Samurai ↔ Nishimura Riki

seventeen

If there was only one thing he hated, it would be awkward silence.

A small pond filled with koi fish burbled nearby. They sat on the steps in the backyard of Hyewon's cousin's clinic. Ten minutes had already passed by without either of them speaking a word to each other and with each second, he became more and more anxious. A few meters away was Prudence, the horse they had ridden here, grazing peacefully on the grass.

Stupid, he berated himself in his mind, if you had to get caught, at least do it right.

Feeling restless, Riki pulled out some of the grass from the soil. It was better to address the wound then let it fester. "So that's why you came here." he spoke first, breaking the silence, averting eyesight as he shredded grass into tiny pieces.

And of course, she promptly ignored him.

"Hey." The prince poked her. "Say something. Yah, did you suddenly become mute?"

Before he could register it, Hyewon faced him sharply. "What do you want?"

By now, he was used to her glares. But with the combination of her hard tone and the fierceness of her glower, he actually felt somewhat intimidated. He swallowed. "Uhh... are you okay? You seem kind of mad."

No duh, Nishimura.

That didn't improve her mood. She rolled her eyes. "No, Nishimura, I'm super happy-go-lucky and overjoyed at the fact that you eavesdropped on my private conversation." Hyewon purposely made her voice high-pitched and whiney, which made him flinch. She dropped the act. "Are you stupid? Do you never listen? You were supposed to wait outside! That was a reserved conversation between Heeseung and I, Nishimura. Don't meddle in my affairs, it's none of your business."

He opened his mouth to defend himself. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop on something so serious. If he had known what their conversation was about in the first place, he wouldn't have done it. But he didn't say that. Instead he asked bluntly, "So? Is it true? Are your powers not working?"

Her body visibly stiffened. Was that the wrong thing to say? "How much did you hear?"

"... All of it," he admitted.

She turned away from him and looked into the pond, gazing at the fish swimming peacefully in the water. "Well? Do you really need me to answer that question then?" Hyewon sighed, her eyes reflecting the small pond. "Yes, they aren't working. There. Are you happy?"

Her tone was bitter and... tired. Her eyes were glassy and they seemed as if they might close at any moment. Riki didn't know how to respond to that. He wasn't really good at comforting people and to be fair, he didn't really know how she felt. But seeing as this situation came to be because of him, he felt compelled to try. "But..." he trailed off. "You still have your sword-fighting skills, right? They're pretty formidable."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Hyewon's head whipped back to him. With words filled with contempt, she snapped, "Of course I can't expect you to understand." Sarcasm dripped from her voice. "You can barely control your own powers. Unlike you, I worked so hard to build my power up." She swayed slightly as her voice broke. "Now it's all gone."

The prince wrinkled his nose. He knew he was being inconsiderate, but wasn't she being a bit too melodramatic? It wasn't like they were gone or anything.

He put himself in her shoes. Riki tried to imagine himself as her, loud, bold, Hyewon, a fearless, remarkable swordsman (it hurt his pride to acknowledge it) with strong magic.

Don't forget pretty too, his mind reminded before he shushed that thought. Not now.

How would he feel if her powers suddenly malfunctioned, had nightmarish visions every night, and was found out by a certain snoopy prince?