Chapter 7: The dream that the dragon shows me (1/2)

Chapter 7: The dream that the dragon shows me

This was a hella long chapter and also a complicated one to translate.

I ended up translating until 5:00 am. Yeah, when i begin translating i normally can’t stop.

Anyways, this shows a bit of backstory on our MC, i think? It may even be foreshadowing characters to come.

Enjoy ^^

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“N? This is… the clubs archery dojo?” (Makoto)

The inside of my mind is not clear. Why, am I here?

Suddenly… not, right?

If I am inside the dojo its club activities. The strange uneasiness disappears as I reorder my thoughts.

I am still wearing my dogi (TN: uniform for training used in japan).

In my hands I had my bow.

It’s the place I was supposed to be huh. Certainly, after sending everyone off, I trained alone in the bow.

This is no good. My mind went out somewhere in the low time that I can remain here.

“I feel that the captain (TN: changed president to captain) will get mad at me again” (Makoto)

To change my mood I sit down and decide to go with ‘hit in the middle’

Fire. Hit.

There is no opponent.

Continuing, another arrow. Hit.

The target in front of me is hit by my arrow. I take out the bamboo arrow and the shot arrow is remaining.

“Un, my condition is good” (Makoto)

Now that I think about it, it’s soon the time to change positions huh.

“The captain will most like be Higashi. I wonder who will become the vice-captain” (Makoto)

Mu. Again. My heart is noisy.

For my ‘hit in the middle’ to go far off is not something that happens often.

Why is it?

I place my bow aside for now and sit in seiza.

“Vice-captain. Vice-captain… was, me?” (Makoto)

I find the reason of my uneasiness.

What an incoherent thing.

I don’t remember wanting to be one though. Was I unexpectedly an ambitious person?

Then I should have aimed for captain at the very least. I am so small.

More like, the changing position has not occurred ‘yet’.

The senpais’ every year, before bon festival vacation, will announce the next captain and vice-captain. Probably inside the group they had decided this a long time ago though.

That is supposed to be the custom.

I look around the dojo.

I see a shadow that seemed to have slightly moved. But, when I try to look again there is no one. An optical illusion?

Well if no one has heard about it, then its fine though.

“fu…” (Makoto)

My feelings calm down.

The third shot was right in the middle. It pierced the arrow before it. Somehow, though.

Let’s finish this for today.

Unexpectedly deciding to finish ahead of time, I left with slight regret. If my condition was good I would have continued.

In my field of vision I see my tools receptacle.

I find there a personal bow that I am used to see.

That’s right, before finishing I would always use that one at least once. Why is it that I almost forgot to even do that?

An anxiety that drove uneasiness on me.

Holding the bow I pull the string. Compared to the one before, this one offers more resistance. However, that for me is more comfortable.

“Fu!!” (Makoto)

I unintentionally let out a voice from this sensation I haven’t felt for a long time. I have done this every day and yet why do I feel like this?

The arrow I shot in a place considerably far from the target, pierces it.

Damn. Even though I was always trying to miss it.

“No choice. Though taking it out is quite troublesome” (Makoto)

Breathing a sigh I head to recover the arrow, then after ending the troublesome job I put everything in order and finish changing.

Changing into my uniform again I finish inspecting and head for the exit.

In that place, a single girl was there.

—

“Senpai, otsukaresama (TN: thanks for your hard work today)”

The one who said this set phrase was my kohai.

I recall that she is the girl who joined late to our club. She is a really zealous person and has already reached the level of the new recruits. Rather, she has surpassed them.

After all, there aren’t many who have experience in archery before middle school. The one with experience says so.

“Ah, Hasegawa huh. What’s wrong? Did you stay here until now?” (Makoto)

“A, yes. I, before vacations, there was something I must… you know…” (Hasegawa)

“N? If it’s to hit the target you have already done it right?” (Makoto)

If I’m not mistaken, she told me she had such a goal.

But If I remember right, she has already achieved her goal in July, when she hit the head of the target.

In my eyes it was a fluke shot. And it wasn’t in the middle but just a hit.

