Ranko's first shot went wide as the gun bucked in her hands. She hadn't expected the recoil to be this intense, and she took a moment to judge the amount of extra compensation she'd need to get it under control. The next shot was better - still off target by a bit, but at least it was on the paper. Within three more shots, she felt she'd gotten it, but fired the remaining eleven rounds just to make sure, before removing the magazine and placing the gun on the bench before her. Marko reeled in the target, although Ranko didn't really need a better look. There would be only three holes in the paper target.
Marko gave her a sceptical look as he studied the target, and Ranko took it upon herself to explain.
"First round", she said, and pointed to a spot downrange, above and left of the target area. "Second round," the solitary hole in in the upper corner of the target. "Third through tenth round." This was a largish ragged hole, about an inch across, four inches off the center of the target. "Eleventh through sixteenth." The final six, in a neat hole not much bigger than a single bullet, dead center. Ranko looked mournfully at the big hole, aand wanted to avoid thinking about the two misses altogether.
Marko raised an eyebrow at Ranko's description.
"You compensated for the misaligned sight? Good."
Ranko could hardly believe that she was being praised for this, rather than berated for missing with the first round. Somewhere in the back of her head, she remembered a man telling her that anything less than perfection was unacceptable.
"I want you to load and fire another sixteen rounds, Ranko, and try to hit as close as possible to the center. I'll be looking through the scope this time."
Ranko nodded, and inserted her second prepared magazine into the butt of her gun, then raised it and fired all sixteen shots in one continous series. Four seconds after she began, the gun and the now empty magazine were on the table, and Marko reeled in the target.
This time, there was only one hole - half an inch across, dead center. Marko stared at it for a few moments, then hooked up a third target.
"Put the next sixteen rounds next to each other on a line, please, as close as possible without overlapping."
As soon as the target was in position, Ranko loaded the gun with her third and final prepared magazine, and let loose, even faster than before. This time, there were sixteen holes in the target, arranged in a perfect square over the center. Marko looked at the target for a few moments, then unhooked it and left her standing at her bench. She wondered what was wrong - was Marko angry with her for putting them in a square, rather than on a line? The black circle wouldn't have been big enough for all sixteen on one row...
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(Posted Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:44)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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