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The office of Section 6 was blanketed with serious silence as the newfound team gathered around to discuss an important detail before they could officially embark on a hollow mission.
A personal weapon of choice.
After Harumasa and Yanagi's transfer from their respective unit to Miyabi's Hollow Special Operation Section 6 unit, today marked an opportunity for each member to file their requests for custom equipment for Hollow operations.
Miyabi leaned against a nearby wall, her ears twitching at the sound of the slightly crumpled paper on her hand.
"I’ll stick with Tailless," she said simply, her tone leaving no room for debate.
Beside her, Yanagi was filling out her detailed request with careful strokes. "A naginata should suit my combat style well. Looking back at my time in defense force, a ranged weapon is actually not my biggest forte," she said, nodding to herself.
Meanwhile, Harumasa sat slouched over his table, twirling a pen between his fingers and trying to stifle down a big yawn.
Unlike Yanagi, who people found unsurprising to be recruited by the Hoshimi Miyabi herself due to her long list of achievements while being in the Defense Force, his transfer had been a hot topic of gossip among the HSO staff. People whispered about his incredible strategic mind while he was in a certain Ace Division of HAND, yet they also questioned whether someone who had failed every single health test during recruitment could handle the physical demands of combat inside the hollows.
"Have you decided on anything yet, Executive Officer Asaba?" The pink-haired woman glanced at him as she finished her form, her tone a mix of curiosity and concern.
Harumasa tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling as though it held the exact answers he needed.
"Hmm...I don't know. This is too bothersome to think about," he said with a slight dramatic lilt at the end of his sentence.
Yanagi sighed in exasperation. "You do realize this is important, right? A weapon isn’t just a tool, it’s an extension of you in combat later."
Harumasa huffed and leaned forward, resting his chin on the table. "Well, all the more reason to make it something convenient then."
He lazily scribbled something on his request form, his handwriting barely legible. With a grin, he slid it over to Yanagi.
Curious, Yanagi picked it up and adjusted her glasses, squinting at the almost illegible writing.
"'It's exhausting having to carry both a bow and a blade on field missions'...?" she read aloud, her voice laced with disbelief.
"Exactly," the raven-haired man said, flashing a carefree smile without any more explanation about his request.
Yanagi stared at him, stunned for a moment, before pinching the bridge of her nose. "You do realize you’re asking the engineers to invent an entirely new weapon for your convenience?"
"Isn’t that what they’re paid for? Being innovative is one of their job desks," Harumasa said with a playful shrug. "They get to push the boundaries of weapon design, and I get something that suits my... style. It’s a win-win, don't you think?"
Yanagi sighed, shaking her head, though a small smile tugged at her lips. "I'll submit our form to the weapon unit then. Don't expect from them too much."
The request was submitted, and to everyone’s surprise, the engineers decided to take on the challenge.
🏹
Weeks later, Harumasa was called to the training ground to test his custom weapon.
As the newly appointed Section 6 member walked through the corridors of HAND Headquarters, there were glances, some filled with curiosity, others with clear doubt. The HSO units were filled with seasoned combatants, most of whom relied on guns, a reliable, efficient, and far more common in their time.
A bow, especially one designed for dual purpose, was nearly unheard of in this era.
A few of the rookie members of HSO from another section whispered amongst themselves.
"Did he actually ask for a bow?" one muttered.
"A bow, of all things? What is he, some kind of ancient warrior?" Another one replied with a mocking tone.
Harumasa ignored the remarks, hands tucked casually into his pockets, and hummed some random tunes under his breath.
When the engineers unveiled his personally-made double-bladed bow, the murmurs intensified.
Crafted from a special alloy, the weapon was sleek, durable, and flexible. It could be dismantled into two blades for close-quarters combat and easily reattached into a bow with a single click.
Harumasa took the weapon in his hands, he gave it a quick twirl, dismantling and reassembling it with ease. During the test, his movements were fluid, precise, and deceptively effortless, as if he already wielded the exact type of weapon way before.
"This is sweet," He whistled. "Can't wait to try it out."
Yanagi, who had been watching Harumasa’s interactions with the weapon, couldn’t suppress a smile.
"I’m amazed they even agreed to make it for you, Officer Asaba," she said, totally mesmerized by the sleek design of the equipment. "A bow is...not exactly practical these days."
Harumasa shrugged, unbothered by the skepticism. "Who needs practicality when you can have efficiency?" he quipped.
But not everyone was so relaxed. Some of the veterans eyed him cautiously, wondering if his choice was born of arrogance or simply a failure to understand the nature of the combat environment.
A young officer approached Harumasa with a raised brow. "Y...you sure this is going to work, Officer Asaba? A bow? Out in the field?"
Harumasa tilted his head, a hint of amusement in his golden eyes. "You don’t think I can make it work?"
The officer blinked at the question that was thrown back at him. "It’s not about making it work. It's about the risks. You might be good with your head, but you’re walking into a battlefield with a weapon that doesn’t offer the same stopping power as a gun!"
