Episide 3: Rapid reload

In the previous episode, Takanobu stumbles upon an arcade extravaganza where many of the town have gathered to test their skills. After a long wait the time has finally come for Takanobu to take his turn; will he succede or fail? Find out in Episode 3: Rapid shot!

Legacy
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Episide 3: Rapid reload

Post by Legacy » Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:44 pm

A wave of calmness washed over Takanobu like a low, steady tide. Sighing in relief, he took pleasure in knowing that the first target had been sunk. He didn't dare look around at the many faces and eyes turned in his direction, doing so might've harmed morale. Knowing about the feelings of others in this moment when he were supposed to be focused on winning a prize could do him no good, so Takanobu concentrated. Imagining instead that he were on a mission for the village and that its success hinged upon striking down each target, Takanobu prepared himself.

"Ready when you are, sir." Takanobu spoke to the Arcade host. In response the man nodded and smiled as though to have saw something mildly entertaining, then he pressed down on his controls. Almost immediately the targets began to move back and forth at random only Takanobu could follow them clearly now. At some point he'd managed to adjust to their speed and as if to test this new knowledge, he decided to try sinking multiple targets all in one sitting. To do so, he would have to arm himself just as quickly as a throw were made which meant picking up his own pace.

While he primed the muscle groups necessary to accomplish this new task, Takanobu appeared to hesitate and this was not something missed by those watching him. "Well, get on with it!" Someone shouted; "yeah, what he said!" Chimed in another. Meanwhile, Takanobu just continued standing there like a statue, seemingly oblivious to the chanting crowd. He counted each golf ball and estimated how quickly his arms could reach for either hand to grab them, a minor task, he thought. Minor only because he'd already been holding one golf ball in his hand and knew that the throw would place it just above where he needed to grab another; by then, he'd have sunk another target and would be well on his way to dropping the third. This much would guarantee victory but...why stop at three? Why not try sinking them all.

"Hey! Didn't you hear? The game's started already, get your lazy bum to throwing or else we'll throw you instead!" Shouted someone from within the mob and while Takanobu never saw them, he heard the reply of someone else within the crowd. "That's a bit cruel don't you think? He is just a kid after all, and this is just a game. Everyone will get their turn to play so there's no reason to be nasty about it." Silence came, then. It was as if the nameless voice had brought back each and everyone to their senses and some even apologized for their outbursts. However, there were the few who remained obstinate in their behavior and made comments about how the boy dressed in a warriors armor couldn't hit a few targets despite his having shown an ability to do so already. There were some stilll, who made it a point to bring notice to Takanobu's headband which seemed to have gone unnoticed before.

" Alright, I'm ready now! " If the youthful Senju had been competing for best outburst then the crowd reaction in this exact moment, told it all. Several had been knocked off their feet quite literally face planting into hard dirt while others keeled over in barely stifled laughter. "You mean he wasn't before?"

Slowly, Takanobu wound his throwing arm back until he could feel each muscle tense. This was it, he thought. It was time to put his training and discipline to practice; slicing through air like blades, his arm lunches forward and released the second golf ball. Whoosh!

It wouldn't even split theough the air entirely before the third and fourth golf balls were in Takanobu's steady hands and thrown one behind the other.Whoosh!Whoosh!

Ping! Ping! Ping!

He grabbed for more. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Again; ping! Ping! Ping!

Had the spectating crowd been in awe before they were flaborghasted now. As a young teen sunk targets back to back in drum like fashion, there were adults cupping their heads wondering how they'd manage to strike even two or three. Still, Takanobu continued.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Ping! Ping!

"Hey... what's with this kid?" Someone from the crowd asked and another followed suit; "is this- is this for real?!" It seemed as though those who were fine with Takanobu participating at first because of his age had been having second thoughts, and to Takanobu's misfortune, these thoughts were shares with the game host while he were busy sinking each target.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

Only three left now. This what what he'd trained for. This was what he were destined to do! As Takanobu reached out a hand for the last of three golf balls the Game host, sweaty and very nervous, called for him to stop.

"Er... Hey kid. Why don't you just stop there, alright? If you sink every garget I won't have any more customers until they cam get set up again but uhhh... You can take this for all your hard work yeah?" The host stepped forward and gave Takanobu three gold coins then smiled. Even though he were unable to sink all of the targets, Takanobu was happy that he'd earned something for himself.

With nothing left to do, he headed home toward the Senju compound.



Episode end.
Learned disciplineShow
*[Flawless Aim Style • Rapid Reload]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
After years of training, the practitioner has learned how to quickly and accurately access their ranged weapon stores at all times in combat. This cuts the effective "reload" time by half, up to a maximum speed equal to the practitioner's Speed score. This also applies to returning unused projectiles to their storage containers or switching between types of projectile weaponry.
ACTIVE CHARACTERShow

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