, thank you, Tanisha! Hope you enjoy these as well they seem like your sort of thing too 😍) Tying up Abby’s wrists with rope then braiding the rope into her hair and tying the rope onto her braid so that every time she’s overwhelmed with desire and starts to struggle against the rope it pulls her hair and teases her some more. Edging her like that until she breaks, her face covered in sweat while she pleads for release. Once you give it to her, you don’t stop and she struggles again when she becomes overwhelmed with pleasure, but struggling pulls on her hair again which intensifies the overstimulation. Tears in her eyes, she pleads for you to stop (but doesn’t actually safeword) so you offer/remind her that she can safeword. She breaks eye contact, her already flushed face starts burning and she shakes her head. You tilt her head back up, forcing eye contact. “So you don’t really want me to stop?” you question her evilly, just to make her say that she does want you to stop, but she doesn’t want you to have to do what she wants, she wants you free to ignore her. Her lip trembles when she tells you to use her how you please, breaking off mid-sentence to whimper, utterly overwhelmed because you haven’t let up on her clit this whole time. You make her come once more, and she finishes up an absolute mess. You think you ought to stop there, and lay off touching her further, until she softly asks you, in a small voice with pleasing eyes, to put on her strap and fuck her with that because she feels desperately empty after all that stimulation.

Flip-side: Her and Manny are ultimate bros and ultimate dom bros. You’re in a lifestyle BDSM situation with her and have to get yourself used to the fact that she’ll spank you in her shared apartment whenever you deserve it, whether Manny is around or not. Equally, you see some of Manny’s poly rotation facing the same from time-to-time. You don’t have orgies or even have sex when Manny is there (or vice versa) but they both feel discipline can’t wait. He’s respectful and super discreet about it, which low-key feels nice/destigmatising but high-key feels embarrassing as hell that he sees this stuff without ever bringing it up in conversation with you. You always wonder if part of his charismatic grin is teasing you that he knows what the “special necklace” you always wear really means. Oh, and between her muscles and her hands which are calloused from all the physical and soldier work, she can spank you hard and long without needing a paddle.

She’s figured out how to pack discreetly with something firm enough to fuck you with, and when you patrol together she’ll take any opportunity to give you a taste. She never lets you orgasm while you’re out and makes sure you’re always walking around soaked through your clothes and grateful your trousers don’t show an obvious colour difference. She always eats her supper (“supper” = British for evening meal.*) super slowly on those days. Anytime you seem like you might be relaxing during the meal or becoming less needy, she makes suggestive eye contact and squeezes one of your thighs between hers under the table, letting you feel the toy between her legs so she’s sure you don’t get a break from feeling desperate for her. You end up having all your patrol group believing your old minor knee injury (which doesn’t really cause you any proper trouble) always gets painful towards the end of patrol days because you always blame that for why you get noticeably quiet and jumpy by the end of a patrol day.

She’ll play really sadistically if you ask her to. (Content warning: this is about to get into the details of that). With that, she won’t use any bondage, just her raw ability to overpower you without even breaking out in a sweat. She’ll pinch and pull at your nipples, grab you by your hair and drag you around. She’ll absolutely cover your thighs in hickeys (and you tend to have to bite hard to leave a mark on a thigh) on the way to going down on you. She keeps her nails short for practical reasons, but she knows how to grab you and angle her fingers so you feel her nails sink into anyway. She picked up enough medical knowledge that she knows where and how she can safely hurt you. Abby can control herself and her voice so you get her steeliest tone and expression while she makes you scream and cry. That type of treatment makes your clit swell like hell and you get so wet from it that it’s obvious and embarrassing. And Abby loves to make that worse by drawing attention to how wet it makes you, taunting you about how much you like her brutal treatment. She’ll sometimes slip her fingers inside just to be able to coat them in your juices so she can smear them over your body. Smirking, she’ll coo about how you’ll let her do whatever the fuck she wants with you. If she feels like using her strap on, she’ll slip it inside you briefly at first, only to pull it out, shove you to your knees and make you suck it spotlessly clean of your own taste before she’ll consider actually fucking you with it. Afterwards, she cleans you up gently and tends to any little injuries (she never does anything dangerous). She’s takes hold of you a little possessively, reminding you that no one but her gets to treat you like that, and she’d kill anyone who tried. Then she showers you with love and praise, holding you protectively until you fall asleep.

💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪💜💪

Abby/GN! Reader & Abby/Author version:

(Still uses “you” with one alteration to the original) Assuming, which I do that @pinkchubbiebunnie is correct that Abby cannon has a hairpulling kink, (well spotted and much appreciated detail btw, thank you, Tanisha!) Tying up Abby’s wrists with rope then braiding the rope into her hair and tying the rope onto her braid so that every time she’s overwhelmed with desire and starts to struggle against the rope it pulls her hair and teases her some more. Edging her like that until she breaks, her face covered in sweat while she pleads for release. Once you give it to her, you don’t stop and she struggles again when she becomes overwhelmed with pleasure, but struggling pulls on her hair again which intensifies the overstimulation. Tears in her eyes, she pleads for you to stop (but doesn’t actually safeword) so you offer/remind her that she can safeword. She breaks eye contact, her already flushed face starts burning and she shakes her head. You tilt her head back up, forcing eye contact. “So you don’t really want me to stop?” you question her evilly, just to make her say that she does want you to stop, but she doesn’t want you to have to do what she wants, she wants you free to ignore her. Her lip trembles when she tells you to use her how you please, breaking off mid-sentence to whimper, utterly overwhelmed because you haven’t let up on her clit this whole time. You make her come once more, and she finishes up an absolute mess. You think you ought to stop there, and lay off touching her further, until she softly asks you, in a small voice with pleasing eyes, to please use your fingers or whatever else you want to penetrate her because she feels desperately empty after all that stimulation.

(Unaltered from “you”/reader-insert bc no body-specifics) Flip-side: Her and Manny are ultimate bros and ultimate dom bros. You’re in a lifestyle BDSM situation with her and have to get yourself used to the fact that she’ll spank you in her shared apartment whenever you deserve it, whether Manny is around or not. Equally, you see some of Manny’s poly rotation facing the same from time-to-time. You don’t have orgies or even have sex when Manny is there (or vice versa) but they both feel discipline can’t wait. He’s respectful and super discreet about it, which low-key feels nice/destigmatising but high-key feels embarrassing as hell that he sees this stuff without ever bringing it up in conversation with you. You always wonder if part of his charismatic grin is teasing you that he knows what the “special necklace” you always wear really means. Oh, and between her muscles and her hands which are calloused from all the physical and soldier work, she can spank hard and long without needing a paddle.

She’s figured out how to pack discreetly with something firm enough to fuck me with, and when we patrol together she’ll take any opportunity to give me a taste. She never lets me orgasm while we’re out and makes sure I’m always walking around soaked through my clothes and grateful my trousers don’t show an obvious colour difference. She always eats her supper (“supper” = British for evening meal.*) super slowly on those days. Anytime I seem like I might be relaxing during the meal or becoming less needy, she makes suggestive eye contact and squeezes one of my thighs between hers under the table, letting me feel the toy between her legs so she’s sure I don’t get a break from feeling desperate for her. I end up having all our patrol group believing my old minor knee injury (which doesn’t really cause me any proper trouble) always gets painful towards the end of patrol days because I always blame that for why I get noticeably quiet and jumpy by the end of a patrol day.

She’ll play really sadistically if I ask her to. (Content warning: this is about to get into the details of that). With that, she won’t use any bondage, just her raw ability to overpower me without even breaking out in a sweat. She’ll pinch and pull at my nipples, grab me by my hair and drag my around. She’ll absolutely cover my thighs in hickeys (and you tend to have to bite hard to leave a mark on a thigh) on the way to going down on me. She keeps her nails short for practical reasons, but she knows how to grab me and angle her fingers so I feel her nails sink into anyway. She picked up enough medical knowledge that she knows where and how she can safely hurt me. Abby can control herself and her voice so I get her steeliest tone and expression while she makes me scream and cry. That type of treatment makes my clit swell like hell and I get so wet from it that it’s obvious and embarrassing. And Abby loves to make that worse by drawing attention to how wet it makes me, taunting me about how much I like her brutal treatment. She’ll sometimes slip her fingers inside just to be able to coat them in my juices so she can smear them over my body. Smirking, she’ll coo about how I’ll let her do whatever the fuck she wants with me. If she feels like using her strap on, she’ll slip it inside me briefly at first, only to pull it out, shove me to my knees and make me suck it spotlessly clean of my own taste before she’ll consider actually fucking me with it. Afterwards, she cleans me up gently and tends to any little injuries (she never does anything dangerous). She takes hold of me a little possessively, reminding me that no one but her gets to treat me like that, and she’d kill anyone who tried. Then she showers me with love and praise, holding me protectively until I fall asleep.

