"National College Kyudo Selection Competition"

This is an official competition for college students, co-sponsored by the Japan High School Sports Federation and the Kyudo Federation.

For traditional kyudo players.

Its significance is no less than that of Koshien for the baseball club, and the national competition for the instrumental club... It is the highest level competition that high school students can challenge.

All famous archery players do not want to win honors in this sacred and supreme hall.

From December 24th to December 26th.

This selection meeting lasted for three days in total.

According to men's group and women's group, individual competition and team competition.

During this period, the top six in the individual competition and the top three in the team competition will be selected from contestants from 43 prefectures across Japan.

And today.

December 26th.

It’s the last day of the National Kyudo Conference.

After a morning of fierce competition, the results of the individual competition have been announced.

Among them, private Toyosaki performed very dazzlingly and won first place in the men's and women's groups respectively!

Next, there is the team competition in the afternoon.

It was under such circumstances that Ryoko Nakano came to the backstage of the men's competition.

"Everyone, excuse me."

Waiting room.

Five boys wearing white gowns and black hakama skirts were silently adjusting their bows and equipment.

When they saw her coming, they couldn't help but show expressions of surprise.

""""Nakano-senpai!""""

As if they had met the backbone, the four boys from the Kyudo Club immediately surrounded him.

"Congratulations on winning the women's category, senior!"

"We watched the game in the morning, and your concentrated posture was so beautiful."

"As expected of you, you were so fearless in the face of danger until the very end!"

"In comparison, we are lagging behind..."

Ryoko Nakano smiled and said, "Don't underestimate yourself. Being able to reach the finals is not a hindrance. You all performed very well."

"But……"

Nomiya, the captain of the men's team, smiled bitterly.

"Except for you and Kato-kun, none of us can get a ranking in the individual competition. We really don't deserve your usual guidance."

"That's right."

His friend Miyazaki echoed.

“Honestly, the pressure of the individual competition is really overwhelming.

It was okay in the preliminaries and semi-finals, but when it came to the finals, the rules of shooting and shooting were really terrible. I was so nervous that even my shooting patterns became strange..."

The so-called "shooting-stopping shooting method".

It means that all contestants shoot together, and the person who can hit the target until the end wins, and the ranking is determined according to the number of hits.

It is worth mentioning that.

When the shooting competition reaches the fifth arrow, the original target diameter of 36 cm will be replaced with a 24 cm diameter target, and the difficulty will suddenly become higher.

It is a great test of the players’ basic skills and psychological quality.

As the only two players in Toyozaki to participate in the men's individual competition, Miyazaki made an off-target error at that time, thus missing out on qualifications.

Nakano Ryoko was very aware of all this and saw their discouragement, so she clapped her hands gently and said seriously:

"Okay, let's not mention things that have passed. What you should do now is look forward."

""""Senior...""""

"For me, this is the last national competition.

As a selector of the private Toyosaki, no matter what the result is, you must shoot every arrow without any distractions, do you understand?"

Feeling the majesty coming from her body, the four boys immediately straightened their backs and responded in unison:

""""yes--!""""

Nakano Ryoko then nodded lightly with satisfaction and looked past them to the back.

A young man was sitting there quietly, exuding an atmosphere of calmness and thinking at the same time. He didn't know what he was thinking.

"Yu-kun?"

After stopping the four members who wanted to help call for help, Ryoko Nakano stepped forward.

"what's on your mind?"

"...?"

As the light in front of him was blocked, the young man slowly raised his head and looked towards her.

As if he had just woken up from some deep meditation, his dark eyes seemed a little deep, but they immediately regained their clarity.

"...Nakano-senpai?"

Kato Yusuke subconsciously prepared to stand up, but Ryoko Nakano stopped him first.

"No need to be polite, just sit down and talk."

As she spoke, she held her hakama skirt and sat down next to him.

"So, Yu-kun, what were you thinking about just now?"

Smelling the elegant and fragrant fragrance of the girl, Kato Yusuke took the initiative to move a little bit, and then replied: "...I'm sorry, I was just in a daze."

"daze?"

Nakano Ryoko tilted her face, blinked and said, "Ah, is it because I transferred Yu-kun to "Omae" that you feel stressed?"

"Da Qian" is the number one position in the team competition. This position is usually occupied by the high-level archer in the team.

Before Kato Yusuke agreed to participate in the competition, this position in the men's team originally belonged to Nomiya, the captain of the Kyudo Club, but the opponent has now been replaced by the final "position".

Glancing at the four boys who were secretly observing the place with his peripheral vision, Kato Yusuke opened his lips and said:

"I'm not thinking about this, I'm just thinking about some personal issues. Senior sister, there's no need to worry.

As for the location…

No matter where my senior arranges for me, I will do my best, so don’t worry.”

"Well~ Yuu-kun's words are indeed very reassuring."

Ryoko Nakano joked with a smile, and then said:

"Although I think it would be good to put you in the "lower position", Miyazaki in the second position is easily affected by the atmosphere, so I hope you can give everyone a good start.

Nomiya’s character is relatively calm, but occasionally he will become anxious because he is too concerned about the overall situation, so it is more suitable to put it at the end. That’s basically it.”

Kato Yusuke nodded, knowing that the other party's words were actually a drunkard's intention and not about drinking. He didn't mean to say anything to him, so he didn't say much.

When the other four people heard this, they couldn't help showing thoughtful expressions on their faces.

After all, for them.

After all, Kato Yusuke is an outsider who came in.

It is indeed difficult for them to recognize a guy who has never trained with them as a teammate in a short period of time, and Nakano Ryoko's words are to dispel their concerns.

After understanding this, the faces of the four boys looked much better.

At this moment, the door to the waiting room was suddenly pushed open.

"excuse me."

Staff members in black suits walked in and announced to everyone: "The competition is about to begin. Players please prepare to enter the shooting range."

So Ryoko Nakano didn't stay any longer, and after a few words of encouragement to the juniors, she left the waiting room.

From the waiting room to the auditorium outside.

Instead of struggling to join the crowded front row, Nakano Ryoko sat alone in a high seat in the back row.

The announcement just happened to sound at this time.

"Next is the men's team competition, the final round."

Inside a semi-open Japanese-style dojo.
To be continued...