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Deep breath in, Lifting the arm and bow, putting the elbow high.
Deep breath slowly out, pulling back the elbow, focusing on the target in front of him.
Hold and release.
SNAP
Flesh had met rubber and a sigh left Bandana’s lips. While this method of training had proven to be effective and had been useful, it didhurt a shit ton. He had been taughtthat this exercise was helping him with improving his strength and he couldn’t deny that statement.
He still remembered the day, when he had first picked up a bow as a kid. He had seen multiple action or fantasy movies where a hero or another important character had been armed with a trusty bow and arrow. It had sparked an interest in him that would affect many decisions later in life. It had been at an event, a showcase for kids. The instructor had been kind and complimented him, had told him that he had a gift.
His mother had been against that hobby, instead making him start learning an instrument. It was only in middle school that he could join the archery club, an event which only further steadied his love for the sport.
The particular strength training that Bandana used to do every day had been suggest by his high school coach, an instructor that he used to be quite fond of. It had been a shitty afternoon for him, not being able to hit the target in the way he had wanted. His frustration had been growing greatly over the course of the training until the coach had taken him aside. His voice had been gentle but firm. The coach had seen a potential in Bandana that not many had seen due to his rather rebellious demeanour at that time in his life. One that had been known to cause trouble wherever he went.
The coach had given him a rubber band, that had been called a resistance band. According to the older man, athletes used it to build strength and to stretch their arms. Attribute that both benefited an archer. When Bandana had seen the striking green, he couldn’t hide his distaste for the colour, his expression had turned sour. That expression had earned a laugh form the older man.
Over time, the coach had taught him a variety of exercises that he could do with the resistance band. While some of them had been to build up his strength, the primary focus had been on another topic. With the resistance band, Bandana could mimic using the bow, could pay attention to his form, how he held himself and his how he ran through the process of drawing an arrow until he was at the step of releasing the arrow. That way, he positioned himself in front of a mirror and could note any weaknesses or mistakes. Sometimes he wrote them down, just so he could have the opportunity to discuss it with his coach at his next training session.
He had known that in archery every little mistake can mess up a shot. In the beginning he had trouble lifting his elbow high enough, which in turn had jeopardized his aim. Over time, he had learned to look out for those little mistakes. Because every tiny shake, a slight hunch or even just a wrongly executed released could have been the reason why he hadn’t hit the bullseye with his arrow.
This had been one of the reasons why he had bought a stronger resistance band in his last year of high school, to further increase his draw strength and condition. Years later, he almost had a collection of resistance bands.
A few days before his graduation, he had received a letter from the Kamunabi, who had been offering him a position in their ranks. He had accepted without a second thought, not having been interested in an academic path at all. When spring had arrived, he had first stepped into their building, officially becoming a member of their organisation.
Had been one of the lowest ranks, when he had first heard the rumours. The Kamunabi were looking into getting bodyguards for the wielders of the enchanted blades. Bandana had been instantly interested, taking that rumour as a challenge to raise his rank in the shortest time possible. If only had known, what would happen in the future.
He had fought hard, sweat blood, sweat and tears. Fought several other sorcerers, both his junior and senior and had won against them. He had discovered his own sorcery within him. He had been stunned when he had battled against a senior and just after he had lost all his arrows one out of smoke had solidified onto his bow. It had been the reason why he had won the fight in the end. He honed the technique until he could draw an arrow without an actual bow. Just the movement could summon his sorcery at that point.
He had advanced over time, until he had been allowed to call himself an elite fighter. Then he had been selected to become one of the guards of a wielder of an enchanted blade. He hadn’t known who it will be, however he had been joined by the other sorcerers, who would be a üart of the squad. The Kamunabi had made them practice and train together, claiming it had been to further improve their strength, bonds and their teamwork. He liked the group that he had become a part of, something akin to a friendship starting to grow between them all.
