Practice Makes Perfect [Elemental-Verse]
Title: Practice Makes Perfect
Author: fangirlism_era
Rating: G
Pairing: no pairing in this part
Word Count: 1,567
Genre: AU, Supernatural
Summary: Takes place before my Opposites fic. I’ll call this the Elemental-verse from now on. So everything related to Opposites will be called Elemental-verse. :)
Practice Makes Perfect
To master a skill, one must practice and this is exactly what Shige did to master the skill of summoning all elements. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, he practices. No one stops him so he practices. He practices so hard that one day, he falls ill. His parents were alarmed, the whole palace is worried but still, no one is allowed to see him, even a glance is prohibited. He went to full recovery after three weeks and he started practicing again.
There’s a spell book, one passed on from generation to generation. The spell book is Shige’s bestfriend, aside from his imaginary cat, Wagahai. He started mastering the art of summoning water, it’s his natural element after all. Like any other beginnings, it was hard. He was exhausted to his bones but that never stopped him. He never really liked weak people. So even if he exhausted himself because of practice, he always wakes up early the next day to start practice again. The water element is by nature, hard to control. It always ends up being a failure at first because of the strength of water. Never giving up, Shige decided to challenge the water dragon itself. So he set out to travel to the water dragon’s lair, the ocean. It’s a peaceful ocean but Shige is not fooled, underneath lies a dangerous being and he is a man on a mission.
Carefully lowering himself into the water, he takes a deep breath, casts a spell to make him breathe underwater and proceeded to the dragon’s lair. Once outside the entrance, Shige is surprised by the absence of the dragon. Upon touching the door, he is transported to another dimension, another world. Being used to transportations like that, unlike other beings, Shige remained untainted. He thinks, wonders where he is taken but he never fainted. The next thing he knew, he is standing in front of a table of four.
Sitting around the table are four beautiful beings.
“Hello, Shigeaki, heir of the Water Wielders. We were expecting you. I am the Wind Nymph.”
“You were expecting me?”
“Yes. You have been training hard. I am the Water Dragon.”
“You don’t look like a dragon.”
“He doesn’t, ne? I am the Fire Blix.”
“Welcome to the Elemental Table. I am the Earth Fairy.”
“What is this place?” Shige asked them.
“The Elemental Table, this is where all elements gather.” The Fire Blix told him.
“Why were you expecting me?”
“You are the only one out of this current generation’s heirs that is interested in summoning us. You’ve been working hard and we like it. We would like to take you in as an apprentice, to make sure you master all elements and all spells in the spell book.” The Water Dragon told the young heir.
“Seriously?” Shige asked them.
“Yes, now change to these clothes and get ready to train.” The Earth Fairy tells the young man and tosses him training clothes.
Shige enters the house he was shown to and looks at the clothes that was given to him. They were normal, peasant-like but although Shige was raised an heir, he was never picky. So he shrugs and puts the clothes on then walks back out.
“You look good in that. I wonder why?” The Wind Nymph commented on Shige’s clothes.
“He has an air around him, doesn’t he?” The Fire Blix answered the Nymph.
“He was raised by Jun Matsumoto, of course he’ll have a certain air around him. That Matsumoto is very good in raising a child.” Shigeaki heard the Earth Fairy praise his mother.
“Okay, let’s start the training.” The Water Dragon put his hand on Shige’s shoulder. “Now, concentrate on summoning all the water you can to your palm.”
Shige closed his eyes, focused his power to his palm and in a matter of moments, he felt moisture forming on his palm, he continued and suddenly, like a faucet, water spurted out from his palm. Shige opened his eyes and looks at his palms in amazement. He looks at the Water Dragon and he can see the look of approval.
“You’re stronger than I thought. It took quite a while to summon water but you were able to do it better than any beginner I know. We’ll have to focus on that.” He paused. “Now, sit on that trunk for an hour without moving or talking. When you move, the hour will start over.”
Shigeaki obediently sat on the trunk but twenty minutes into sitting still, his nose got itchy and he reached up to scratch it.
“Restart! You moved!” The Water Dragon shouted from the Elemental Table, which is at the front of the house, the trunk was at the backyard.
“But-“ Shigeaki started.
“No complaints! Restart!”
So Shige sat down again and concentrated on keeping still. And eventually, the hour is up. The Water Dragon is in front of him in an instant.
“Follow me.”
Shige stood up and followed the Dragon deeper into the forest and finds himself standing at the edge of a cliff. The body of water below has bamboo sticks and uneven platforms sticking out of it.
“Climb on the highest platform and balance there for an hour.”
“But-“
“No complaints! Now, start climbing!”
Shigeaki stopped complaining and just focused on the task at hand, that is climbing the platform and staying there for an hour. He climbed to the highest one and clung to the stick until the hour is over, never once falling.
“Good, you found a loophole but next time, you’re balancing on the platform standing, understand? Remember everything that you did today because that will be your training from now on. You are here to train and master all elements and to successfully summon all elements, you must keep yourself in shape. Go back to the house, there’s dinner ready and then you can sleep.” The Water Dragon dismissed him with a wave of hand.