*While we’re on this subject, beware using the term “dinner” with Brits bc it’s a different meal in different regions. Somewhere like Newcastle, dinner = lunch whereas in London dinner = evening meal. 🤷‍♀️ We’re a weird country on many counts, that’s the tip of the iceberg.

#abby anderson #abby anderson x reader #abby x reader #abby tlou #tlou2 abby #tlou fanfic #the last of us fanfic #my fic #my fics #well they’re kinda fics so for ease of filing #cw

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thefinalcinderella · 6 years

Text

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 1-Two People, Travelling Together (Part 2)

In this chapter: A bit of Kazemai, a lot of Kirisaki, a lot of exposition.

This part was long.

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Transation Notes

1. Tenugui Shibori=手ぬぐいしぼり (lit. hand towel squeezing). Hannen Hanjaku= 半捻半弱 (lit. half twist, half bind). This refers to the thing where the right hand twists a little inwards, and the left thumb presses into the right side of the bow as much as possible. (probably got this wrong but I can only stomach so much kyudo terminology)

2. Akahon (lit. red book) refers to a set of university entrance exam preparation workbooks published by Kyogakusha. They contain past exams and are extremely popular.

3. Four and a half tatami mats is about 2.73 m × 2.73 m.

4. A nigiri-guchi is the door to a tea hut. It looks more like a window than a door if you look at the images.

5. An andon lamp is one of those traditional paper-enclosed lanterns. See some here

6. Sen no Rikyu was a major figure in the development of the tea ceremony, particularly its simplicity.

7. A repechage is a practice in a competition that allows failed participants to have another chance to move onto the next round.

Previous | Next

The sky in the breaks of the rainy season was blue, and the chirps of little birds could be heard. The exhilaration from placing his hands on the kyudojo's door never disappeared no matter how many times he did it. A different dimension that suddenly appeared in the world of school. Minato liked that.

The Kazemai High School Kyudo Club was working hard at practicing for the regional tournament that was drawing near quickly.

Seiya changed into his hakama and took off his glasses. The hidden mole next to his right eye became exposed.

"I was surprised when you brought Shuu home with you yesterday, Minato. Did he call you after?"

"He said we should practice together once summer vacation starts. Will you come too?"

"Of course I will, but you know what he said when he saw my face? 'Why are you here?' What rudeness towards his former teammate. I'll punish him next time."

"That's because you couldn't stop talking about soccer. Shuu was really hungry, you know. He even fell asleep on the return bus. Didn't he often fall asleep on the bus on the way back from trips in middle school?"

"…He never slept even once when he sat next to me. Probably not just with me, but next to anyone."

"Was that how it was?"

"Shuu's a charismatic guy with a lot of pride. Everyone shrinks when they're in front of him, or rather, they humble themselves, so it might be that he can become plain around you."

"I just thought he was a normal guy except for being really good at kyudo."

"Your sense of normal is paralyzed."

Hearing their conversation from next to them, Ryouhei leaned on Minato as though he was about to ride on his shoulders.

"I wanna try talking to Fujiwara-kun too. He's super cool. I wanna shoot like that too."

"Ryouhei, you're too heavy. Why are all the guys with big bodies who are next to me randomly leaning on me? Alright, you come shoot with us too, Ryouhei."

"Really? Yes! Fujiwara-kun uses a yonsun-nobi bow (233cm) too, right?"

"Yeah, it's rare for a high schooler to be taller than a hundred and eighty centimeters. People with big physiques probably have their own troubles, so Shuu might be able to answer anything we don't know about."

Kaito, changing next to them, turned to them with a sharp gaze.

"You guys, don't get all friendly with the enemy. Don't relax just because Narumiya got a kaichuu at the prefectural finals."

"Even if you call him the enemy, he's still my bow friend, and even you would think that it's educational to watch a skilled person shoot, right, Onogi?"

"If you want a guy who's tall and shoots well, then don't we have a coach named Masa-san here?"

"Masa-san and Shuu shoot differently. You can't know who would suit Ryouhei better."

Kaito and Minato calling each other by their first names was for only a moment of that competition, and they had once again returned to addressing each other by their family names.

There, they heard the sound of "Merha!"

Nanao peered at Kaito's face while a big grin appeared on his face.

"Geez, Kacchan, you're so shy. Just honestly say, 'I'm also interested in Kirisaki's Fujiwara. Why don't you invite me too? Invite me, invite me!'"

"Na-na-o. Don't make stuff up."

Nanao stuck out his tongue.

The five finished preparations and began practicing in the competition format.

