"Oh, Kazoru. I was practicing my aim." Akira explained to Kazoru.
Akira practiced his aim by using dummies as his target. As for his arrows, he borrowed them from the weapon section in the headquarters.
Akira only landed 2 of his arrows out of 10 shots. It was because when he gripped the arrow while also gripping the bow, it kept shaking to the point where it disturbed his aim. Even with his mighty strength, the arrow still fell when he released the string. But archers like Clara made it look easy. Reading the instruction manual didn't help; it just made it more confusing.
"And what brings you here?" Akira asked back.
"Training. I've been focusing on my magic." Kazoru answered.
Many a warrior preferred the sweaty grind of the gym or the warm embrace of family over the austere environment of their headquarters. This was the reason the stronghold, typically bustling with energy, now stood strangely vacant.
Some warriors had chosen the solace of family, others the solitude of external training, while some secluded themselves in their rooms.
The once vibrant nerve center was now a ghost of its former self, eerily quiet and unusually deserted, before Kazoru shed light on the reason.
Akira, oblivious to the aura he exuded, gave Kazoru an encouraging thumbs-up. Kazoru responded with a toothy grin, offering him advice on mastering the art of the bow - an endeavor that would require a mentor. Akira squinted at this, already aware of his need for a mentor, yet unsure of who could instruct him in such a specialized skill.
Kazoru dropped a name that answered his silent query - Miyu Aqualin. A renowned archer with a deep-seated rivalry with Clara and Sonya. Raised with a bow in her hands, she possessed an uncanny skill for accuracy.
Bizarrely, she didn't require the aid of her glasses for combat or targeting. It was as though she could hit bullseyes while blindfolded. Her magical prowess only heightened the potency of her arrows. Despite being a mage, she preferred her weapons and was deceptively strong.
Her intellect was a formidable weapon in its own right, something Kazoru could only tell, not show. His praise for her seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving Akira perplexed. The name-drop ended with Kazoru revealing her location - the Miyaka Church, a stone's throw away. And yes, she was a nun, as was her older sister. It was an unexpected surprise that a nun was part of the Sazoru's squad.
With this newfound information, Akira tidied up his training area, bid Kazoru farewell, and set off towards the church. The directions to Miyu's location were hastily scribbled on a piece of paper. The messy handwriting and haphazard organization left him feeling disoriented. Kazoru's scribbles were so chaotic that Akira had trouble differentiating between an 'S' and a '5'.
With the paper as his guide, he ventured forth, embarking on his quest to master the bow under the tutelage of the formidable nun, Miyu Aqualin.
Stroke had his almost brain reading this after.
However, it was still a little readable, thankfully. Akira then arrived at the destined location.
The church was huge before he entered the church. It was filled with pews. It was deserted as well. Then a nun came to him and asked what Akira was in for.
The nun was quite ravishing. Her hair was blue and she had almost the same appearance as Kitsune. Akira shook his head to erase those memories of her and explained why he was here. A
kira stroked his head and answered, saying that he was here for a girl named Miyu Aqualin. She just responded...
"Sorry, but if you loved her, I'm afraid to tell you that it's not possible. She's a nun, and if you wish to be her boyfriend, then keep dreaming!" She told Akira with her eyes shut while smiling furiously.
"I'm not here for that ! I'm here to ask her if she could train me in how to use a bow." Akira corrected what he was here for.
"Oh my, forgive me for my misunderstanding. Yes, she is out there, cleansing her soul in the sacred fountain. Don't worry, she's not naked."
"Why would I peek at her naked?"
"Oh, sorry, it's a little complicated since many people were after her and it got me frustrated. It made it more like a habit. Forgive me."
"Ok, thanks. I'll go see her."
"May God bless you." She folded her hands and prayed.
Akira then walked outside, saw her finish her praying, and stared at the fountain's statue. "Yo!" Akira said hello to Miyu from behind.
"Eek!" Miyu was startled and responded with a high-pitched voice. It was as if she was squeaking like a mouse.
"Wow," Akira replied to her response, surprised by her reaction.
"How did you bypass my sister? Did you hypnotize her? Don't tell me... help! Intruder!" Miyu started screaming while closing her body with her hands.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! I got her permission to meet with you! I'm not here to do any evil deeds, I swear!" Akira was startled of how fast Miyu jumped to conclusion.
"How should I trust you?" Miyu closed her mouth, keeping her distance from the ferocious male while narrowing her eyes devoid of trust.
"Heh... Here..." Akira sighed and showed his bow.
"What is wrong with you people? I'm just here to train in how to use a bow." Akira was a little bit annoyed because they were acting so sensitive toward their guest. As explained by the nun who appeared to be her sister, he thought that was the problem.
"Hmm?" Miyu then put her glasses on quickly to see his bow.
"Wow! This is a Largunta Masrex bow! " As she observed the whole appearance of the bow, she reacted in surprise, knowing what type of bow and the name of the bow Akira was holding.
"You know?"
"Yes! This bow is ancient! Where did you get it?" Miyu took a closer look, again and again. Her heart was throbbing just by seeing it in person. She was a bow geek.
"I found it and bought it in a shop."
"Is it fake?" Miyu inspected.
"Don't think so, it's quite heavy too." Akira stated as he lifted the bow.
Miyu nodded and asked Akira to follow her.
She invited Akira to her home on one condition: that he mustn't tell anyone where her house was located. Akira gave a nod and followed her home.
She had a detached house, and then she opened the door. Akira thought that she would have a palace since her last name was Aqualin, which made him think she came from a well-off family.
Miyu explained that her palace was far away. This house was bought by her family to live in. Akira asked why since in the headquarters they had dorms. Miyu reminded Akira that she had a sister, so she lived here.
As they entered, they went out to the yard of her house. She placed 3 wooden boards with target paper attached to it. She told Akira that he could destroy them if he wanted to. She activated something that made the targets move. She then showed Akira what she was capable of by using three arrows at once. She used her water magic to create 3 arrows.
[WATER MAGIC: WATER ARROWS]
She then shot her arrows precisely at the moving target and destroyed them. As he applauded her, Akira was impressed. Now it got Akira thinking about who would win if she were in a match with Julia since both used water magic.
Back when Akira was training, he had a sparring match with Julia before. As one would expect that Akira would win, unexpectedly, Julia was the winner. Despite having extraordinary strength and speed, he lost.
She won the match because of her range. She had trained herself as well, and she even had a spell that could create a water dragon.
This was also one of the many reasons Akira advanced in training himself against mages, which was also why he invented the blood hammer to repel giant projectiles.
Akira gave himself a try at shooting the target. Miyu gave him tips on how to increase his mastery. She told him to focus on the target he wanted to shoot. She then advised Akira to inhale deeply and hold his breath to stop his body movement.
Akira inhaled deeply as she told him to and held his breath. Akira remained steadily focused on what he wanted to shoot. Miyu leaned closer while also correcting his posture.
She fixed on how Akira held his bow. His grip was misplaced as well as his arrow. She told Akira to point his index finger to hold the arrow so it wouldn't move.
This was for a beginner and said if Akira was an expert, he would not need to do so. Akira's posture was fixed, as was his grip.
He released the string of the bow and it hit. It wasn't a bullseye, but it did hit the target.
Akira jumped with delight now that he could now aim properly. Miyu applauded him with a proud smile. Akira thanked Miyu and bowed repeatedly. Miyu then told Akira to do the same as last time when practicing. Akira nodded, and so he finally left her house.
After Akira had learned how to aim, he then waited for tomorrow morning in his room...