Chapter 137 - Bullseye

"I'll deal with it after the conference."

Homura Ryuu sighed. There was nothing really he could do about it since it was a sudden request. Regardless of how much urgent he felt this matter about the prophecy was personally, it wasn't something that important that people around him should give priority to.

It wasn't a clan matter after all.

"Alright," the Koutaishidenka agreed before ending the call.

He would have to wait when Gin returned or tomorrow after he and Ara registered their marriage or the day after that.

Feeling a bit down, Ryuu decided to go and take his bath. In a matter of minutes, he had already discarded his kyudo uniform and left it on the tatami floor in an amorphous heap.

In the Cedar Palace, he had the biggest room with its own huge walk-in bath. The place was around forty square meters big and was designed to look like a natural spring. The big pool could fit around eight adults complete with a faux waterfall, similar to the design of the ryokan in Hakone. The sides of the room were lined with decorative rocks, while the far wall was open, leading to a small zen garden.

At the corner of the room was a bath area, as the Japanese usually clean their bodies before soaking into the hot bath. Wanting to rush back to where Ara was, Ryuu immediately went to the small shower room to clean his body with shampoo and soap. For a guy, he normally took long baths because he liked soaking in the hot water, but this time he would only take a short dip.

He had finished his shower and was about to go into the hot water when he felt a flighty aura outside his door. Lifting his head, his blue gaze shifted towards his room, in time to see Mavara move from his arm towards his back where he usually stayed and pretended to be a tattoo.

With a displeased sigh, he turned around to grab a towel, wrapped it around his lower half before striding across the room to go near the screen.

"Young Master!"

The urgency in the servant's voice alerted him, and he removed the towel to dry himself quickly. "What's wrong?"

He took a new set of kimono, but threw it aside and grabbed a set of modern shirt and pants instead to change into as he waited for the servant to explain things.

"Miss Ara–"

Upon hearing Ara's name, the Koutaishidenka immediately strode towards the screen door again and slid it open, his heart racing.

"What happened to Ara?" he demanded but he already stepped out of his room as the servant finished his report.

"Miss Ara is alright Young Master – at least before I hurried to come to find you. She's at the dojo trying to shoot some arrows."

Ha?

Homura Ryuu halted and turned to the servant with a look of incredulity. "You fetched me because she wants to learn archery?"

And he thought there was some kind of emergency.

The tension on his body left, leaving him feeling weak all of a sudden. However, it wasn't for long.

"No Young Master. Miss Ara started shooting without learning the basics or wearing the proper gear. She was about to fire an arrow before I left!"

WHAT?

Ryuu was aghast. "You should have told me sooner!"

It was safe to say that the people saw their Young Master running like the devil was after him towards the dojo to see what his wife was doing. As he did, he prayed, although he never prayed before that nothing untoward had happened.

The most causes of archery-related accidents came from damaged bows or bowstrings snapping. The Koutaishidenka always made sure all components of both the bows and arrows were thoroughly checked daily for any signs of damages which included cracks, chips, fraying, warping and any other wear and tear that could compromise the integrity of the equipment. The possibility of his equipment breaking was very low.

However, there were other possible causes of archery-related injuries, and second to poor equipment was failing to wear proper gear or attire. It's imperative to make sure people were properly dressed for the activity. One should never wear scarves, hoods, jewelry, or anything excessively loose. There have been cases of jewelry like necklaces, bracelets, and earrings getting caught in a fired arrow causing serious wounds.

Homura Ryuu tried to remember what Ara was wearing as he reached the dojo building. He couldn't recall if she's wearing a necklace, although she did wear her engagement ring.

"Damn," he muttered as he ran towards the dojo entrance, and his eyes caught the sight of the arrow embedded on the wooden floor, and they widened in horror as he hastily turned his gaze towards his fiancée who was about to shoot another arrow with a weird stance.

"Ara!"

=================

Ooops…

Suzuki Ara stared at the stray arrow embedded on the polished wooden floor with a sheepish smile.

Uh-oh…

She would be scolded so much later. But that was later. She still had something to do right now, she thought as she took another arrow from a reluctant servant.

"Miss Ara, I think it's better to wait for the Young Master to teach you," Yayoi advised her nervously, as she tried to follow her around, but Ara just grinned at her.

Mischief danced in her silver-grey orbs. "It's okay. No need to wait for him, I can handle this," she told her reassuringly.

She was not believable though. The proof she couldn't do it was in the middle of the room, rooted on the wooden floor.

"Er… I think it's really better if Miss Ara would wait. You also need to wear proper gear first," Yayoi continued to persuade her to change her mind, but she didn't.

The bow and arrow felt weird in her hands because they're the traditional Japanese type, but she thought she still could shoot them. Ara was used to the much simpler and shorter western style. The bow she used back in Ritz was only a meter and twenty centimeters long while the one she's holding now was two meters in length.

"Miss Ara…" Yayoi tried again but stopped as she stepped further back as if to hide.

The other servants, seeing as she was about to shoot again also hid for safety. Ara wanted to laugh. By now she already got a feel of the bow and was sure she could fire properly. But of course, nobody would believe her if she said it so it's much better to show them her ability.

She loaded the arrow in the bow and grinned. This was actually quite easy as she didn't have a moving target. Back in Ritz, Lucius and Rubic had trained her well to the point she could shoot arrows easily on horseback – with moving targets too!

She squinted at the target several meters in front, took a deep breath and released the arrow at the same time Ryuu stepped into the dojo.

THWIP!

"Ara!"

She turned to see Ryuu rushing towards her with worry.

"Why didn't you wait for me? I could teach you," her fiancé scolded her.

"No need. I know how to shoot," she answered back in amusement, much to Ryuu's disbelief. "Really, I know how to shoot," she assured him with a smile. "Look!"

She pointed ahead, and everyone followed where her finger indicated several meters ahead on the target.

True enough, on the target were two arrows. One was fired by Ryuu early this morning, and another was the one Ara shot just now.

It was a bullseye.