Kyudo was done in "close-distance" (kinteki) and "long-distance" (enteki), and what Minato and the others were doing was a close-distance competition. They were competing for the number of arrows that hit the kasumi-mato with diameters of thirty-six centimeters from a distance of twenty-eight meters. The regional tournament would have teams of five and four arrows to each person. They would be shooting a total of twenty arrows within a time limit.

"Zasha" was the case of shooting after kneeling in the kiza position at the "shooting line" (shai), then turning to the wakishoumen, and then standing and doing ashibumi. The case of shooting by doing ashibumi while still standing at the shooting line was called "rissha." The left and right hands were called the "yunde and mete" or the "oshide and katte," and the eight-step process of shooting an arrow was also named. It was called the "Shahou Hassetsu."

The Shahou Hassetsu were as followed.

First, ashibumi: Spreading the feet, and making the correct posture for shooting.

Second, douzukuri: Placing the bow on the left thigh, and placing the right hand on the right hip. At this time, "tsurushirabe" and "noshirabe" are also carried out.

Third, yugamae: Taking the bowstring with the right hand ("torikake"), arranging the left hand ("tenouchi"), and viewing the target ("monomi").

Fourth, uchiokoshi: Raising both hands holding the bow and arrows upwards. There is "shoumen uchiokoshi" and "shamen uchiokoshi."

Fifth, hikiwake: Parting the raised bow evenly to the left and right. There are three ways to do this, one of which is "daisan."

Sixth, kai: The state of completing hikiwake.

Seventh, hanare: Releasing the arrow.

Eighth, zanshin: The position after releasing the arrow.

The first archer—the oomae—Kaito spread his feet widely.

He was holding two arrows, a "hitote." He nocked one of the arrows, and held the other one with the pinky and ring finger of his right hand.

Taking the string with his right hand and arranging his left hand, he then gently raised his two fists up to the same height. He pushed his bow, drew his string, and parted his bow left and right equally, and then made his arrowhead approach the center of the target. In order to not be defeated by the restoring force of the bow, he stretched vertically by stretching his spine and stretched horizontally by tensing his left and right arms. His arrow went towards the target along with a loud tsurune. "Alright!" The girls cheered.

Following Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao and the very last archer, the ochi, Minato each shot an arrow in that order, and the results after finishing with twenty shots were 4:2:3:3:3, a total of fifteen hits.

Tommy-sensei and Masa-san stood before the five.

"Although you are all restless with the gap between the prefectural and regional tournaments is closing, keep this up."

"Yes, sir!"

Tommy-sensei's smile widened at Ryouhei's energetic response.

"Improving your shooting form is not about trying to not think about hitting. In order to make your arrow fly straight, it is less deviating to draw with your whole body rather than the tip of your hand. "

"Ooh, I see."

"The fundamental form of kyudo takes the form of the 'tateyoko juumonji,' which consists of a combination of the vertical axis made up of the feet, hips, backbone, and neck, and the horizontal axes made up of the shoulders, arms, elbows, and hands. I want you to think of the Shahou Hassetsu that explains the method to create the fundamental form, so to speak, as a routine for hitting turned into a law."

"By routine, do you mean like the series of movements a baseball player must always carry out in the batter's box, sir?"

"That's right. Many etiquettes and behaviors may have begun with someone's routine that others copied, made into laws and rules, and spread."

"As expected of Tommy-sensei, he knows everything."

"Oh no, I was actually only speaking irresponsibly."

"Irresponsibly? What do you mean?"

The kyudojo instantly calmed down at Ryouhei's spacey reply.

Tommy-sensei put effort into teaching Ryouhei. Kyudo's close-range competitions had a hitting system where points already gained from previous rounds counted, so a one-hit reversal could not be hoped for. There was no way of victory other than each person making sure to not miss.

Masa-san called Minato to the makiwara equipped with a mirror.

"You were sort of twisting your right elbow a lot today."

"Oh, I was just trying to imitate Shuu's shooting a little."

"'Shuu'?"

"Kirisaki High's Fujiwara Shuu, my former teammate. I met with him unexpectedly at Saionji-sensei's house the other day."

"Do you mean Saionji Kazuyoshi-sensei? Another big name appears. Do you know him well?"

"He's mine and Shuu's first kyudo teacher. Although he is elderly, he also said that if I was able to stand before the targets for club, it would be better to not have two teachers, though I was taught by him until the end of my first year of middle school."

