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The sound of the end bell rang, and the students filed out of their last class. The sound of the last bell was always Genya’s favorite sound. Actually, it was his second favorite sound of the school day. His favorite sound would come around.
The gym was quiet, except for the few occasions of a gunshot. BAM went the pistol, as the bullet fired and lodged itself perfectly in the nine point circle of the target. The blast of the bullet was quite a refreshing sound for Genya, as it cleared his mind of every trouble he faced that day (Namely, math class with his older brother Sanemi). He also especially liked marksmanship, with his shots always hitting the exact place they have to be.
This was Kimetsu Academy’s shooting club, where students come to do marksmanship and archery. There were other people around, all trying to land their shots in the center, but the highest they ever got were between the 5-7 rings. Genya liked being the club ace. Every marksmanship tournament he would enter in, he would win it. It gave him a strong sense of pride. Normally, afterschool clubs are a blissful time of day for him.
But today, an unsettling noise irritated him.
“Woo! Yes, Rei! You got another one!” Screamed Usagi Tsukino, as she was accompanying her friend, Rei Hino, who transferred to Kimetsu academy from T.A. Girls’ Academy a week ago.
Rei’s arrows were perfect, always hitting the inner two rings. Rei picked up another arrow and aimed. Then she let go and let the arrow fly. The whoosh of the arrow was calming and blissful for Rei, but it was unsettling for Genya as that meant the sound of another bullseye that didn’t belong to him.
Genya tried to concentrate on the shots, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy, as that meant he wasn’t the club ace, and that greatly bothered him. Normally he wasn’t a perfectionist in anything academically (because there was no hope for that) but he was an insane perfectionist when it came to marksmanship.
Genya fired several more shots, but they were hesitant and kept missing the 9-point ring. He then looked over and saw Rei hit another set of bullseyes. She hit so much that there was a big gaping hole due to the arrow puncturing that same spot. And what further made him more irritated was the discordant shriek of Usagi.
Tanjiro could sense the air around Genya tensing.
“Are you alright?” Ask Tanjiro, but Genya ignored him. This time, he was going to concentrate.
He adjusted his safety glasses, picked up the pistol, and aimed carefully at the target.
I’m not going to lose to stupid Rei and her loudass friend Usagi. I’m going to take back my place as the ace. Genya thought, as he aimed the pistol, about to fire. Just before he aimed to the desired location and pressed the trigger, another one of Rei’s arrows hit the bullseye and Usagi shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Genya was startled at the sudden noise, so he jumped and fired the bullet. It hit the 5 point ring. This was it. This had to stop, thought Genya, as he tore off his safety glasses and marched over.
“Hey, stupid rabbit! Shut the hell up! Some people are trying to concentrate and your stupid discordant screaming is not helping. Shut. Up.” Growled Genya, as he went over to Usagi.
Rei’s normally calm and regal-like demeanor disappeared as her face turned into a frown. “Don’t. Insult. My. Friend. Ever. Again. What did we do to you anyways?” Said Rei, pointing straight at Genya.
“Well, I won’t insult your friend. But please tell her to shut up. She’s so noisy and I could hear her from a mile away!” Retorted Genya.
“So? I’ll ask her to be quiet. Just please stop bothering us.” Rei said, making a small hand motion like dismissing him.
“How about you shove your stupid friend under a rock and crawl in with her? Or you can cry yourself a river, drown your friend, build a bridge, and get over it!” Screeched Genya.
“I’m sorry, did you just–” Said Rei, with a perplexing face of both disgust, anger, rage, and surprise.
That was exactly how the afternoon went for these two, bickering back and forth. Neither Usagi nor Tanjiro could stop any of this. A teacher noticed the commotion and separated these two. Both of them may have lost the battle, but the war has just begun.
The next day at the shooting club, Genya tried to concentrate. To prevent the two from bickering, Tanjiro and Usagi decided to keep quiet so both Genya and Rei could concentrate.
BANG went Genya’s pistol and WHOOSH went Rei’s arrow. Both of them landed between the 9-point rings. They once tried again. With the press of a trigger and the release of the bow, both projectiles simultaneously hit their target, but Rei hit a bullseye and Genya hit 9 points. Rei looked over and tried to hide her smirk. Genya saw that and could feel his anger bubbling.
How dare she insult my talent? Genya thought as he reloaded his pistol. Both of them fired again, but only Rei’s arrow hit the bullseye. Genya was beginning to lose it, and Tanjiro and Usagi were beginning to sense the tension between those two.
The silent tension in the gym got so thick it felt like you couldn’t breathe in it. Every sound at that moment became nothing but an irritation. The click of the compartments as Genya reloaded his gun irritated Rei, and the sound of the pull of the bow somehow made Genya lose concentration.
“Can you please keep your reloading sounds to a low? I’m having trouble concentrating.” Said Rei, looking over at Genya with a small glare.
