Marksmanship Training

[Oda Nobunaga]

Ikeda Keisuke: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Marksmanship - D

[Zhuo Jina]

Recently, Jina had been practicing with a bow at her new training camp in the Oshu territory. Over the last couple weeks, she had spent countless hours teaching herself proper breathing, then proper tension and finally, aim.

Jina knew that being a ranged warrior with melee skills was important to her future as a Date. She knew that as the war progressed, she would have to fight and fight well. She was training with the bow since her skills with the sword had become a forced to be reckoned with. Jina knew that if she couldn't fire an arrow, she may not survive even the first battle.

When the marksmen had arrived under orders of the Big Boss, Jina felt a sense of pride in her accomplishments over the last few weeks. She would be able to prove herself once again in the eyes of Lord Date and was excited to show off her new skills.

"The target is 100 yards away. You are expected to hit the target in the head-region at least 15 times out of 20. We will move onto the second task after successful completion of the first."

The marksmen who had been assigned to her unit was instructing them to hit a target at that range with just 20 arrows at 75% accuracy. Jina realized how glad she was that she had been training the last few weeks, since the task seemed something that would be tough for even her.

After a couple of other archers had finished their task, some successfully and some not, it was her turn. Jina drew her bow, aimed and let fly her first arrow. She missed. Shit. Luckily, her second, third and forth arrows hit, even if barely. Her fifth arrow hit the shoulder of the target, counting as a miss. Six through twelve hit, so she was at 10 of 15 needed with only two misses. Jina missed her thirteenth arrow, scowling at how close she had been, but still the arrow whirred by the target. Fourteen and fifteen hit, with sixteen a miss. She was able to successfully hit the target perfectly on seventeen, and the last three also hit. Jina had hit her target 17 times out of 20, making her first task a success.

Internally, Jina cheered. There were still more archers to make the task, and she watched as some successful came to stand with her, while others failed miserably. It was obvious who was trained, or at least practiced in marksmanship.

"Your next task is to hit a moving target in the leg region. You will be given ten arrows and will be expected to hit eight times. This is your final task for the day."

Jina was a little surprised at her next task. It appeared just as simple as the one before. While she had been practicing on mostly stationary targets, her aim had become solid while training and had hit a moving target with fairly good accuracy.

When it was her turn to step up, Jina's first five arrows struck true, impaling the target in the legs. Happy and a little over-confident, Jina missed her sixth arrow. Not intending to miss another, she successfully hit the last four arrows with one lodged in the foot region of the target. 

Once again, Jina trotted over to the successful-archer area and waited to be rewarded. As more of her comrades failed, Jina became more and more glad of her diligence in the last couple weeks before the marksmen had showed up. She was truly proving herself to the Big Boss.

[Takeda Shingen]

Zhuo Jina: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Marksmanship - D

[Deleted]

“Marksmanship training, now that’s what I’m talking about.” Juubei exclaimed as he’d received the news that his mercenary unit was going to be doing some training on this fine morning. The various men and women were grabbing bows and quivers of arrows, getting ready to show the brass what they were made out of. Juubei didn’t do this. He instead grabbed a couple of matchlock pistols from his tent and went forward with the training with them. Matchlock pistols were known to be inaccurate, slow to reload, and detrimental because the smoke caused from there firing tended to be quite thick and therefore obscuring to the shooter. Despite that, Juubei felt that guns were the future and thought it best to devote his time to the mastery of a technology that would eventually phase out the bow.

Juubei stepped up to the firing line, the smoldering slow match was already clutched by the serpentine, the hardened brass spring keeping it in place until such time that Juubei pulled the trigger. The first target was a hundred yards away, a long distance for such a weapon, but Juubei wasn’t worried. He lifted the weapon and pointed it downrange, towards his appointed target, his eyes closing in the process. The rhythm of his breathing was steadied, the winds direction and speed mentally taken note of, but most importantly, he had to change to pull off such a shot. That internal switch in his mind, the one that transformed him from the emotionless torturer or both man and women, to jovial laidback mercenary was flipped. His eyes seemingly adopted a very distant look to them and the shaking of his hand all but vanished. Juubei saw his target, halted his breathing halfway through the inhalation to steady his aim, and slowly squeezed the trigger so as not to jerk it downward and throw off the trajectory. The slow match struck the flash pan and the gun went off in a thunderous boom. The metal ball flew downrange with expert precision and struck the straw target clean between where the eyes would have been had it been a real man.