"For five years, he's a legend who's never missed a shot in an official setting such as a competition or a ceremony. Now that you mention it, Fujiwara's shooting form might be similar to Saionji-sensei's. A skilled archer calls it a 'tenugui shibori' or 'hannen hanjaku,' where the left hand rotates clockwise, and the right hand adds a hineri contrarily to that." (1)

"I want to try doing that too. At prefecturals, I was told by a sensei from somewhere to try doing hineri a little bit."

"In your case, your right hand is stronger, and when I look at you from the side, your bow is not straight, but tilted backwards. Also, you're wearing a supporter, but does your left wrist still hurt?"

"I don't know if there's a dull pain, or if it didn't get any worse but not healing at all."

"When you draw a bow, you hurt your left wrist when you bend it. Try watching your zanshin in a mirror. Do you see? Your wrist gets folded at the moment of hanare."

"I didn't notice that at all. Why do I do that?"

"I've told you a million times. When you miss, it's generally your left hand that is weak."

"Do you mean tensing my tenouchi's little finger? I was planning on doing that, though."

"Planning on doing it is no use; you don't do it at all. Don't add more tasks for yourself. Do what I tell you to do first. If you don't fix your habit, the more you shoot, the more you will hurt your wrist."

"Got it."

"Who's your kyudo master now?"

"Huh, …Tommy-sensei and you, Masa-san."

"That's right. Don't add anything extra from anyone else except for me."

What's with that? What's with that?

You didn't have to say it like that.

Recently, Masa-san was harsh. There was a frustration that couldn't be embodied, even though he understood it in his mind. A worthlessness.

Minato rubbed his left hand.

Tap, tap. Multiple matooto resounded.

"Alright!" The reverberating cheers indicated that Kirisaki High School was a powerhouse school.

However, Senichi's heart did not clear up. That was because Manji, who was always behind him, was not there. Manji was at the makiwara more than anyone else, doing nothing but practicing to prolong his kai.

A practice match participated in by the archers was being held on this day, and Kabashima occupied the third archer's position, replacing Manji who had been out of form in the prefectural tournament. After shooting four arrows in two sets, the match ended with thirty-two hits out of a total of forty shots.

Shuu and Senichi set down their bows and sat next to each other. Shuu took off the glove, "yugake," protecting his right hand, exposing from beneath a shitagake (underglove) with a purple pattern dyed onto a white background.

"Shuu, you changed your underglove? That's a nice pattern."

"Yeah, the dragonfly is said to be a winning insect, so it's a design preferred by warriors."

"Where'd you buy it?"

"I got it as a one-month late birthday present."

"Oh?"

The underglove, used for protecting the deerskin yugake from things like sweat, was mainly made of cotton, and there were many who were picky about thickness and shape of the cloth. White was recommended for examinations and the like, but there was an abundance of colours and patterns, and it was also an unseen enjoyment for archers.

On the advisor's signal, they dispersed and it was decided that they would stretch target paper over the frames (matohari). They removed the papers that were full of holes and repapered the frames with new target papers.

The club president, Motomura, spoke.

"After peeling the paper, please clean the frame with a scrubbing brush and water, then dry it."

"Motomura-senpai, Sase-senpai. The third-years should leave already, since we will be doing it afterwards."

"Thank you, Senichi-kun. But please allow me to repaper the targets I use, at least."

"Is that so? Then, please feel free to do it."

The target frames became chipped and cracked when arrows just barely hit the target, and were completely worn down.

While they waited for the washed frames to dry, they prepared the target papers and the under-papers. They cut Kraft paper into circles that were a size bigger than the frames, then made cuts at the edges with scissors. This same treatment of edges was applied to the target papers as well.

Motomura held a brush and coated the back of the papers with glue with practiced movements, and then other people quickly stuck them on the frames. They affixed the under-papers and target papers in that order, then arranged them so that they didn't overlap in order for them to dry. There would be wrinkles on them right after they finished sticking the papers, but after they dried for a while, the papers would automatically stretch and finish as neat-looking targets. The sight of the large number of targets lined up together was quite impressive, and it felt good to look out over the renewed targets.

Senichi, separating from everyone else to wash his hands, whispered to Manji.

"It's so amazing for Motomura-senpai and the others to do matohari, even though they're third-years. And, doesn't Shuu seem kinda down today?"

"That's cuz he lost the prefecturals even though he had by far the greatest number of hits, so it's impossible for him to cheer up right away. Even I, who rarely gets depressed, still can't break free from the hayake damage yet."

"It's not that, he's calmer than usual, or rather, mellower."

"I don't think he changed that much."

"So what was that urgent business of his yesterday?"

"Who knows? He'll tell us if we ask."

