[Original] Onmyouji Eclipse [Novel-Length] [WIP]

Chapter 1: The Making Of A Legend - Satoshi Hiroyuki

Onmyouji Eclipse
Chapter 1: The Making Of A Legend - Satoshi Hiroyuki!
Satoshi held his breath as long as he could. The flame on the candlewick burned intently, not wavering and spreading from the wick to the candle itself. It took all his concentration to keep the flame from spreading from the wick and melting the rest of the candle. He could sense the Elders watching him work, testing his talent in Onmyoujutsu. So far, he showed a propensity towards Fire Magic, and they wanted him to practice this candle exercise so he would learn to control the most destructive of Elemental arts.

The young Onmyouji practitioner puffed his cheeks. This was so boring! Surely he was meant for better training than this! It was undignified, that he, a year older than the rest of his peers, was stuck doing these trainee exercises rather than actually bending and manipulating Fire. He was the son of Kohryu Hiroyuki, the legendary Onmyouji himself! Why was he stuck doing these basic of basics?

The flame started to flare and melt the candle faster than he would've liked.

"Focus, Satoshi," one of the Elders said, manipulating his chakra to smooth the excess flame into a perfect pinprick of light. "Fundamentals are important! Have you forgotten your training? Do you need to take back the regalia that your mother wove for you and wear the robes of an acolyte?"

Satoshi bit back a retort. They probably would chide him more if he said that doing this stuff was boring and therefore he had no interest in perfecting something that other Onmyouji could do when younger than he was, who was currently seven years of age.

The young Onmyouji practitioner thought about his shikigami summoning ritual, and smiled a little at that. His father was able to summon twelve shikigami at a time, and tamed more than that to be used at his disposal.

In his anger, he stirred up the wind from outside to batter against the windows when it was perfectly sunny and normal outside with no signs of breeze anywhere. The unnatural breeze that swept through the room like a prowling wolf snuffed out the candle flame, as the Elders blinked in bewilderment as Satoshi let out a proud smirk.

"Was he the cause of that unnatural Wind?" one of the elders said hesitantly. "If so, then that means..."

"I know very well what it means," another Elder said, before taking on a stern expression towards Satoshi. "Still, all the more reason that he completes these basic exercises first and shows interest in completing them completely as instructed."

Satoshi then materialized the cup of water one of the Elder's kept on the table while testing Onmyouji students and dumped the water within the cup onto his head. The one Elder blinked in surprise, and Satoshi stifled a snicker that threatened to erupt from his lips. This kind of boyish mischief was something that he could get into, and even if he were the son of the proud and noble and dignified Kohryu Hiroyuki, he was certain that his father would've laughed at his antics if his father saw Satoshi now.

Finally, for his final prank, he played back the water that was dripped on the Elder's head and back into the cup again. This wasn't using Water Manipulation, but instead Space/Time Dimension Warping—and he knew that the other Elders sensed this as well. Then to add insult to the injury, Satoshi caused a small quake from the learning house's structure to take the foundations. One Elder's spectacles knocked askew during this.However, the stern Elder—the one he didn't like—wasn't impressed.

"Yes, Satoshi, you've proven that you can manipulate all five elements," the Elder said. "That doesn't mean you should skip practice and fundamentals. You could've gone onto the next grade of Onmyouji trainees, though do you understand why you're still an acolyte?"

Satoshi frowned, keeping his mouth shut. Hopefully the Elder would supply the answer he sorely wanted to know. Why was he held back when he clearly had talents and strengths that were better than other Onmyouji years ahead of him?

"It's because you lack patience," the Elder supplied.

Satoshi ventured to say, "I think you lack sense, Elder, with all due respect. Has senility addled your brains? Why hold me back when it's clear that I've demonstrated more power and skill than the other Onmyouji students? I'm seven years old! I'm sure if I could train and learn more spells and techniques, I will become as powerful and great as my father!"

"In fact," Satoshi said. "I can summon a shikigami if I wanted to!"

"Arrogant lad," the Elder said with gritted teeth. "Do you need to be humbled by your maser so that you can show some humility? Everyone goes through this training session. Even the likes of prodigies like Kohryu Hiroyuki."

Satoshi sobered up a bit, before saying. "I want to be like Father. I don't see how sticking me with basic training exercises is nurturing me to my full potential."

"Prodigy Kohryu Hiroyuki may be," the Elder consented. "But he is also dead. Don't you understand that, boy? He was brilliant, but he burned out at both ends and is ultimately gone."Satoshi remained silent, before clenching his hands into fists. His father was gone on a journey and didn't come back—not so much as a letter or a word about his whereabouts. Though Satoshi believed—he knew—that his father was out there somewhere. The Elders simply proclaimed Kohryu dead because they gave up on searching for him or finding out where he could possibly be. His father, a legend! A great Onmyouji that defied death three times! Surely a fourth time would be in the making?

Yet somehow, deep in his heart of hearts, Satoshi also knew—that no one lived forever. Not even a legendary Onmyouji like his father.

Satoshi blinked back tears.

Another Elder, looking concerned, said, "Perhaps we should let him skip a few grades..."

The stern Elder was resolute. "No."

The Elder that stood up for him then said, "Perhaps let him pass this exercise? We now have confirmed that he can indeed manipulate all five Elements. Such an Onmyouji is rare, that can manipulate all five elements. Even fully trained adults can mostly manipulate two to three elements at most, and if pushing it, four. Five is only limited to a very few handful of individuals in the world."

The stern Elder let out a sigh, before saying, "Pushing Kohryu too hard was probably our mistake. That is why we must keep a tighter reign on Satoshi."

The elders stood up, indicating that everyone was dismissed from the room. Satoshi kept his head bowed while everyone in the vicinity left, clenching his hands into fists.

He would become the strongest, no matter what! He was Satoshi Hiroyuki—not his father, Kohryu Hiroyuki? Why did they place such high expectations on him, yet they didn't allow him to perform as he should! He didn't want to be an acolyte forever, damn it!Satoshi pounded his fist into the wooden floor.