Shigeaki trudged back to the small cottage that will be his home until he masters everything. ‘Maybe this training won’t be so bad after all.’ Were his thoughts before succumbing into tiredness.
-----------------------------
Shigeaki is flushed awake the next day, very early in the morning since the sun is still not up. He was told to go out for a jog around the forest, immediately accompanied by two wolves. When he got back to the cottage, breakfast is ready and a stack of books are on top of the table next to his breakfast. There is a note on top of the stack telling him to read these books and then start his training after reading the books. After breakfast, he started reading the books and was done reading before two in the afternoon. He decided that doing the platforms first would be better so he went to the forest and balance on the platforms perfectly, unlike the clinging he did yesterday. After training on the platform, he sat on the trunk in his backyard and stayed there, unmoving for an hour.
Eventually, this became a routine and the heir got used to this that he performed the training longer than the allotted time and this only made the elements proud.
-----------------------------
One day, when the heir is wakes up on his own, trains on his own, trains for a longer period of time, he is called by the elements.
“You are ready.” The Wind Nymph told him. “Hold out your hand, I am giving you full control of the wind. No other being has control over this except for me.” She enclosed Shige’s outstretched hands within hers and suddenly, the heir feels a gush of power entering his body. Wind blades whirl around him for a few seconds before it calms down and settles deep within his body. He opens his palm and summons a small tornado, just to see if he has full control of the wind.
“I’m impressed. Now, give me your hand. I’m doing the same. Actually, we all are.” The Water Dragon took hold of the young heir’s hands and gave him the power. Like the wind, Shige feels a gush of power before settling down and trying it out. The same happened to the Fire Blix and the Earth Fairy. They entrusted full power of the elements to the Water Wielder’s heir, fully knowing that he will be responsible for everything that is given to him.
-----------------------------
After some much needed rest after the strain of the events earlier in the day, Shige set out to go back to the palace. He thanked the elements and promises full responsibility over the gifts. He achieved the power he wanted and studied for.
-----------------------------
Shige’s POV
I arrive back to the palace and see that nothing has changed, everything is still in order and it was like no one noticed me gone. That’s when I realized, they never knew I was gone. I look at the calendar and see that the date is the same as when I left. Time stopped. I silently go back to my room and practice my newly-acquired powers. I still need to learn tricks but I have full control over the elements now. I don’t plan on using this on violence, I just want to be ready.
I achieved everything I want but why do I feel so lonely?
Author: fangirlism_era
Rating: G
Pairing: no pairing in this part
Word Count: 1,567
Genre: AU, Supernatural
Summary: Takes place before my Opposites fic. I’ll call this the Elemental-verse from now on. So everything related to Opposites will be called Elemental-verse. :)
Practice Makes Perfect
To master a skill, one must practice and this is exactly what Shige did to master the skill of summoning all elements. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, he practices. No one stops him so he practices. He practices so hard that one day, he falls ill. His parents were alarmed, the whole palace is worried but still, no one is allowed to see him, even a glance is prohibited. He went to full recovery after three weeks and he started practicing again.
There’s a spell book, one passed on from generation to generation. The spell book is Shige’s bestfriend, aside from his imaginary cat, Wagahai. He started mastering the art of summoning water, it’s his natural element after all. Like any other beginnings, it was hard. He was exhausted to his bones but that never stopped him. He never really liked weak people. So even if he exhausted himself because of practice, he always wakes up early the next day to start practice again. The water element is by nature, hard to control. It always ends up being a failure at first because of the strength of water. Never giving up, Shige decided to challenge the water dragon itself. So he set out to travel to the water dragon’s lair, the ocean. It’s a peaceful ocean but Shige is not fooled, underneath lies a dangerous being and he is a man on a mission.
Carefully lowering himself into the water, he takes a deep breath, casts a spell to make him breathe underwater and proceeded to the dragon’s lair. Once outside the entrance, Shige is surprised by the absence of the dragon. Upon touching the door, he is transported to another dimension, another world. Being used to transportations like that, unlike other beings, Shige remained untainted. He thinks, wonders where he is taken but he never fainted. The next thing he knew, he is standing in front of a table of four.
Sitting around the table are four beautiful beings.
“Hello, Shigeaki, heir of the Water Wielders. We were expecting you. I am the Wind Nymph.”
“You were expecting me?”
“Yes. You have been training hard. I am the Water Dragon.”
“You don’t look like a dragon.”
“He doesn’t, ne? I am the Fire Blix.”
“Welcome to the Elemental Table. I am the Earth Fairy.”
“What is this place?” Shige asked them.
“The Elemental Table, this is where all elements gather.” The Fire Blix told him.
“Why were you expecting me?”
“You are the only one out of this current generation’s heirs that is interested in summoning us. You’ve been working hard and we like it. We would like to take you in as an apprentice, to make sure you master all elements and all spells in the spell book.” The Water Dragon told the young heir.