"We can't ask now. Aren't you frustrated? Someone who isn't us cheered Shuu up while we were unaware of it."

"Isn't that good? I thought that I haven't heard his voice a lot lately."

"Yeah, that's it. That's what I noticed too. I thought that Shuu seems to give advice to everyone, but he actually only answers questions, and he has never given advice of his own accord. Since no one, including me, asked Shuu questions lately, he doesn't need to talk."

"I feel like Shuu isn't very interested in other people. The only person he pays attention to is Narumiya from Kazemai High…"

Senichi and Manji first knew Shuu at the individual competition of the middle school prefectural tournament.

It was shocking. That there existed a boy the same age as them who was such a skilled archer.

The two boasted of having the highest hitting rates in their club, but the moment they saw Shuu shoot, they prostrated themselves before that overwhelming strength. For that reason, they asked an unreasonable favor of their parents and chose Kirisaki High School instead of a local high school. Unless they overcame Shuu, they were no match for the national finals. They thought that they would get close to him and steal his skills.

However, that intention vanished right after they enrolled.

Shuu was the Young Noble.

Without mentioning his good-looking appearance and a robust physique that surpassed those of others, someone who also had a sharp mind, an ancient and honorable pedigree, and a personality where he didn't self-deprecate as well as act conceited, was faultless and beyond reproach. As they continued to watch Shuu shooting from nearby, they were charmed by him more and more. How could he move his body so precisely? His shots were so unparalleled in their accuracy that one could think that there wasn't even one millimetre of deviation. It was worthy of being called a superhuman feat.

However, with Shuu missing the final shot at the prefectural tournament, they became aware of the pride and the heavy pressure of those who stood at the top. He missed, and yet his face did not crumble. Even now, he couldn't forget those empty eyes in his smiling face.

How embarrassing. The him who only stood next to Shuu and praised him. He was a cheap, insignificant existence.

Shuu was the "solitary" Young Noble.

There was no one here at Kirisaki who Shuu acknowledged, who stood next to him. There were no comrades for him.

"Sen-nii, you worship Shuu too much. Leaving that aside, keep me company for my hayake prevention training."

"Yeah, okay."

Manji wasn't as engrossed in Shuu as Senichi was. The brothers always spent the same amount of vigor and fire, but the time for separation might be approaching.

The two were going on their own paths.

"Manji."

"What is it, Sen-nii?"

"I'll move on from fast-shooting too. I'll definitely turn you back into a regular."

"…Yeah."

"I'll stop worshipping Shuu too."

"Yeah, that's good."

After they finished changing, they left the kyudojo.

There were almost no students left. Senichi and Manji returned to the dorms, but Shuu headed towards the bus stop by himself.

Senichi faced Shuu.

"Shuu, do you want to eat together after?"

"Sorry, my homework is piling up."

"Then, then, we'll see you off at the bus stop."

Senichi continued to talk as he walked.

"Hey, Shuu, do you have a brother?"

"What's with this all of a sudden? I have a sister who's a lot younger than me."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Takoyaki."

"Really? That's a bit surprising."

"To be precise, I like Japanese food in general."

"What about hobbies?"

"Open fires. When I watch a swaying flame, I strangely calm down."

"Calm down…"

He realized that Manji was panicking next to him, saying, "Sen-nii, Sen-nii, what are you doing!?"

This is hopeless. This is like a mixer or a marriage interview.

Senichi pulled himself together, and then revised the content of the conversation.

"Shuu, you could tell me and Manji apart from the very beginning, right? With which part do you usually do that?"

"Which part? I could tell immediately because your colours are different."

"Colours? No way, you can see the colours of people's auras?"

"I mean the personal characteristics, the features of something. The presence that exudes from a person, like facial expressions, mannerisms, thinking, actions, and so on. Well, before colours, you two have completely different faces. Sen looks more mature."

That's right. Shuu had never lumped us together as "the twins."

Even though we're twins, he recognizes us as separate people.

When the bus approached, Shuu turned away from them.

"Shuu. Will you watch my shooting tomorrow?"

"Okay, if you don't mind me doing it."

"I'll watch your shooting too. I'll immediately know the spots where you're different from usual. I watch you shoot every day, at any rate."

"…Yes, that's true."

Shuu turned around and placed his hand on Senichi's shoulder. This was the first time Shuu touched one of his teammates himself.

Shuu, wait for us.

We won't end up as just followers.

Senichi ran to the dorms, with Manji chasing behind him.

Kirisaki High School was not a boarding school, but there were many who lived in the dorms.