“I can’t help it, dummy. The compartments are loud. But can you at least be more quiet?” Genya snapped back.
“How? Pulling on a bow does not produce any sounds.” Rei said, about to go crazy.
“I don’t care. You’re irritating me in some way.” Said Genya.
“Genya, should we just focus on the target? You’re doing good today!” Said Tanjiro, nervously, as he tried to ease up the tension.
“Yeah, Genya. Go on. Leave me alone, please.” Said Rei, so harsh, that even deaf people could hear the animosity in her voice beginning to develop due to sheer frustration. Genya’s anger and irritation was sitting on a cliff. Any more of this and he will fall right off that cliff of emotional control.
“I don’t care if my shots are bothering you at this moment. Just go put on some earplugs or something. I’m already silent enough.” Said Rei, about to return to what she was doing.
Boom.
His irritation is officially barreling off the cliff at full speed and there was no stopping it. Genya marched over and slapped Rei. Rei was shocked so in response, she hit him back. Before a fight could begin, the teachers saw what happened and stopped it. Usagi and Tanjiro feared for what was going to happen to their friends.
“The teacher put me and Rei on probation for the shooting tournament. The nerve! Just put Rei on probation. Without me the team will probably lose anyways.” Scoffed Genya, as he took a sip out of his orange juice.
It was lunchtime and the two boys were mulling over the shooting club problem. “Um, no offense, shouldn’t you have thought of that before you slapped Rei?” Said Tanjiro, as he took a bite out of his onigiri.
“Well she asked for it. She was just… I don’t know… Too loud and it broke my concentration!” Grumbled Genya. Tanjiro tried to change the subject.
“You know, the set of arrows that Hino-san uses is beautiful. It’s always the same arrows, but I feel like they’re her lucky arrows.” Said Tanjiro, with a mouth full of food.
But while Tanjiro was happily chowing down on his lunch, Genya was planning his revenge.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”
The tearful shriek of Rei’s voice reverberated through the gym as she picked up her arrows. “Who did this? Someone destroyed my arrows!!” cried Rei, as Usagi tried to comfort her.
The teacher quickly came over. “Alright, who did this? Who destroyed Hino’s arrows?” Barked the teacher.
Genya scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Serves her right. She’s so noisy anyways.” Genya said, as he began to load his gun.
“Shinazugawa, stop! Nobody gets to pick up a bow or pistol until we figure out who did this. Destroying student property is unacceptable, and will result in a suspension.” Said the teacher, going around and asking everyone like a professional detective. Tanjiro looked at Genya, with this horrified look on his face.
“How could you?” Said Tanjiro, trembling, trying to figure out why Genya would do this.
“Snitch on me all you want. I’ve already lost privileges to the tournament anyways.” Then Genya put the pistol back and walked out of the gym, leaving behind Usagi, Tanjiro, and Rei, who was still crying.
That night, Genya finished his homework and was doomscrolling on his phone, when it went *PING* and he got a text. It was from an anonymous number. He almost swiped it away, but a part of him decided to read it. “Hey, Genya. I got your number from Tanjiro, I know you destroyed my arrows on purpose just to make me fail because you couldn’t stand my perfect aim.” He read aloud. He almost deleted that message right there, but a part of him knew he had to reply.
"So? What if I did? Snitch on me all you want. I’m already on probation for the tournament tomorrow." Genya typed back.
“I’m not trying to snitch on you. I just really want to know. I’m not the kind to hold a grudge or revenge. I just get over it.” Rei texted back.
“Fine. It was me. I just like being the club ace, and it just gives me the pride I lack in anything else I do…” Said Genya, who sighed remembering his grades. There was a pause as Rei began to text her message.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were like that. I thought you just had a big ego. I didn’t mean to upset you, either, but I don’t appreciate you destroying my arrows. Still, I’m not going to tell on you. Good night.” Rei texted back. It was the last text in that whole conversation that night.
After Genya just finished texting Rei, another text popped up, this time coming from the shooting club teacher. "Hello, Genya. I know you’re still on probation, but the team needs you for tomorrow. Sakamoto called in saying he needed to attend a funeral tomorrow, so he needs you to fill in for him. Thank you, and good night."
When Genya read that, he was overjoyed.
The next morning he was at Kimetsu Academy’s gym. This time, the tournament was finally held at Kimetsu Academy, and most students came to watch, including Usagi and Rei.
The tournament was underway, and Kimetsu Academy seemed to be in the lead for a while, until the Academy was held face to face with another rival school. Each school only had one more shooter left. The rival school’s prodigy shooter already went, with an incredible score of 27. Kimetsu Academy still had Genya that didn’t go yet.
When he went up, he could feel the air thicken.
The hope that Genya can surpass the score from the Kimetsu Academy spectators combined with the hope that Genya will fail from the rival academy spectators made the air thick and tension almost unbreakable. Genya was extremely nervous as he adjusted his safety glasses for the billionth time. He knew that his shot would affect how the team did in the tournament, and whether they would take the trophy. He took the first two shots. He hit two nines and his score was now 18.