“Seriously?” Shige asked them.
“Yes, now change to these clothes and get ready to train.” The Earth Fairy tells the young man and tosses him training clothes.
Shige enters the house he was shown to and looks at the clothes that was given to him. They were normal, peasant-like but although Shige was raised an heir, he was never picky. So he shrugs and puts the clothes on then walks back out.
“You look good in that. I wonder why?” The Wind Nymph commented on Shige’s clothes.
“He has an air around him, doesn’t he?” The Fire Blix answered the Nymph.
“He was raised by Jun Matsumoto, of course he’ll have a certain air around him. That Matsumoto is very good in raising a child.” Shigeaki heard the Earth Fairy praise his mother.
“Okay, let’s start the training.” The Water Dragon put his hand on Shige’s shoulder. “Now, concentrate on summoning all the water you can to your palm.”
Shige closed his eyes, focused his power to his palm and in a matter of moments, he felt moisture forming on his palm, he continued and suddenly, like a faucet, water spurted out from his palm. Shige opened his eyes and looks at his palms in amazement. He looks at the Water Dragon and he can see the look of approval.
“You’re stronger than I thought. It took quite a while to summon water but you were able to do it better than any beginner I know. We’ll have to focus on that.” He paused. “Now, sit on that trunk for an hour without moving or talking. When you move, the hour will start over.”
Shigeaki obediently sat on the trunk but twenty minutes into sitting still, his nose got itchy and he reached up to scratch it.
“Restart! You moved!” The Water Dragon shouted from the Elemental Table, which is at the front of the house, the trunk was at the backyard.
“But-“ Shigeaki started.
“No complaints! Restart!”
So Shige sat down again and concentrated on keeping still. And eventually, the hour is up. The Water Dragon is in front of him in an instant.
“Follow me.”
Shige stood up and followed the Dragon deeper into the forest and finds himself standing at the edge of a cliff. The body of water below has bamboo sticks and uneven platforms sticking out of it.
“Climb on the highest platform and balance there for an hour.”
“But-“
“No complaints! Now, start climbing!”
Shigeaki stopped complaining and just focused on the task at hand, that is climbing the platform and staying there for an hour. He climbed to the highest one and clung to the stick until the hour is over, never once falling.
“Good, you found a loophole but next time, you’re balancing on the platform standing, understand? Remember everything that you did today because that will be your training from now on. You are here to train and master all elements and to successfully summon all elements, you must keep yourself in shape. Go back to the house, there’s dinner ready and then you can sleep.” The Water Dragon dismissed him with a wave of hand.
Shigeaki trudged back to the small cottage that will be his home until he masters everything. ‘Maybe this training won’t be so bad after all.’ Were his thoughts before succumbing into tiredness.
-----------------------------
Shigeaki is flushed awake the next day, very early in the morning since the sun is still not up. He was told to go out for a jog around the forest, immediately accompanied by two wolves. When he got back to the cottage, breakfast is ready and a stack of books are on top of the table next to his breakfast. There is a note on top of the stack telling him to read these books and then start his training after reading the books. After breakfast, he started reading the books and was done reading before two in the afternoon. He decided that doing the platforms first would be better so he went to the forest and balance on the platforms perfectly, unlike the clinging he did yesterday. After training on the platform, he sat on the trunk in his backyard and stayed there, unmoving for an hour.
Eventually, this became a routine and the heir got used to this that he performed the training longer than the allotted time and this only made the elements proud.
-----------------------------
One day, when the heir is wakes up on his own, trains on his own, trains for a longer period of time, he is called by the elements.
“You are ready.” The Wind Nymph told him. “Hold out your hand, I am giving you full control of the wind. No other being has control over this except for me.” She enclosed Shige’s outstretched hands within hers and suddenly, the heir feels a gush of power entering his body. Wind blades whirl around him for a few seconds before it calms down and settles deep within his body. He opens his palm and summons a small tornado, just to see if he has full control of the wind.
“I’m impressed. Now, give me your hand. I’m doing the same. Actually, we all are.” The Water Dragon took hold of the young heir’s hands and gave him the power. Like the wind, Shige feels a gush of power before settling down and trying it out. The same happened to the Fire Blix and the Earth Fairy. They entrusted full power of the elements to the Water Wielder’s heir, fully knowing that he will be responsible for everything that is given to him.
-----------------------------
After some much needed rest after the strain of the events earlier in the day, Shige set out to go back to the palace. He thanked the elements and promises full responsibility over the gifts. He achieved the power he wanted and studied for.
-----------------------------
Shige’s POV
I arrive back to the palace and see that nothing has changed, everything is still in order and it was like no one noticed me gone. That’s when I realized, they never knew I was gone. I look at the calendar and see that the date is the same as when I left. Time stopped. I silently go back to my room and practice my newly-acquired powers. I still need to learn tricks but I have full control over the elements now. I don’t plan on using this on violence, I just want to be ready.
I achieved everything I want but why do I feel so lonely?