The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

'Target shooting! Hmm. So easy. It's no biggie!' Elle thought to herself confidently.

However, it turned out to be the opposite of what she had expected. Indeed, this was a real distinction of reality vs expectation.

The target shooting in which Diana and her friends were talking about was none other than but archery. A f*cking archery in which Elle had not tried even before. She was trained to use a gun for shooting, as well as darts and daggers but never a bow and arrows.

"Archery is a unique sport. I know some of you are used to holding guns but today it would be different. You will be using a bow and arrows in this activity. We will also divide the group and make 6 teams with two members in each team. We will determine the team through a draw lot." Diana explained to everyone.

"There are six colors to be picked through a draw lot. The two persons who pick the same colors will form as a team," Diana added before she let everyone pick their designated colors.

After a few seconds, the six teams were finalized.

Josh and Sandy= Team Yellow

Bryan and June= Team Green

Kisses and Jeff= Team White

Laura and Isabelle= Team Black

Diana and Erick= Team Blue

Jake and Elle= Team Red

"Each team will be given ten arrows to shoot. So five arrows per member. There are corresponding points when the arrow hits the different areas in the target. Ten is the highest and one is the lowest. The bullseye is worth ten points. The combined scores of each team member will be tallied to determine the final winners. Do you have any questions?"

It was Sandy who raised her hand.

"Ahem, Diana, can we have a practice first before we officially start the game? This is my first time holding a bow and an arrow." Sandy requested.

"Is anyone here who wants to agree with Miss Sandy's suggestion?" Diana consulted everyone.

Josh, June, Bryan, and Elle raised their hands, signifying that they also want to practice shooting first.

Erick chuckled when he saw Elle raising her hand. In his mind, he thought Elle was becoming competitive this time. Meanwhile, Elle saw Erick's reaction. She just shot him a glare.

"Alright, we will give you time to practice shooting. Is a twenty-minute practice enough for you, guys?" Diana allowed them to do that.

Sandy: "Yes, Miss Diana!" 

"Okay, you can practice with your team!" 

With that, everyone took their designated bow and arrows and they practiced shooting together with their partners.

Just like horseback riding, Diana was an expert in archery. Diana was very glad that Erick became her partner this time. She even helped Erick to practice, giving him tips on how to aim and release the arrow. 

She was enjoying it. She appeared to be a trainer while Erick was her trainee. Erick was a fast learner. In just a few minutes, he was able to control his shooting, easily hitting the target. Diana was also able to show him her shooting skills. She would always hit the bullseye.

Meanwhile, On Elle's part, she was having difficulty. Ten minutes had passed but still, she had not hit the target. Her arrows always fell on the ground, failing to reach the target.

'[email protected]! This is quite difficult. Argh. It's starting to strain my arms. I feel strange. I think... my body did not hundred percent recover yet.'

Sandy noticed Elle was already sweating a lot. It's only been ten minutes since they started to practice.

"Hey, Ali. Are you okay? Don't force your body. The doctor advised you to refrain from activities that require you to exhaust too much energy." Sandy told her with a concerned voice.

"Don't worry. I am fine. It's just that this is my first time doing this." Elle smiled faintly as she reassured her.

Then Elle turned to Erick's direction. She saw Erick was improving a lot as minutes passed by.

"I see… He is really enjoying this huh." Elle clenched her fist seeing Diana and Erick laughing together. 

They were just rejoicing since Erick finally hit the bullseye because of Diana's help. But little did she know, Erick was laughing not because of that, but because of her.

Erick stole glances at Elle from time to time, secretly observing her. He even caught her staring at his direction with an annoyed expression. She was already wearing ugly expression but Erick still found it very cute. He couldn't help but laugh out loud because of that.

Oblivious of what Erick was truly thinking, with her glaring eyes and a raging fury inside her, Elle tried to shoot the target once again. 

Swoosh! 

Dang!

It failed to hit the target once again.

"[email protected]! Can I just use darts and daggers!??" Elle exclaimed in annoyance.

She was in a bad mood now. She hated to admit but Diana really looked cool every time she hit the bullseye. Elle knew that Diana was obviously trying to impress Erick. And it seemed that she already succeeded in doing so.

'Erick Lee! I won't allow you to win! I won't! I will win this and I will make you my slave for one week. How dare you laugh with another woman? Just you wait!'

Unknown to Elle, several pairs of eyes were also watching them. 

"Hmm, who do you think is the strongest duo right now?" Kisses asked her friends.

"Obviously, Diana and Detective Lee," Jeff said matter-of-factly.

Isabelle shook her head "I pity Jake. I think he's not gonna win today. Look at his partner."

Then the four of them averted their gaze at Elle. They even laughed at her as she failed to hit the target many times.

"I think they are the weakest duo today," Laura said while belittling Jake and Elle.

Jeff, Kisses, and Isabelle nodded in agreement. They burst out laughing at that thought.

At the same time, June and Bryan were also talking about Elle.

"I think Aliyah is not Elle. See… she's having difficulty right now. If she is Catseye then she can do this easily. Right?" June shared his thoughts with Bryan.

Bryan was having conflicting thoughts. "What if she's just faking it to avoid suspicion?"

"I don't think so. Can you see it? She's already bathing in her own sweats. She also looks tired already." June said as he noticed the bead of sweats on Elle's forehead.

On the other hand, Jake had been silently observing her since the beginning. He just let her be and didn't disturb her since Elle wanted to do it alone. But looking at her right now, Jake couldn't stand still any longer.

He took his steps going to Elle.

"Miss Aliyah, I think you need my help now!" Jake said to her helplessly.

"Do you want me to teach you?" Jake softly said as he offered her a hand.

Elle paused for a moment, watching Jake in front of her. He looked like he really wanted to help her.

After much thought and careful consideration, Elle decided to ask him for help.

"Sure… are you good in archery?" Elle asked him, feeling doubtful.

Sensing her doubts, Jake let out a husky laugh.

"Well, slight only. Want me to show you? Then after that, you can decide whether you will trust me to teach you or not" Jake was not the kind of person who wanted to brag.

"Hmm, sure. Show me then!"

Jake smiled at her before he picked up the bow and the arrows. He shot ten arrows in a row. All of them hit the bullseye!

Elle was dumbfounded. 

'Is that what he meant by saying 'slightly good'. Is he kidding me? He is not just good! He is an expert!'

After that, Jake faced her again.

"Ahem, so Miss Aliyah, did I pass? Am I now qualified to be your trainer?" Jake asked her anxiously.

He didn't know why but he felt nervous right now. He didn't intend to brag his skills in archery by hitting the bullseye ten times. He did that because he just wanted to make Elle trust him and allow him to teach her.

"Jake… can you make me hit the bullseye after the remaining eight minutes of our practice shooting?" Elle said as she looked at him amusingly.

Jake's face brightened up after hearing that.

"Yes, I will! Leave it to me!" Jake responded to her enthusiastically.