He even learned to expand his sorcery to a smoke axe and a smoke spear, though he still preferred to use his arrow, as it felt the most familiar to him. His biggest surprise had been when his squad had a meeting with their boss, where they had to decide on the leader of their elite squad. He had been ready to vote for one of his friends, when they all had voted to
make him the leader. Banda had been touched, having felt his eyes become misty. He took great pride in the trust they had put into him.
It had been a mild spring day when he had walked into the Kokugoku fortress for the first time. The squad had walked beside or behind him, Kamunabi officials in front of them. It had been the day, when he had met Yoji Uruha for the first time. He had been a impressive man, young and his face hidden underneath a long-brimmed hat, where strings were further obscuring his face. It felt weird in a way, like Uruha didn’t want to be noticed, seen. Bandana remembered all the stories he had heard about Uruha, about his help in the war and the most he had heard about his strength.
Their first few weeks together with Uruha had been awkward. Neither the squad nor Uruha knew how to behave around the to other. It had let to multiple situations, where either party had been embarrassed. One of them had been when the squad had joined Uruha at his bath in the hot spring. Some had stayed outside of the water while Bandana had dropped himself right beside Uruha, keeping a few meters of respectable distance.
It had been weeks later, when they all more or less had become comfortable around each other, that Bandana used the bath time to study Uruha’s scars, the amount of them and where they had been placed. He had been curious about their origin. Uruha must have noticed his stares and had asked
“Something wrong?” Bandana shook quickly his head before he had voiced the question, that had been on his mind.
“How did you get this scar?” He pointed to a bigger, slightly faded scar on Uruha’s shoulder. It made the other follow towards the scar before he had launched into the tale, his voice becoming slightly softly and excited in a way. As if he had been happy to tell it to him.
Bandana had been surprised when he had run later into Uruha, that he had been asked about his own scar, a smaller one on his shoulder. Uruha had echoed his own question from the hot spring. They had sat down at the Kotatsu that day and exchanged stories. It had been a pleasant evening.
Time had passed and Bandana had been going through his strength routine, a snap echoing each time he let go of the resistance band, mimicking the release of his arrow. The band sometimes hit his arm or even his hand, given that he held it there. The skin around his hand had become red from the friction, slightly stinging. He was in the middle of another one of his movement routines when another figure had stepped into the training room. Bandana took his time to finish his exercise before he turned around, not sensing any danger.
There stood Uruha, keeping a steady gaze on him. His eyes had wandered to Bandana’s hand, where the red splotch of skin was. It made Uruha look at him with disdain, something like disappointment painted on his face. Bandan’s averted his eyes and walked towards the first aid kid, searching for a spray that would cool his skin, to help with the burn.
Uruha had walked toward the spot on the ground where he was sitting, making Bandana look up at him, tilting his head at the other.
“You overdid it.” Uruha had said in a matter-of-fact tone. Bandana had felt the guilt creep into his bones.
“I did not.” He tried to argue, even though he felt like a little child, whose had got caught in the cookie jar. Uruhaˋs voice softened at whatever expression he saw on Bandana’s face.
“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Uruha shook his head, chiding him like a mother would her child. It was funny and embarrassing at the same time.
“Because I want to be stronger.” He wouldn´t lie, during this argument, he had been behaving like he used to as a little boy. He wouldn’t have ever admitted that to Uruha though.
“But why?” Another sigh from Uruha, which he had been doing a lot during their current conversation, though Bandana thought that he heard a bit of fondness as well.
“I want to protect you.” Bandana steeled his voice, puffing out his chest. Showing his determination and dedication to the task.
“I can do that myself.” Uruha replies, a soft shake of his head, clearly thinking that his act was unnecessary.
“it’s my job” When he had said this statement Uruha had levelled him with a look of fondness and annoyance, a small grin appearing on his face, even if he tried to hide it. He clearly had hoped for this conversation to turn out differently.
