Archery Practice part 2

AN: Sorry for no release last week. I almost didn't post this week either; with an arm in pain and a house around 90 degrees. Sorry if this chapter is not up to my regular quality.

Shirou quickly composed himself. If I look away now, it might make her feel worse about herself.

Sakura noticed her master brief blush as his eyes fell upon her. Inside, she smiled. She could tell that he was doing that more often lately and she liked it. Good, master really thinks I look great whatever I'm wearing.

She stepped into the room and moved towards the the rack of bows on the wall. "Captain, is it alright if I start practicing?" she asked as she moved.

"Go ahead," Ayako replied. "I don't think anyone else will be coming in this morning, except maybe Minori."

Ayako let out a sigh. "If the dummy would wake up on time," she said quietly.

Sakura ignored that last part and took one of the bows off the shelf. She then turned and headed towards the firing line, where there were a set of arrows already in place. Sakura reached the line and took a deep breath to prepare. As she reached for one of the arrows, the door to the dojo quickly slid open.

"Sorry," Minori Mitsuzurisaid quietly as he rushed in. He was about to go change until he saw saw Sakura and decided to watch her practice first.

Minori had always had a thing for Sakura. If his older sister wasn't part of the archery club, he probably would have joined just to be closer to Sakura. As he entered the range, he saw Shirou sitting there watching. Minori took a seat, though away from Shirou. He had always kind of viewed him as a rival, especially over Sakura. It was a little odd for Shirou to be here, since he stopped coming to club.

While Minori was entering, Sakura stepped onto the shai line and turned so the left side of her body was facing the target. Sighting the mato target, she positioned her feet the proper distance and angle. She adjusted her shoulders and straightened her back. With her right had, she gripped the bowstring and with her left, she aimed the bow. She turned her head to face the mato target.

Sakura then raised the slightly bow above her head, before lowering it while pulling the string back with her yugake covered right-hand and notches the arrow. Once she pulled the string far back enough, she paused for a moment before releasing the string.

The arrow soared through the air and struck the target a few centimeters from the center. It was a good shot.

Shirou could see why Ayako thought Sakura would make a good captain for the archery team. Her skills were already good and if she continued they would become amazing.

Sakura picked up another arrow and repeated the process. This arrow flew into the target, hitting it much closer to the center than before, though on the opposite side from her first shot. Sakura continued to shoot arrows at the target for a bit, getting close to the center, but not hitting it.

When she was done, she stepped back from the line and turned away from the range. "How was that, captain?" she asked Ayako. The captain gave her a thumbs up. "You're doing great, Sakura!"

Minori was too shy to complement Sakura, but Shirou wasn't. "That was great, Sakura," Shirou complement her.

Sakura turned and smiled. "Thank you, sempai," she said. "But I still have a ways to go before I'm at your level."

"That's not true," Shirou replied, raising his voice slightly. "I'm sure that you will be better than me soon!"

After he said this, Shirou realized that he might have gone too far and blushed in embarrassment.

Sakura approached Shirou and gently touched his hand. "Thank you, sempai. I really appreciate that."

Minori saw this and was a little annoyed. He did want Shirou to get closer to Sakura than him, but he knew better than making something out of that here.

As practice ended, Ayako held Sakura back. "Hey, do you know what's going on with your brother? He hasn't been showing up lately," she asked.

Sakura didn't know what Shinji was doing now, though his absence could have to do with what she made him do with the notebook. "Sorry," she apologized. "I don't know what's going with him."

Ayako sighed. "Thanks," she said as she turned to leave. "If you do see him, please ask him what is going on."

Later

It was lunch time and Shirou was exiting his classroom when he saw an unusual sight. There, standing opposite to the class window was Rin Tohsaka. It looked as though she was waiting for someone but they were taking too long. Shirou was about to go on his way when Rin looked at him.

Shirou noticed and stopped. "Um... did you need something, Tohsaka?" he asked unsure about what was going on.