Samurai ↔ Nishimura Riki

thirteen

"Concentrate!"

Teacher Bom rapped against his head with his trademark sensu, making him wince in pain.

Riki lets out a hiss. He rubs his head. "Sir, can you not do that? It isn't helping."

He sat cross legged in the middle of the patio, his feet pointing inward while his knees face outward. Squinting his eyes closed, he tried to summon the calm in him, only to be left frustrated when he opened his eyes with no flame dancing on the small campfire in front of him.

"Feeling smart-mouthed to talk back to your elders, eh?" The old man barked, hitting the fancy fan harshly on his student's head. "Use that brain of yours to light the kindle on fire. Then you can talk as much as you want."

Riki gritted his teeth before closing his eyes once more. He was very tempted to snatch that fragile, thin object from his hand and break it in two.

It was pitch dark except for a small orb of light sitting in the middle of it all, glowing warmly. Eagerly, he reaches for it, but it darts away from his gasp. Attempt after attempt follow until he pounces on it, finally under his hold.

Faintly, the prince could hear Teacher Bom shouting instructions. "Good! Now tighten your grip on it and establish your power over it!"

Tighten his grip? Riki wanted to protest. How could he 'tighten his grip' on something that was technically intangible? But then again, grabbing it should've been an impossible feat as well. Magic made a lot of things impossible possible.

He focuses on the light. He feels it squirming, shifting around, not liking to be restrained. But it doesn't escape.

Riki relaxes. Teacher Bom wasn't shouting at him now. Maybe he finally got the hang of it.

An image of a fire dancing on the campfire appeared in his mind. He concentrates on it, willing for the light to grow.

Slowly, the brightness of the orb blazes, expanding, its shine nearly blinding, even though his eyes were closed. Its intense, brilliant glow exploded in the darkness. His head throbbed, but he forces himself to keep going.

When it becomes unbearable, his eyes pop open, only to be met with the sight of a roaring 15 feet high fire.

Riki yelps in alarm before quickly scooching backwards. He had done his task a bit too well.

His instructor wasn't much help. "Calm down the fire before it burns the whole pavilion!" he yells, batting at the flames with a fan before it went on fire as well, causing him to drop it.

Very helpful.

The prince knew very well that Teacher Bom could easily make the fire disappear with strong gusts of wind, but apparently, it was up to him to vanquish it.

But before he could do anything about it, a large stream of water soared through the air before dousing the fire, leaving nothing but smoke and charred wood.

And of course in the process, he had to get soaked in water too.

Coolly, the culprit stepped into view, leaning back on one of the poles supporting the roof.

"C-Couldn't you direct the water a bit more carefully?" Riki's teeth chattered as the cold sensation hit him. He tried to muster a scowl, but he was more focused on conserving body warmth so it was more of a grimace.

His guard flashes a grin. "Whoops. Sorry, Your Highness," she mocks. "I lost control. You should thank me, if not for me, your pavilion would be burning ashes by now." Hyewon turns towards Teacher Bom and bows. "Hello, sir."