"But- “Uruha had started, his body tensing up, a finger already up in the air to further reason on his point. Bandana didn´t give him a chance to do that, interrupting him swiftly.
“No, stop it.” Bandana averted his gaze, a blush grazing his cheeks
“I like keeping you safe.” His voice softened at the end of the sentence and Uruhaˋs eyes had become wide when he heard the reasoning. His ears had become pink, the hat he wore was being pushed into this face to hide it.
When Bandana had told about the fate that had befallen Rokuhira, he had seen the true look of shock on Uruha’s face. He vowed to protect him, to keep him safe within the walls of the fortress and beyond. He would make it his best to assure that Uruha stayed alive for as long as possible, even if he had to sacrifice himself for it.
It was a about three years later that Bandana had received a message from headquarters, which he told Yoji about later that night, when they were bathing in the hot spring. He refused to believe that Rokuhira had a soon and that another enchanted blade was exciting. Bandana wasn’t so sure if that boy was just an imposter or if the boy was actually who he had claimed to be. He would never find out if his gut feeling had been right.
When the intruders had showed up at the fortress, the people there hadn’t hesitated a second and moved into action. Bandana was running around the halls with Uruha following close behind, his hat in his hands. At one of the sliding doors, Bandana lightly pushed Uruha out of the corridor. He looked unsure, as he would run back into the fortress any minute. Bandana felt a determination flood his bones before telling Uruha to run, trying to convey that he was important and that he had to survive at all costs. Uruha reluctantly had started to run towards the meetup point, where new bodyguards would take care of him.
It had been a good feeling to activate the signal, to tell the others that they can fight without any worry for Uruha. Bandana had joined the fight seconds later as well, the smoke arrows piercing the bodies of their enemies. It had been easy, he had only to use his smoke axe once and then the intruders were defeated. Confident, he had planned to surprise Uruha at the train station, wanting to tell him in person that they had everything under control.
Then the young boy had showed up and everything had gone downhill.
Bandana had tried to keep up, to protect his friends, his squad from getting injured. It had been in vain, and he watched in horror as more and more of them were cut down by the enemy. He had been hit too, blood oozing out of the wound by the stomach. He felt that this was it, that he was close to his end. His brain was playing a reflection ofhis life. Of all the thing that had happened to him, good and bad.
He gathered all his strength in one last attacked, planning to kill or at least wound the boy. He strained his arms to move in the familiar motion of drawing the arrow, the smoke swirling around him weakly. There were already spots starting to form in his vision, making him relay on his instincts more than he had wanted to. He breathed out and let the arrow go.
Bandana had passed out before he could see if he had shot the enemy or not. One last though had floated around his head before everything had gotten quiet and dark.
Stay safe, Yoji
The arrow had narrowly missed Hiruhiko.
Bandana had woken up in a place that had looked like an intimiation of the Kokugoku Fortress to him. It was similar to the one back on the real earth, but it didn’t feel the same as it used to. He could tell that he had died.
That had been confirmed when he had seen the others from his squad in the bathhouse, the ones that had been killed before his very own eyes.
It was later, when he was sitting on the porch by the entrance of the fortress that he saw it. In the distance was a familiar figure, one that was walking towards them. Bandana got up from his seat and slowly walked towards the figure, relive and sorrow flooding though his veins at the same time. It had felt like, and arrow had been shot straight though his heart, leaving a clean hole behind. He felt guilty to be glad to see him, when he originally had wished for Yoji to stay alive. Yoji should be alive, they had worked so hard to assure that. But here he was, dead. When the two stand across each other, Bandana notices the devastated expression on Uruha. Bandana quickly stepped forward and hugged Uruha. They held each other tightly, silence enveloping them. Bandana took Uruha and slowly pulled him towards the bathhouse, where they would have plenty of time to talk about what had happened in the last few hours since he had died. Yoji squeezed his hand firmly, seemingly thankful for his presence. Bandana squeezed back.