Seeing this, Genya starts trembling. He knew that he needed to land a bullseye to win for the school. But the events from the past few days made him seriously doubt himself.
He swallowed hard and adjusted his safety glasses. He raised his pistol, about to aim.
The feelings and hopes thrown upon him increased to the max. The Kimetsu Academy spectators were sitting on the edge of their seats, and the rival academy’s spectators were praying that Genya wouldn’t score well. Even other spectators and competitors stopped what they were doing to stare at him. He was about to shoot, with trembling fingers, he slowly began to push the trigger, and then he heard the shriek of Usagi.
“Go, Genya! You got this! Wooooooo!” Screamed Usagi.
Usagi was still as loud as ever, but the only difference was that this was the best sound in the world now to Genya. When he looked over, he saw Usagi, Rei, and Tanjiro hold up a sign encouraging him. Seeing that gave Genya confidence. He picked up the gun and aimed it at the target.
Aim properly… Center yourself… Breathe… and shoot.
*Click* Went the trigger and BAM went the bullet as it shot out, aiming itself straight for the target. Whatever happened next would determine the fate of the school. If it landed in the bullseye, then the school would have its first ever win in the tournament and he would be considered a hero in the school’s record. But if he missed, then that would make everything worse.
Genya didn’t dare think about that.
Everybody in the gym held their breath as they watched the bullet lodge itself on the target.
Right on the center.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Genya realized he hit the bullseye. The Kimetsu Academy team went crazy when they realized they won. The Kimetsu Academy spectators were cheering out loud, but to Genya, the people that were cheering loudest were Tanjiro, Usagi, and Rei.
“Now we will commence the awards ceremony,” said the director of the tournament in a monotone voice. How could such a geezer be the director of such an exciting event full of adrenaline?
The crowds and teams all cheered for the schools that placed in the top three. Genya tried not to hide his smirk as he saw the rival academy accept their second place trophy as the prodigy shooter that went up against Genya shot him a foul look. The tiebreaker had been sealed with one point, and that point came from Genya. It was hard not to feel immense pride after this.
Then after the team awards ceremony finished, it was time for the individual award ceremony. Genya got the highest score of 28 out of all the events so he was about to go up and accept his medal and certificate, when Genya’s older brother Sanemi (who also happened to be known as “Shinazugawa Sensei” who teaches math) marched up the stage and forcefully grabbed the certificate away. Genya looked extremely shocked and the crowd started freaking out at this unusual sight.
“This kind of thing is completely useless.” Sanemi announced to Genya, as he put his hand on the certificate and began tearing it to shreds. “You should study more! This hobby is so weird. Where are you going for a career with a useless talent like this? Nowhere!!” Screamed Sanemi as he scolded Genya for being bad at math.
Genya could only stand there in shock as he saw his certificate, which he had worked hard to earn, get shredded to pieces in mere seconds.
He kept begging his older brother to stop, but Sanemi just won’t listen. In the moment Genya felt horrible, as he realized through his brother’s words he couldn’t truly amount to anything that was useful at least.
Then when Genya felt he couldn’t take it anymore, a loud and clear voice sounded through the gym.
“Stop! Sensei, you have to stop this. Genya worked hard for this certificate. He helped the school win. He deserves this sense of pride, and you’re just there to rip it up? You’re not just ripping up some dumb piece of paper; You’re ripping up his whole pride and purpose. I can’t believe that you, as his older brother and educator, are doing such a heinous task!” Said Rei, as she marched up the stage and began picking up the pieces of the certificate and asking for tape to repair the certificate.
Genya could only stand there in shock, as the girl he had slapped, insulted, and made life miserable for began helping him piece together the certificate his own brother had destroyed.
When Rei finished fixing the certificate, they both left the stage and Rei handed Genya back the certificate that she fixed.
“Here. You deserved it. Great job.” Said Rei, smiling as brightly as she could.
“Why did you stand up for me? After all the things I’ve done to make you miserable?” Asked Genya, as he took back his certificate.
“Like I said, I’m not the person to hold a grudge. Besides, I just can’t stand someone’s pride and joy, who they built over a long time, to be destroyed like that in mere seconds. Even I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.” Said Rei, as she shrugged.
Genya thanked Rei and left. The truth was, Genya could not think of any words to say to Rei, because it was like he was talking to Kindness itself.
A week later, the two were back in the gym during shooting club, but this time as kinda-sorta-maybe friends, chatting about wind speed and how that would affect shot direction.
Yes, while they still are jealous of each other, they both agreed to just put the past in the past and move on from it.
And as for Sanemi, he got a scolding from the principal for “destroying student property” and “emotional abuse.”
Genya doesn't want to admit it, but he couldn’t be happier.