Miyabi, overhearing the conversation, stepped in. "Officer Asaba's weapon choice is his to make. If it doesn’t work, he’ll adapt."
While some of the officers nodded at Miyabi’s words, others remained unconvinced, their doubt still hanging in the air. Even among those who respected Harumasa’s intellect and strategic brilliance, his weapon felt like a gamble.
The murmurs in the training hall intensified as one of the higher officers, a man known for his exceptional skills at wielding guns in the hollow, stepped in and glanced over at Harumasa. He had watched the newcomer with a mixture of curiosity and doubt ever since his transfer from the intelligence division. Harumasa’s unorthodox weapon choice and his carefree attitude had raised more than a few eyebrows.
"I’m not sure about this," the older officer muttered, his gaze fixed on Harumasa, who was lazily leaning on his one foot, fiddling with his weapon. "This isn't a playground, Officer Asaba. It’s a battlefield. A bow is a relic from the past. This ‘weapon’ of yours is more for show than substance."
Miyabi's ears twitched at the sudden harsh comment, even if it wasn't directed at her. She had always been more interested in her own form of combat. But as she watched the senior officer eye Harumasa with something bordering on disdain, she could sense the mounting tension. She knew that, despite her trust in Harumasa's abilities, not everyone shared her confidence.
"Is this really the weapon you're going to take into Hollow missions?" the officer pressed on, his voice firm with doubt.
Harumasa barely looked up, twirling the bow between his fingers.
"Why not? It’s efficient. You’ll see," he said, his voice casual but confident.
But the officer wasn’t convinced. "It’s a matter of practicality, Officer. You’ve got no experience in combat, certainly not enough to rely on something that unconventional."
Miyabi noticed how Harumasa's fingers clenched on the handle before relaxing again.
Without warning, the senior officer called out to the rest of the room. "Alright, gather up! We’re holding an impromptu competition. I want to see for myself if this 'weapon' of his is really up to par. I'll personally challenge Officer Asaba in the test. We’ll see if this...bow is a real contender."
The room went silent as everyone turned to Harumasa, who merely sighed in mock exasperation and straightened up. His usual relaxed demeanor didn’t change.
"I guess I don’t have a choice, huh?"
Yanagi raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed. "Are you sure you want to do this, Officer Asaba? They won’t go easy on you."
Harumasa grinned, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Please. This’ll be fun."
"You do realize that wind interference significantly impacts shooting accuracy, don’t you?" The senior officers smirked at his confidence, certain that this was going to be a short competition. They were familiar with the overwhelming power of firearms, and they didn’t believe a single bow could offer any serious challenge.
"Well, if it's the little wind that you're worried about, it won’t be a problem then," although he said it in his usual tone, anyone could see how his bright eyes turned into something more serious.
"Because I don’t fight against the wind. I ride it."
🏹
The field was alive with activity as various officers set up the mock targets, large, humanoid dummies fitted with reactive sensors to simulate the kinds of threats they'd encounter inside the hollow. Harumasa stood at the edge of the field, a slightly excited grin plastered on his face as he fastened the archery gloves on his hands.
The senior officer, the one who had doubted Harumasa the most, stepped forward, arms crossed. "The rules are simple. The person who can 'kill' the most targets in the allotted time wins. We’ll be using the training dummies. Aim for the weak points to get the highest score."
"Got it. Try to keep up," Harumasa flipped the arrow in his hand nonchalantly and winked.
Miyabi, Yanagi, and some other HSO staff and officers stood off to the side, watching in silence.
The competition began with a loud signal, and the field erupted into action. The senior officer who had spoken earlier quickly dashed forward, taking quick, precise shots with his gun. Bullets flew through the air, striking the moving targets with ruthless accuracy. He hit his first three in a flash, his gunfire a blur of efficiency.
The crowd looked on, nodding at the display.
"Impressive," someone whispered.
While the older officer was taking an immediate start, Harumasa casually strolled out onto the simulation field, unfazed. He unsheated his blades from his waistbelt and twirled them on his hands. The blades snapped into a bow, and with a single fluid motion, Harumasa pulled an arrow. Without a second thought, he pulled the string back and released it.
The arrow whistled through the air, striking one of the targets in the chest with pinpoint accuracy. But Harumasa wasn’t done yet. His next shot came almost instantly, catching another target square in the head before it could even take a full step.
The crowd went silent, their eyes glued to the bow-wielding combatant. Harumasa moved with the precision of a seasoned fighter, his every action deliberate, his speed astonishing.
"One... two... three," Yanagi muttered, impressed despite herself, her eyes tracking the way Harumasa methodically picked off each target from impossible angles. He was fast, way faster than anyone had expected.
"He's taking down six dummies at the same time just like that..." she whispered, her voice tight with disbelief.