Though, even if it was a fluke, it meant that she had reached the level where she could accomplish that. Her improvement was fast. At least she is a lot faster than me.

“No, it’s not that, a~… Don’t you know?!” (Hasegawa)

“About what? I don’t know at all. Aa, did you forget something?” (Makoto)

Hasegawa slightly droops her shoulders after hearing my words.

The girl hung her head down, her black hair that was tinted red by the light was swaying with the wind. Just like when I taught her about posture, her hair was put together in a side ponytail.

A pony tail will forever be one romance of us men, but a side tail also has a meaning to it.

Seeing the girl with a different style of hair, and helping me in a new thing I had though out, I unconsciously told her ‘it suits you’.

That she later faithfully always came in that same hairstyle made me remember the name of the girl.

The me who has short hair has not tried it before but with that hair of hers, doesn’t it hurt when she puts it up like that?

“Misumi-senpai” (Hasegawa)

The girl’s voice brings me back from my delusion mode.

“Un? What is it?” (Makoto)

If it’s some distress I have to help her resolve it. Of course, it has to be in the range of what I can do. As a senpai I want to show her my capacity.

“I have admired you for a long time. I like you. Please go out with me” (Hasegawa)

“??”

“??”

“??”

An incredible silence. Even though there should be miscellaneous sounds geez. I couldn’t feel or hear any of those.

… Yes?

What did this girl say?

Ihavealwaysadmiredyou?

Ilikeyou?

Pleasegooutwithme?

What am I even saying? I am not even that attractive. I want to say that the inside is but from the taste of people it would be faster to count them backwards. That kind of level.

Studying, well only in the subjects I like but I am regular at it.

Aside from archery, in physical ed. I am in the mid-top, no, right in the middle.

Moreover, the kohai in front of me is looking up to me, a bit, a bit!

A bit okay?!

However, in the club, especially this girl, shouldn’t have those kind of feelings for me though?

“Sen,pai?” (Hasegawa)

Timidly after the confession she raises up her lowered head. Hasegawa was looking at me fervently.

You have to look a bit more up, te! Now is not the time for that.

“Nonono. Wait, wait please” (Makoto)

I picture the situation. To be able to comprehend the present scenario I have to ask a number of questions to the girl. First, from the most important point.

“You, what you said the first day when you registered to the club, what was that?” (Makoto)

“That?” (Hasegawa)

“You certainly declared even though I didn’t asked, that you already had a boyfriend didn’t you? What was that? Are you telling me you already broke up with him?!” (Makoto)

“That was, before I entered the club, my friends told me of Ibuki-senpai. I thought I had to have some protection so I unintentionally…” (Hasegawa)

“It was a lie?!” (Makoto)

“Yes” (Hasegawa)

What encouraging words! I mean, to think her friends would be worried to the point of being cautious when she decided to join, all because of the bad friend of mine, Ibuki (tears)

“But you, when I tried to correct your posture you tried to hit me with the bow going ‘Hiaaaa!!!’ or something like that and screamed quite loudly” (Makoto)

That’s why for the sake of her not misunderstanding, I kept in mind to have the slightest amount of skinship with her.

At first I used the method of asking one of the girl members to teach her what I told her, but.

It would take the hands of double the people so I decided it was extremely pointless and stopped it.

To fall in love because of that?! No, that is impossible! If that was it I would already have a girlfriend by now!

How unpopular I am? Well, it is to the point that I want to seal it in my dark history. That’s how unpopular I know I am.

If I say it one by one I would end up standing here all day so I would like to refrain from it!

“That is, because you touched me so suddenly? So I unintentionally. Senpai came from behind me when my heart wasn’t prepared yet so…” (Hasegawa)

“A~I see, I am sorry. Hey, Hasegawa” (Makoto)

“Yes” (Hasegawa)

“I am sorry, I have no intention of going out with you. This may be old but I want to begin dating when I fall in love. That’s why if you suddenly tell me that I can’t accept it” (Makoto)

This opportunity may not come twice but, ‘I will like her after I date’, that kind of thinking I have some opposition to it.