The person next to him was firing at his moving target and with his peripheral vision, Juubei took aim at it. He took hold of his other pistol with his left hand, rotated to the left slightly while coming into a kneeling position, and took his shot, all within a few seconds time. As with the first shot Juubei had fired, this one was right on the money, or would have been, had the wind not shifted slightly at the precise moment he pulled the trigger. The ball impacted the grass between the legs of the target and did nothing but produce a small shower of dirt. A soured expression came upon Juubei’s face as he realized his shot had missed. He didn’t have another pistol on his person at the time and instead grabbed one belonging to the person next to him. This time he wouldn’t miss. The wind hadn’t altered since the last time he’d shot and Juubei needed only remember his aiming and breathing techniques to properly put lead on target. He did just that and within ten minutes, all of his targets were down. The man who’d gun he’d taken for his second shot was about to protest, but kept his mouth shut after seeing the expression on Juubei’s face. The hesitancy registered deep within his mind and that reminded Juubei that he need no longer be in this mindset. With a couple deep breaths, he resumed his jovial nature and laughed off the situation, claiming that perhaps he’d gotten a bit carried away.

Some of the others questioned him about how he’d managed to hit both targets so efficiently and Juubei explained that he’d done a lot of target practice earlier on. He went on to explain that shooting at targets was nowhere near the same as being in a battle, where the target is shooting back, so they shouldn’t expect him to produce the same results in an actual fight. With his portion of the training finished, Juubei merely watched the others complete their assigned tasks. Throughout the day Juubei could be heard cheering people on and giving them a few tips.

…… At least that’s what this day would have been like had his commanders seen fit to limit the days training to just a bow and arrow. So, in keeping with the theme of the day, Juubei left his pistols back in his tent and brought out a bow and ten arrows. He disdained the usage of such antiquated technology, but orders were orders. Juubei used many of the skills needed for a good pistol shot with the bow and in just two arrows he was able to hit his mark. Than came the moving target and this one wasn’t going to be as easy, especially for someone with only limited experience in handling a bow.


The first arrow he fired at the moving target was a complete miss and he was starting to feel twinges of annoyance. He hadn’t planned on using a bow in any fight, so he didn’t really have an abundance of patience when it came to using it. The only thing that stopped him from throwing the damned thing to the ground and calling it quits was the fact that he’d claimed to be an expert marksman to all the others and if he gave up now, it’d make him look like a complete fool. In his defense, he hadn’t imagined that when he’d made the comment, his first bit of marksmanship training wouldn’t involve firearms. “Suck it up, Juubei, and let’s get this over with.” He repeated this to himself over and over again, like a mantra, getting himself psyched up for the next shot. He made sure to adjust his aim for the wind speed and ensured that he held his breath at the proper moment. When it finally came time to let it fly, the arrow performed decently well and struck the target in the area where a man’s knee would have been. With both tasks completed, Juubei tossed the bow & remaining arrows to the ground and simply walked away with a sigh.

[Takeda Shingen]

Kurosawa Juubei: +2 Dex

Proficiency: Marksmanship - D

[Nomi no Ōkata]

"Archery? Excuse me, but are you joking, Mori-sama?" asked the woman, taken aback by her lord's request.

His expression was unreadable and entirely serious, per usual. "You know I do not joke, Okata-san. There is no time for it."

"Then what in hell are you going on about me training in archery?! I am a whore. A spy. I'm not a fighter. You know that!" exclaimed Okata. She was getting flustered. "I never will be!"

Motonari closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "If you are to serve me, you must also train the physical body. You are strong of mind and in the art of deception, but weak and slow. If you were gathering information and were caught before you could slip away or kill the enemy before he grew suspicious, what would you do? What if the man was much stronger than you or there were multiple men?"

Upon opening his brown eyes, they bore straight into Okata, and he said coolly, "If you cannot defend yourself in such circumstances and are killed so easily, then you are no use to me."