The Art Deco-style building was used as a vacation home and was remodelled, becoming a structure that was quite luxurious for a building that was intended for students.

Motomura's and Sase's room was the dorm leader's room, located in a corner of the top floor. The trees and high sky could be seen from the window, and there were not only writing desks and beds in the room, but also a sofa on which one could lie down. Of course, Sase's favourite idol, Noririn, smiled neatly and cleanly from atop his desk.

When Sase returned to his room, he first sat down on the right end of the sofa. That was because there was a window right next to it, and it was the best place for sunlight to shine in during the daytime, and moonlight during the night. For Motomura as well, the figure of his roommate there was strangely comforting.

Motomura took the position of dorm leader in his first year of high school. The dorm leader was chosen each spring from the residents by a majority vote. Usually, it was the oldest third-year who took the position, and was replaced every year, but the dorm leader at the time recommended and approved Motomura on a whim, and it continued on like that without him getting replaced. It seemed to be a very unusual situation.

And, the dorm leader was able to designate their roommate. The one he had always designated was Sase.

When Motomura first entered middle school, he had felt out of place in class. To give an example, he might have felt like a Japanese exchange student at a public school. Among his classmates who had to carefully think about how to treat a boy who was already brimming with refinement at a young age, Sase was the one who talked to him proactively. Sase loved idols, but he himself had idol-like qualities and a personality that was not bashful.

A young family head and a refreshing sportsman (who was an idol otaku on the inside). This slightly strange duo both chose the kyudo club for club activities, became friends, and that was how it was to this day.

Motomura sat next to Sase. He straightened his back and opened his notebook.

"Motomura, when's Kokutai?"

"October."

"It'll be a while, then. Even though you've been doing the qualifiers since January."

"That's right."

"Will you be okay? You have your parent-teacher meeting, so give your chores to me."

"Yes, I would have asked you even if you had not told me to."

Being a third-year in high school also meant preparing for university entrance exams. Many people retired from their clubs, not just the kyudo club after the prefectural tournament in June, went into exam preparation mode. There were not many who still continued their club activities, and they feel an anxiety all the same. The Interscholastic Athletic Meet, also known as the "National Tournament (High School Generals)" was in August, and the National Athletic Meet, also known as "Kokutai," was in October. It was not easy to sustain motivation.

Motomura and Sase were no exception. The two considered public universities and well-known difficult private universities—in other words, going to Tokyo. They had to decide their future course according to their situation from now on. A strong preparedness was needed to balance studying for exams and athletic activities.

Sase was said to be strong when it mattered, and he himself also thought that, but in fact it was different. As long as he was not someone who shot a hundred hits, he would have ups and downs. Sase was able to bring along with him the highest, best positions of those waves to when it mattered, in other words, to important days. Motomura watched Sase and learned to read his own waves and assemble a schedule.

"Motomura, rub my feet."

Sase threw his feet onto the sofa. With a "good grief" look on his face, Motomura pressed his thumb to the arches of his feet.

"Ooh, I'm in heaven. While you're at it, could I have you rub my calves too? Owww, your nails are cutting into me!"

"It's good that Senichi-kun and Manji-kun are working very hard, isn't it. I want to cheer them on."

"Those two are always glued to Fujiwara's sides. The former synchro twins are now the 'symmetrical twins.'"

"Don't you think Fujiwara-kun is such a waste? There should have been an invitation to enter the Kokutai qualifiers for him as well. You can participate Kokutai boys' division from the age of fifteen. They should not have ignored him, who was the champion for the overall individual competitions."

"He's still a first-year, so he doesn't have to rush, right?"

"We don't have a lot of time left. While knowing that we were getting busier and under a lot of pressure, we took on the tournament. I do not want to do things by halves."

"Right."

Sase put his feet back on the floor and patted Motomura's knee. Upon that, it was Motomura's turn to put his feet on the sofa. Massaging each other was a daily routine for the two of them.

Motomura was thinking.

That he might be pretending to devote himself to kyudo.

He would like to delay choosing his future course after high school, and if possible, he did not want to choose. Even though he had managed to discover such a comfortable place, why couldn't it stay like this?

In reality, even though he had lost to the younger Fujiwara for the individual competition, he had felt almost no feelings of frustration. Instead, he had even felt cheerful. He just loved shooting a bow and was indifferent to winning, so the feeling of guilt of whether or not he should be participating in the High School Generals and Kokutai was always in a corner of his mind.

As though he had seen through to Motomura's feelings, Sase stopped his hands.

Beneath the crescent moon, a cat with golden eyes smiled.