If I love someone I will confess from my side and then if she accepts, I we will date. That’s how I like it.

I do think it’s stupid. Ibuki also tells me that a lot. Then if there is a girl that likes you and confesses to you, you will wait until you have the same feelings for her to confess and refuse all those girls? Is what he said.

‘What is wrong with falling in love while dating?’ those words he told me, I thought they were correct and I understand them but, no matter what, my feelings just won’t accept it. I am a fool.

“I don’t want!” (Hasegawa)

“Eeee?!” (Makoto)

What is with this turn of events?

This is not in my dictionary.

“Then its fine if it’s just a testing time! After that please fall in love with me! Is that no good senpai? Ma… Makoto-san!” (Hasegawa) (TN: to say your first name is a really kinky thing in Japan (lol))

Bufuwu!!!

What is with this god-like development? Game? What kind of love game is this?

Even with opportunism this is too much! This is way too convenient for the boy. With what taken into account did things become like this?!

I slightly panic.

“H-Hey Hasegawa! You, is that fine with you?!” (Makoto)

“Please call me Nukumi! Or is it that you… you actually already have another girl in your heart?!” (Hasegawa)

“No there is no such thing but…” (Makoto)

It was a little violent tone. To be pressured all the time is something like this huh.

Furthermore when I try to think for a bit and lower my head, a body that was developing well which I could tell even with her uniform on, I couldn’t just rudely look at it.

My sight was shifting to her breast!

In the end I had to talk with her while staring directly at her face.

“It’s okay right?! A test, if after that you reject me, I won’t cry so!” (Hasegawa)

That’s a lie! You will definitely cry with the current flow.

Uuhh…

I can’t reject her.

“Well, if you are really fine with it. But I want to hear one thing first. Why me? It’s sad for me to say it but, what did you fall for?” (Makoto)

“The appearance of senpai using the bow just like now” (Hasegawa)

“You were watching?!” (Makoto)

Nod.

“The first time I saw it, when you stayed last I would always watch you” (Hasegawa) (TN: dude that’s scary. Or is it only me?)

“… Then?” (Makoto)

“I thought it was incredibly beautiful. That moment, not only in the club, without having any interest in anything else, I practiced with the bow every day. To enter here I tried my very best so when I passed my objective suddenly vanished” (Hasegawa)

“??” (Makoto)

“Then, seeing senpai’s figure a number of times I…” (Hasegawa)

“You were watching me a number of times?!” (Makoto)

I didn’t even notice. What a blunder.

“I began thinking that I wanted to know more of this person. That’s why I entered the archery club” (Hasegawa)

So it was from the very beginning. To think my private enjoyment after training had been seen and moreover by someone who wasn’t even a member. From now restrain, can’t do it. Let’s just be more alert of my surroundings from now on.

“To tell you after I joined was… no good anymore so” (Hasegawa)

“I, I see. Thanks Hasegawa. I’m a little happy” (Makoto)

I stop the girl who tried to continue, with a word of gratitude. She felt something for me after watching me using the bow, this is the first time I have heard that from a girl from my own generation after all.

“Nu.Ku.Mi des!” (Hasegawa)

“I’m sorry. This isn’t something that can be fixed with effort. For now please forgive me. And for today just go back home. It’s late and dark already after all. The station is close to here so you should be fine right?” (Makoto)

It would be fine if I said that I would accompany her there but as expected I couldn’t say it.

“A, yes! Somehow, after saying it I feel refreshed. Senpai, in the summer vacations let’s play a lot okay?” (Hasegawa)

“Yeah. I am looking forward to it” (Makoto)

I wave at her. Suddenly I feel a creaking and uncomfortable feeling. I felt as if something inside me cried out loud.

I have been confessed ‘to’ for the first time in my life, an incredibly important event after all. In the middle of seeing her off, to feel a bit odd is not strange.

Well I haven’t ‘done it’ myself. For now. (TN: he is referring to confessing)

“Wa~ I was surprised. To think this would happen to me in my life” (Makoto)

Putting on my shoes I decide to finally leave the dojo.

“You are leaving pretty late Misumi”

At that place.