Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 105

Bow in Hand

The two of them didn’t stay in the dressing room for long; they walked out one after the other.

Kurosawa, now dressed in a hakama, looked like a noble young man due to his handsome appearance and upright figure, exuding an extraordinary temperament.

“I’m ready now. We can begin,” Kurosawa said politely, looking towards Sato, the ninth dan, who was wearing a kimono.

After the somewhat impolite challenge earlier, he wanted to maintain a respectful tone. 

In the archery hall, there were many rules, and higher-ranking archers wore a kimono instead of a hakama to signify their status.

Wearing a kimono in the archery hall was not something one could do casually. It was either during special occasions or for those who were fourth dan or higher.

“He didn’t bring his own bow. Mirai, go help him choose one,” Sato didn’t seem to care about his attitude. He glanced at both of them, noticing their neat clothes and calm expressions, and spoke calmly.

In the Neon archery world, the length of the bows was almost identical, around 221cm, making the bows stand out; they were taller than the archers.

“How much draw weight do you need?” Hearing Sato’s words, Shiromiya nodded and asked.

“25 kilograms should be fine,” Kurosaw replied. 

He had some experience with this during his time in the University of Tokyo’s archery club, so he had a decent understanding of it.

Draw weight refers to the amount of force needed to pull a bowstring.

“That heavy?” Shiromiya was somewhat surprised.

Under normal circumstances, the draw weight for young men fluctuated around 15 kilograms. 

Having a draw weight of 25 kilograms was far above the average.

“If it’s too light, it won’t feel right,” Kurosawa nodded confidently.

The system rewarded him with the skill of Archery Mastery, not Archery Dojo Mastery, so he wasn’t familiar with many rules of the Neon Archery world. 

However, being proficient in archery allowed him to easily handle a bow and endowed him with strong arm strength.

“Are you sure it’s okay? 25 kilograms is quite heavy,” Shiromiya looked at his figure and couldn’t help but worry.

No matter how she looked at it, Kurosawa didn’t seem like a powerful person.

“Bring me my bow,” Sato didn’t comment on his choice and simply turned to a middle-aged man, instructing.

“Yes.”

This was his disciple, and upon hearing the command, he briskly went to fetch the bow.

Having the opportunity to see the master shoot was indeed a rare occurrence.

In no time, the disciple returned with a bow and handed it to his master.

Sato remained silent, extending his hand to grasp the bow. 

The moment he held the bow, his already imposing presence became even more dignified, resembling the appearance of a master archer.

Just standing in place, he exuded an extraordinary aura.

“Here you go.”

At the same time, Shiromiya brought a bow and two arrows to Kurosawa

Beside her was Uesugi, who had gone with them to help just now.

“Thank you.”

Kurosawa smiled faintly, extending his hand to take the bow.

The moment he grasped the bow, he felt a surge, spreading from his palm to his entire body.

In an instant, he seemed to enter another state. 

The bow, over two meters long, felt like an extension of his arm, familiar to the point of being inseparable.

He had experienced this feeling before in the University Archery Club.

The mastery of archery was terrifying. Something within him seemed to awaken.

It was a talent, a formidable talent, as if he were born to be adept at archery.

“!”

At that moment, Shiromiya, standing in front of him, was suddenly startled. Her delicate body trembled, and she took two steps back.

As the distance increased, she noticed that the unserious demeanor of Kurosawa completely vanished after he took the bow. 

Instead, there was a chilling and overwhelming pressure.

Looking into his eyes felt like staring into the eyes of a hawk. If caught, there was a sense of extreme danger, making him appear fierce.

On the side, Sato could only see his back and couldn’t witness his front.

While he couldn’t see Kurosawa’s face, Sato keenly felt that he transformed the moment he grasped the bow.

The silhouette resembled that of a professional archer; he seemed highly skilled with the bow and arrow.

“I am Sato Shinichi. What is your name?” Realizing that this young man was no ordinary archer, Sato abandoned his dismissive thoughts and inquired.

Originally, he had no interest in remembering the young man’s name. 

He planned to use this opportunity to teach him a lesson and then send him away.

However, the young man’s demeanor was worth remembering.

“Kurosawa Hikaru.”

Kurosawa turned around to face him, meeting his gaze.

There was a distance of about three meters between them.

Despite the distance, their sharp gazes collided.

“Intriguing. How do you propose we compete?” Sato asked, observing Kurosawa’s piercing gaze against his calm expression.

“We can compete in anything, but I’d like you to shoot first,” Kurosawa suggested, not being very familiar with the rules of archery in Neon.

“Since your bow strength is impressive, let’s compete at a distance. The shooting range is 60 meters and the target is 79 centimeters. It’s a one-arrow soul-binding competition, with Uesugi as the examiner,” said Sato, setting the rules without hesitation. (1)

“Agreed.”

“Follow me to the long-range shooting range.”

With the rules established, Sato led the way, moving towards another competition location, with Kurosawa naturally following suit.

Observing this, the others also put down their bows and followed.

Passing through a wooden corridor, they quickly arrived at another target range.

Compared to the previous one, this range was longer, larger, and wider, but the interior decorations were similar.

On the walls hung two calligraphic paintings.

These two pieces of calligraphy were titled “Archery Training” and “Rituals and Archery Ethics,” representing fundamental thoughts on archery.

“Let’s begin.”

Upon entering the archery range, Uesugi spoke.

Hearing this, the grizzled Sato took his bow, executed a ritual step, and moved forward.

As for Kurosawa, he mimicked his movements entirely. Imitating someone made learning relatively straightforward.

The footsteps of the two were slow because archery in Neon emphasized culture, non-lethality, and placed great importance on etiquette and ceremonial aspects of competition.

As times evolved, due to its characteristics of self-cultivation, solemnity, and elegance, archery had become a trend in recent years, developing into a noble sport.

Walking gracefully, they arrived at an open space. They then knelt down, performed a bow, stood up, took a few steps, and knelt down again.

Following this, Sato exchanged the bow from his left hand to his right, and his left hand began to move. 

He bent his arm from the sleeve, removed half of it, revealing the left side of his chest and arm.

Due to his old age, his skin was a bit loose, but there were still visible muscles.

In contrast, Kurosawa removed half of his sleeve, exposing his left shoulder.

With fair and radiant skin, well-defined muscle contours, and a well-developed chest, after all, he was a young man.

“Beautiful,” remarked Uesugi, witnessing this scene.

This Kurosawa Hikaru, just a few days ago when he first came to the archery club, didn’t know anything at all.

But now, his movements were so standard and precise, not much inferior to Sato.

“Indeed.”

Shiromiya glanced at the left shoulder of Kurosawa, her gaze slightly captivated.

Seeing someone revealing half a shoulder was something she had gotten used to since childhood in the archery dojo. 

She had also seen university archery athletes but never paid much attention to them. 

However, when Kurosawa took off half of his shirt, revealing his shoulder, it really made her blush and her heart race.

TL Notes:

1. 1. “One arrow soul-binding competition conveys the idea that a single, precise shot is sufficient to demonstrate exceptional skill and achieve victory.