"Well then, shall we invite our cute kouhais?"

"We must give them a pep talk, don't we?"

The two brought their faces together and laughed.

Some time later, Shuu was invited to eat dinner at the dorm, and after eating, he, Senichi, and Manji were invited to the room on the dorm's top floor.

Sase spread his arms wide.

"Welcome, to Daigo's & Hiroki's room!"

"Ooh, so cool—. It's got a good view. Wah, there's so much workbooks. Hieeee!"

"You'll do these Akahon when you're graduating." (2)

"No, I'll have to pass on them."

The five freely sat on the floor.

Even though it was after dinner, they arranged the drinks and sweets that they had brought with them and stuffed their mouths with them all at once. Perhaps to be polite, no one sat on the sofa, which had room for three people.

After he satisfied his appetite for a while, Manji looked around the room.

"Motomura-senpai, you said something like how this room is a bit different than the others, but there's nothing really different about it? It just has a wider layout and a sofa."

"Haven't you noticed? There is not enough of what can be said to be a characteristic of a corner room here."

"Not enough?"

Senichi and Manji examined their surroundings once more. They looked under the beds and opened the closets. They were about to put their hands on the drawers, but because it was quite possible that they were going to search the entire room, Sase told them the answer.

"The characteristic of a corner room is having a lot of windows. There are many cases where there are windows not only in one direction, but also on the side. But somehow this room only has a wall there."

"Wall…so there is a dead body buried in it after all…"

Ignoring Senichi and Manji, who were making faces, Motomura and Sase moved the sofa in front of the wall. After they had done that, a small sliding door, big enough to allow one person to go through, appeared at the bottom of the wall.

"Please come in," Sase said, indicating with his palm.

While the twins were deciding who was going to enter first, Shuu got on his knees on the floor, crawled and entered inside. Behind him, Senichi, Manji, Motomura, and Sase followed.

What Shuu saw was a tatami-matted floor, a tokonoma, and mud walls. The size of the room was only about four and a half tatami mats. (3)

"This is…could this be a tea room?"

"Yes. That door was a 'nijiri-guchi.' (4) This dorm was originally used as a vacation home by a British couple, so I think they likely built it by imitation. This tea room is probably the playful spirit and imagination of that couple. Although it was turned into a storeroom, Sase and I moved everything out and tried to restore it."

Regarding Motomura as the host, the five sat.

The flickering light of the andon lamp. (5)

Moonlight poured down from the high window.

"Today, we have something important we want to talk to everyone about, so we invited you here. This summer, I want all the members here to take part in the national tournament."

"…Huh?"

Senichi's and Manji's voices overlapped. The shadows on their faces darkened, and the tatami mats creaked.

"Motomura-senpai, what are you saying? We lost at the prefectural tournament. We lost…"

Manji grit his teeth, and even Shuu was infected by that pain.

It was unnecessary to search for a cause of defeat in kyudo.

They lost because Manji and Shuu missed.

The Kirisaki High School Kyudo Club's "summer" had already ended before they could greet summer.

"The name of the door that we went through, 'nijiri-guchi,' means the shuffling door. Just as that suggests, you cannot enter inside without bending to your knees and shuffling your feet. It is probably the embodiment of Sen no Rikyu's (6) ideology to favor neither those of high social status nor low, but for us, it is the door to another world. Only when you are on your knees and hanging your head can you see through to the other side."

Shuu clenched his hand.

What do our senpais want to say?

No way——.

Senichi, thinking of Manji's and Shuu's positions, raised his voice.

"I'm really sorry, senpais, but we have already moved on. Kirisaki High School will win the kyudo selections in the fall and next year's nationals, and we will report that to you."

"Aaah, so they don't get it."

"It seems so."

Sase and Motomura said, seemingly enjoying themselves.

"It was bad of Sensei to not explain it properly as well, but none of you seemed to have read the tournament main points properly. Kyudo selections in the fall? Next year? So you've set the goal of being national champions a long time ahead. Don't you have to win the regional tournament that's right before your eyes?"

"Of course we want to win. But, even if we win the regional tournament, we can't advance to nationals. Only the schools that won the prefectural tournaments can take part in the national tournament."

"That's true usually. However, this year's Inter-High is a once-a-decade commemoration tournament. In the year of a commemoration tournament, the number of participating schools will be increased, but the condition is 'regional tournament champion school.'"

Someone made a gulping sound.

"If we win the regional tournament, we can go to nationals?"

"——Yes, it's a repechage." (7)

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#tsurune #tsurune translation

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