Okata's eyes widened and the woman felt a sharp pang in her heart. Despite her training and great control over her emotions, tears welled up within the woman's light blue hues. His words hurt more than any blade possibly could, and she swallowed roughly. Lord Mori was her light. He was her sun, her salvation, her love, her everything. A small whimper sounded from her, unable to help herself, and Okata said quietly, the tone of her sultry voice clearly hurt, "I am skilled in everything I have ever needed to be, physically and mentally..."

While his expression still remained impassive, it was not harsh or cruel, as it could be with those who angered him. He wasn't even annoyed. It was a softer impassiveness. Okata couldn't ever entirely read him, but she could tell those subtle differences, where others could not. Motonari stood up from his seat and walked towards his concubine. Standing next to her, he stopped and Lord Mori replied, "And now I am asking for more. Demanding it."

Okata's brows furrowed and she turned away, still hurt by what he said, even if she knew it to be true. Yes, she was offended, and yet the woman could not argue against his words. His wisdom would always surpass hers, and no matter what Okata would always love him and remain true, and do as he asked. Biting down on her ruby lip, Okata inhaled sharply and folded her arms over her bosom.

"... Fine."

~*~

Over the next couple of weeks, Lord Mori trained Okata with the bow. She struggled immensely, as the woman was weak and not used to holding weapons such as this. It required a good deal of strength for her to pull back the string, and she was pitiful at aiming. Okata felt terribly ashamed of her performances before Lord Mori, constantly embarrassed with how slowly she felt she was learning. It was to the point where she could not even look her lord in the eye, despite the fact that she was a complete beginner.

Despite the learning curve, Okata did improve as time passed, and by the end of the second week of intensive training, she was decent enough to where she took down most of her targets.

Now it was time for her to prove herself to Lord Mori, and to hopefully be able to look into the face of light once more.

"I hope I live up to your expectations, Mori-sama," said the woman with a low bow, loose strands of black locks cascading before her pleasant face.

Standing up tall, the concubine stepped forward in the field, bow in hand. The targets were about one-hundred feet away, and as Okata glanced backwards to look at her lord, she gulped. It was nerve-wracking having Motonari standing behind her, scrutinizing her every move. If she failed or disappointed him, she would kill herself on the spot.

Taking careful aim, Okata made her first target perfectly, right in the center of the head of the dummy, and she sighed in relief. She aimed again and fired, making that one as well. Her shaking arms and hands began to steady as her confidence grew with each successive hit. The sweat on her brow began to dissipate, and it became easier to breath. Her heart was also starting to unclench. It wasn't until the seventh strike that she missed, aiming a little too high. The arrow narrowly missed the top of the target, and Okata glanced back worriedly at Lord Mori. She was allowed one mess up, right?!

Looking back, Okata bit down on her bottom lip and forced herself to focus on her breathing. She could do this. She had to, and the concubine slowed her pace, making sure to carefully aim before firing. Fortunately, the woman made the rest of the shots easily (with one hitting the shoulder and not the head), albeit nervously.

"Good," said her lordship, and Okata couldn't have been more relieved in her life to hear that simple word. Lord Mori wasn't one to compliment or encourage much of anyone, so this was good. This was excellent! It meant she was doing a good job. Thank the gods!

The next trial involved dogs, and Okata was pretty sure some of them were puppies (heh, puppy punting), and he ordered her to shoot them in the legs, mentioning that she had ten shots to make and that she needed to make eight of them. Moving targets. Oh joy...

Hands and arms shaky again, Okata aimed and fired at one of the canines, and narrowly missed, as the dog went scampering off. She cursed herself and aimed again, firing and hitting a hind quarter. It whimpered and whined, and Okata had a feeling that her lordship found some amusement in the cries of the mangy dog, even if he didn't show it. There was this smug impassiveness emanating from him, she was sure...

There was a puppy bouncing about and the woman fired and hit her target. Unlike the dog, she was pretty sure she killed the tiny thing. Fortunately, she didn't really care. Motonari really had rubbed off on her.

Another dog went down. And another. On the ninth shot, she missed again, hitting the dog in the belly, but she fired again, and hit the canine in the leg while it was down just in case her lordship wouldn't be pleased with the belly shot.