Harumasa continued to weave between the targets, each arrow finding its mark with flawless accuracy. The sound of his arrow cutting through the air was the only noise heard above the occasional gunshot from the other officers. He was a blur of movement, never lingering, always adjusting and recalibrating with each shot. He barely even seemed to break a sweat.
The senior officer, once confident that his gun would easily outpace Harumasa’s bow, began to falter. He was hitting his targets, yes, but at a far slower pace. Meanwhile, Harumasa’s arrows were striking with such speed that it was almost impossible to keep up.
"How is he doing that?" one of the officers asked under his breath, watching in awe as Harumasa took down targets with lightning speed, one after the other.
In the midst of the chaos, Harumasa was calm, almost too calm. He wasn’t just firing for the sake of speed, each of his shots was precisely calculated in his head. His amber-like eyes were constantly scanning the field, reading the movements of the targets and adjusting accordingly. The senior officer couldn’t keep up with his unpredictability.
A target shifted to the far left, trying to evade Harumasa’s line of sight. Without hesitation, Harumasa dismantled the bow, turning it into dual blades with ease. He dashed forward, slicing through the air and cutting down the target with swift, decisive strikes. The crowd watched in stunned silence.
"I didn’t think he’d pull out the blades for this..." Miyabi, who had remained calm throughout, finally spoke, her voice low but tinged with satisfaction.
Yanagi gave her a side glance, a small smile forming on her face. "You knew that all along, didn’t you?"
Miyabi didn’t respond, but the corner of her mouth curled upward slightly.
When she reviewed his documents weeks ago, it hadn’t been an easy decision. On paper, Harumasa was a mixed bag. The health evaluation had been damning, barely passing the minimum number for an Executive Officer. Most would have stopped reading right there, writing him off as a liability. But Miyabi wasn’t like most people, and her curiosity pushed her to delve deeper into his file.
What she found impressed her more than she wanted to admit. His combat evaluations were flawless, displaying mastery over both ranged and melee tactics. Tactical simulations showed him outmaneuvering even seasoned officers with creative strategies that bordered on genius. His psychological assessments, while noting his laid-back demeanor, highlighted his sharp analytical mind and an unparalleled ability to think on his feet. Harumasa had passed every test outside of the health screenings with flying colors consistently.
Even before she officially signed the transfer proposal, Miyabi had a gut feeling about him. She recognized something in Harumasa that couldn’t be quantified by reports alone. She saw it in his adaptability, in the way he thrived in situations others would crumble under. To her, that resilience made him a better fit for Section 6 than most of the so-called 'ideal candidates'.
Her thoughts briefly flicked to the skepticism she’d faced from the higher-ups of HAND. They’d questioned her choice, warning her of the risks. But Miyabi had remained firm, confident in her judgment.
“This is my decision,” she had told them, her voice unwavering. “And I stand by it.”
Now, watching Yanagi’s twinkling look and Harumasa’s unpredictable antics in action, she couldn’t help but feel a rare, quiet sense of satisfaction. Yes, she’d known all along. Harumasa wasn’t just capable, he was extraordinary. And while she’d never openly praise him, deep down, she was proud to have him on her team.
Meanwhile, the senior officer was losing ground quickly. His shots, though accurate, lacked the speed and adaptability of Harumasa’s attacks. He was too focused on hitting each target perfectly, while Harumasa was thinking several steps ahead, using both ranged and melee combat to his advantage.
When the time ran out, the field fell silent. The scores were tallied, and the result was indisputable.
Harumasa had taken down thirty-seven targets with a perfect bullseye, an astonishing number that left everyone in the field gaping.
The senior officer, now standing at the sidelines with a look of surprise, turned to Harumasa. A defeated sigh left his lips and extended his hand toward the archer.
"I’ll admit, I underestimated you."
Harumasa, accepting the handshake, only shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "What can I say? I’m a man of efficiency."
"Well, it seems you’ve earned your place here after all, Executive Officer Asaba." The senior officer nodded once more, a gesture of acknowledgment. "Keep up the good work, Officer. The hollow's not the same as the training ground."
"Will do, sir~"
The man left the area after leaving a hard pat on Harumasa.
Miyabi stepped forward, nodding at Harumasa’s performance. "You did well, Harumasa. I’m impressed."
Harumasa flashed her a grin. He put his free hand on his chest dramatically. "A praise from the chief? Oh, today's gonna be my lucky day~"
The once skeptical officers, now convinced of Harumasa’s abilities, could only watch in silence as the bow-wielding newcomer was hailed as a force to be reckoned with. Even as they turned back to their weapons, they couldn’t help but acknowledge that Harumasa had proven one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt.
A bow could be just as deadly as a gun if wielded by the right person.
And Harumasa? He just smiled, knowing that he had, once again, defied expectations.
Later, when someone asked him about the inspiration for his weapon design, the resident archer just leaned his body back with a boyish grin decorating his lips.
"Honestly, I just didn’t want to carry two things. That’s all."