Obstinate Elitists

5

In the midst of the crowded hallway were two warm hands, clasping around one another. It was a rather strange sight to see, as these two strangers blocked the traffic of students heading to class, forcing ongoers to maneuver around them. The big problem was that one of the strangers was you. The other stranger was a beautiful, young man who reminded you entirely of the ocean. His hues lulled you in like the sea and looking straight into them could almost be dangerous, as stupid and cheesy that sounded.

Quickly letting go of his hand, he followed suit and now the two of you were just standing there awkwardly. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers, he nudged his head slightly to signify that you both should start walking again. Following him down the marble staircase of the school, you tried your best to keep up with his strides, but man were his legs long. "Um... thank you for helping me," you said, clearing your throat.

"It was nothing," he responded. To your surprise, he slowed down and you were finally walking side by side with him. He then leaned towards you, causing you to grow slightly flustered at the close proximity. He glanced down at the sheet of paper in front of you and raised his eyebrows. Backing away from your personal space bubble, he looked away thoughtfully. You took a deep breath, for you could relax once again. "I have archery 2nd period too. We're in the same class."

"We are?" Simply not knowing him well enough, you didn't exactly have any strong feelings to the idea. He was nice so far, but your goal here wasn't to make friends. But at least you didn't have to spend another ten minutes trying to find the classroom this time, since you would have him.

He nodded. "I don't think we've introduced ourselves yet. What is your name?"

"[Y/N]. What's yours?"

"Namiko."

His name really matched him well.

Before you could figure out a response to his curt response, the boy -- Namiko, stopped in front of a doorway. Peaking inside the room, you could see there were rows and rows of targets, red paint lining into multiple circles until they stopped into the middle as a fat dot. The floor lined in glazy, planked wood, it was built similarly like a traditional room, with tall bamboos being grown against the wall of one side. Since there was a window of the view outside, a small ray of sunshine entered the area, casting a golden glow.

The first thing that awaited the students were a large table that contained kyudogis, archery uniforms that were robe-like and fell into black skirts for its bottom half. Taking one for yourself, the boy beside you did the same. Holding it within your arms, just like with the other class, a changing session into new uniforms awaited you.

In a carbon-copy locker room similar to before, you tugged the uniform on and stuffed your materials into a locker. Your fingers pinching the fabric of the long skirt, you held them up to prevent yourself from tripping over. Sighing to yourself, you crossed the hallway and returned to the classroom. Who knew how tiring changing could be? Were... you going to have to do this for every single class?

The teacher showed up as an older man with a long, dark gray hair and a graying beard. His slim eyes gazing at everyone in a strict manner, you couldn't help but straighten your posture the second they laid upon you. Wearing a kyudogi as well, he swept across the room with a bow in his hand. "Welcome class. This is archery and I am Asano, your instructor. I would like us not to dawdle and talk for too long, so I am going to let you do your own thing. Use the bow to shoot the arrow towards the target. I will go around to inspect everyone and help anyone if needed. Off you go."

Wait wait wait. That was it?! Mouth agape in disbelief, you turned around to see everyone getting to work already. Rushing to a large basket filled of bows, everyone wrestled to find the best one among all of them. It was only you who stood in the sidelines, confused as fuck. The feeling of panic returned, but this time being much worse. In Martial Arts, those were just the basics... but this? This was basically a pre-test!