Releasing a sigh, Okata wiped her brow and turned to Motonari. She succeeded, and was happy to have lived up to his expectations. That still didn't deter her annoyance for having to do all of this in the first place, even if she understood the practicality of it, and, when she moved towards Lord Mori, the concubine somewhat shoved the bow and arrows in his hands.

"I feel gross. I want to take a bath and cool down, Mori-sama," declared the woman, pouting her lips. She glanced away from him, arms crossing over her chest, although from the corner of her eye, Okata saw that there was the smallest, tiniest glimmer of amusement in his brown eyes.

"Of course."

Damn him with how even when she was supposed to be irritated with him that her heart fluttered! Instead of being an ass and further pissing her off, which was what she wanted, he was being kind of... pleasant. And it was annoying that he wasn't annoyed with her being annoyed at him!!! It was like he was playing her even then, and had yet again the advantage as he always did. Lord Mori was the only person she felt out of control around emotionally, especially over the last year, and it was both frustrating and invigorating.

Now hopes of Motonari joining her during her bath flooded her mind, and Okata internally groaned at herself, grumbling incoherently as she sulked away.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Nomi no Ōkata: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Marksmanship - D

LOOOONG SPQS

[Kyojin]

Kyojin was anything but a marksman, but everyone else was doing it, so he might as well learn how to play this game. what made it even more important was that the reigning lord decided that it was important to play. He had to obey the master of the lands, so he would do what he could. Twenty shots would be fired and he would hit them all! After all, how hard could this game be? He was good at playing games, especially the ones he made up. His favorite game was 'Count the Rocks" -- where he would count the rocks to pass the time whenever he was going somewhere. More often than not, he would get lost when he played his rock counting game, but no one dared interrupt him or correct him chronologically.

He would be good at this game too. He picked up his bow and knocked an arrow. He was behind the special line and he was ready. He pulled back the string and 'plink' the arrow flew from his hands. It flew through the air and cursing was heard. "Wrong way! Wrong way!" Several men ran up to him as he started to knock another arrow. He didn't even notice them and like a cow he was guided to face the right direction. "Arrow number six..." He pulled back the string and it hurdled through the air and into the ground. The second arrow had flown closer than the first, but the accuracy was beyond off.

"These arrows so weird." He let another fly out, just clipping the bottom of the target. "Guys these arrows are broken! Guys?" He spun around, letting lose another arrow into the surrounding area-- once again missing the target. "They sposed to be hitting the man thingy, but they not going right." He pouted, taking a seat as he shot off another arrow. This one hit the target square in the chest.

"Never mind, they works!" He giggled and shot off another. This one his the target's shoulder. He fixed them! "Good ting I fixed them. Those people so stupid. They making bad arrows." Arrows six through ten were decent. None of them were confirmed kills, but one did stick through the cheek. Next came the moving target!

Kyojin took his stance -- his butt planted firmly on the ground and the equipment in his hands. He was getting tired of this game. He had already counted fifty arrows and his fingers were feeling like they were going to fall off. He did not like this feeling one bit. Little people flung arrows, he smashed stuff to bits with his kanabo. Maybe if he loaded it with more than one arrow, he would get done faster.

He put two arrows on his bow and let the two fly toward the moving target. Both arrows missed. Again he tried and he nicked it. He added another arrow to his attack and shot three at a time. All of those missed as well. His last load was shot off and two pierced the side of the target. This upset Kyojin. He was going to win at this game, but these arrows were broken. How was he supposed to win if the other people cheat and give him bad things?

He held his bow in both hands and shouted as he stomped his feet. "No fair! Not fair! stupid bow cheated'ed Kyojin!" He swung his arms toward the target. The weapon spun through the air, cutting through the air. The thong on the bow was whistling as it snickered through the air. The handle of the bow hit the moving target and the target immediately began to give way. 'Snap, snip, snap...' The internal workings of the target broke, until it finally broke in half. The bow broke into three pieces and tangled around the bottom half of the target.

Kyojin had failed accuracy with arrows, but with a bow... He was flawless.

[Mōri Motonari]

Kyojin: +1 Dexterity (the objective wasn't met and he failed, but there was effort here lol)