"Phew…"
Kagura raised the bow in her hands, staring intently at the distant target. Due to her unfamiliarity and nerves, her fingers still trembled slightly.
"Relax, Kagura, relax. To aim properly, you have to calm your heart and concentrate."
Rudolf Ojou-sama stood slightly bent behind Kagura, gently holding her hands to steady her arms, the other hand wrapped lightly around Kagura's waist, helping her adjust her posture.
After her second race, Rudolf had decided to relax for a few days. With nothing else to occupy her, she'd dragged Kagura to Tracen Academy's Kyūdō club the very next day.
It was called a club, but in reality, practically nobody ever came here anymore. Only Rudolf would occasionally wander in to shoot a few arrows when she had nothing better to do. After all, this hobby was a bit too old-fashioned.
This was Kagura's first experience with archery. Though the innate strength of an Uma Musume allowed even a child like her to easily pull Rudolf's bowstring, aiming was still a huge problem. She needed Rudolf's constant guidance.
"Concentrate… Concentrate…"
Holding a bow steadily to aim demanded considerable arm endurance. Kagura felt her difficulty wasn't just because she'd never shot arrows before; after holding the position a short while, her arms already began to ache. Her aim wobbled continuously—anyone watching her previous shots might've praised her as a genius at missing the target.
Watching Rudolf casually draw the bow, effortlessly aiming and hitting the bullseye, Kagura felt sincere admiration. The relaxed, effortless manner clearly indicated that Rudolf had practiced archery for a long time.
After a lengthy period of careful aiming—and with Rudolf's help—Kagura finally steadied her aim again. Narrowing her eyes at the distant target, she released her next arrow.
With the whistle of an arrow slicing through the air, Kagura's shot landed solidly on the target—or more accurately, barely clipped the target's outermost edge. Any closer and it would have missed entirely.
"Ah… Still terribly off…"
"It's fine. Today's your first time using a bow, isn't it? Managing to hit the target at all after such a short time is already impressive."
"How long have you practiced, Ojou-sama?"
"I don't really remember. I've liked shooting arrows casually since childhood, so by now it's been quite a few years."
Saying this, Rudolf gently rubbed Kagura's head. For some reason, she felt that stroking Kagura's head was particularly addictive. Fortunately, Kagura never minded.
"Kagura, keep practicing a few shots. I'll go grab some water for you."
"Ah… Ojou-sama, maybe I should—"
"I said today is your rest day. Be good and wait here."
Not giving Kagura any chance to argue, Rudolf dashed away quickly.
——你这射术就是逊呐!(Your archery sucks!)
As soon as Rudolf left, these words immediately appeared on Kagura's phone screen. Eclipse-san even wrote it specifically in Chinese as if worried Kagura wouldn't understand Japanese.
You're so harsh, Eclipse-san! And where did you even learn Chinese!?
——I'm quite international, of course I know a bit! Never mind that, relax your body. I'll give you a demonstration on how to shoot properly!
You even know archery, Eclipse-san??
——Just a little. Not exactly a master or anything.
On the one hand, Kagura was genuinely curious about how Eclipse-san would demonstrate this. On the other, she truly wanted to improve her archery. She obediently followed Eclipse-san's instructions and relaxed her body.
Soon, Kagura felt a strange sensation overtaking her. She issued no commands to her body, yet it began to move on its own. Kagura felt as if she'd become a mere observer, seeing herself in the third person—aware of her body yet utterly unable to control it.
If anyone were close enough to notice, they'd see Kagura's eyes had turned dark crimson.
So you really can possess my body, Eclipse-san!!
"I don't particularly like doing this. It consumes far too much energy. After this, I won't be able to give you dream guidance on racing for the rest of the month. But I thought this was important—archery helps your poor concentration. I don't have much time, so learn properly from this—"
Controlling Kagura's body, Eclipse muttered quietly. With practiced ease, she drew an arrow from the quiver on her back, set it to the bow, and released it without hesitation, almost as if she never needed to aim at all.
Whoosh—!
The arrow flew with astonishing force, embedding itself dead-center in the bullseye. Kagura watched, completely stunned. Eclipse's entire process, from drawing to releasing, was shockingly quick. It seemed as though there had been no aiming phase at all, yet her arrow flew perfectly straight.
"Ah… Sorry, sorry. Reflex took over, and I forgot you're still a beginner. Here, remember this feeling clearly: take the arrow, draw the bow, then concentrate, aim…"
As Eclipse's voice faded, Kagura suddenly regained control over her body. She was still holding the bow drawn and steady, with no hint of shaking or fatigue.
After Eclipse's presence faded, Kagura couldn't hear her voice anymore. Unable to glance down at her phone screen, she could only try her hardest to memorize how it felt to hold the bow this way.
After carefully aiming again, Kagura released the arrow, which struck firmly on the target. Although not the bullseye, it was vastly better than her first wild shots.
——Yes, that's it! Quickly, shoot a couple more before you forget this feeling!
——Later, tell your Ojou-sama to let you practice here regularly whenever you have free time. Since you're aiming to be a frontrunner, your dreadful concentration absolutely needs improvement. Don't count on me to help you run on the track—I definitely won't!
It made sense why Eclipse took this issue so seriously. Clearly, she'd always been watching carefully for opportunities to help Kagura fix her chronic problems.
"Kagura, take a break and drink some water—oh, you've already hit the bullseye? You've got talent!"
Shortly after Eclipse's departure, Rudolf returned carrying a bottle of water. Seeing several more arrows on the target in the distance, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
The bullseye arrow had clearly been shot deliberately, straight and perfect—not some random fluke. Recalling that just moments ago Kagura could barely hold the bow steady, Rudolf felt genuinely astonished.
"Hehe… It was just an accident… Um, Ojou-sama, I feel like archery might help train my concentration. Could I practice here more often?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely! I was worried you wouldn't be interested. There are extra bows and protective gear here. Nobody usually comes anyway, so you're welcome anytime."
Hearing Kagura wanted to use archery to improve concentration, Rudolf naturally became even more enthusiastic. She'd previously been struggling to ignite Kagura's competitive spirit, hoping she'd develop an athlete's mindset. Now Kagura had taken the initiative—clearly showing a desire to improve—and Rudolf couldn't be happier.
"Honestly, after all this time, you're the first classmate who's ever shown interest in archery… You really manage to surprise me quite often, Kagura."
"Really? So you've been practicing here alone all along?"
"Pretty much. Very few others come here. There just aren't many who share this hobby. Everyone's busy training normally, and when they have time off, they'd rather rest. Naturally, nobody comes around."
Although Rudolf's presence had kept the club from being disbanded, the lack of new members had always been obvious. Encountering Kagura's newfound interest gave Rudolf the joyful feeling of meeting a kindred spirit.
"Then, is it alright if I bother you frequently in the future?"
"This kind of 'bother' is exactly what I want! Come, let's practice a bit more!"