Sakura Mochi (LGBTQ+)

Chapter 2 - The Magic Room

"Concentrate, Rin," the sound of our instructor's annoying voice grated my ears, disrupting my sleep.

Yuki giggled from beside me, obviously enjoying this. It happened every day. I'd stop paying attention and our instructor would practically blow a fuse. Then, we'd get to leave early. Private education was wonderful.

"Since the both of you are clearly not paying attention, I guess you will have to learn how to use your flame by yourself," the instructor huffed.

My head shot up. "Flame?" I asked excitedly.

The instructor smirked. She sat down across from us and leaned forwards. "Yes. While you have not bloomed yet, you can still learn the basics of drawing out your flame. But, since you're not paying attention, I suppose I should end the lesson today."

"No!" I shouted. "Keep going. I'm paying attention now."

"Good," she said, then stood up again.

The instructor stood before us and closed her eyes. After a few breaths, she pressed a hand to her chest and slowly drew it away, and with it came her flame. I gasped, looking at the thin strand. It wasn't nearly as pretty as the flame-weaver's, but it was still so cool to look at.

"You see, children, your flame is a tangible extension of your soul. By drawing it from your core, you are creating a pure representation of your essence. Basically, we are creating magic. It is very powerful, and can be destructive if handled incorrectly or with ill intent."

The instructor let her hand fall away and the flame fell away with it. "You won't be able to do that until you bloom. Once your abilities are unlocked, you will be able to draw your flame out. But, that doesn't mean you can't learn the proper techniques and the history behind our flames."

I groaned, slouching in my chair. She didn't say we'd be learning history. The instructor began to lecture us and I stopped listening. I thought this would be interesting, but it wasn't. As she continued to talk, my mind drifted. The next thing I knew, Yuki was shaking me awake. "Rin, it's time for lunch."

"That was so boring," I groaned.

"I don't know, I kind of enjoyed it," Yuki mumbled.

I looked at her weirdly. "You're such a nerd," I said, pushing her lightly.

She huffed and pushed me back harder. "Shut up. Let's go, I'm hungry."

We both left our classroom and walked down the hall. It wasn't a real classroom, just a study that our parents repurposed to be a place we could be tutored in. Akira studied there, too, but their lessons were different from ours. Akira got to learn a bunch of cool stuff now that they had bloomed. They were almost an adult dragon, too. Lucky.

As we walked down the halls, we passed a set of closed double doors. I slowed my steps and turned back to them. Biting my lip, my hands urged me to reach out and open the doors. Inside was something Nobi kept from us. It was her special room that we weren't allowed in. But, she wouldn't be in there now, right?

"Bug," Yuki whispered harshly. "I know what you're thinking, so stop it. You know we aren't allowed in there."

"But, haven't you ever wondered what's inside? Even Akira has seen inside!"

Yuki sighed. "Because Akira is older than us. Duh. He gets to see cool stuff because he's grown up. We're not. So let's just go eat. Noni will be mad if we're not there on time."

"Just one peek," I tried to reason. "Please?"

My sister looked away, shutting her eyes tightly. I took that as my sign to open the doors, so I rushed over to them. My chest tightened for just a brief moment, the apprehension in the back of my mind trying to keep me from doing what I was about to. But, curiosity won out and I carefully opened one of the doors, peeking inside.