The next day, Yuzuru went off the work at the pharmacy. Although he is not an official alchemist yet and has much to learn, he is simply happy to be able to fend for himself at Icexath.
After 10 hours of work, it was already 6 pm and the pharmacy was preparing to close.
"Hey! Off work now?" Akira then came in while carrying a small bag.
"Yeah..." Yuzuru answers as he stretch his arms.
"What is that?" Yuzuru ask as he point to the small bag Akira was carrying.
"Oh, I made some dinner for Uncle Ito and thought that I would make one for you too!" Akira replied as she took out the bento boxes from the bag onto the table.
"Are you sure you made it for me or for your friend right here?" Uncle Ito suddenly join in the conversation, startling the pair.
"Uncle!" Akira called out as her voice raises higher due to embarrassment. How could Uncle Ito expose me like that?
"Of course, i made it for you. You always skip dinner dont you. I am trying to care for your health right here." Akira then throw back a comment. Way to go Akira, passing the baton back to your uncle.
Amidst the situation before him, Yuzuru could not help but smile at their constant bickering.
"Regardless whether its for me or not, you meant well. Thank you child."
After dinner,
"I am going to rest now, you two, have fun." Uncle Ito then stands up, getting ready to leave.
Akira and Yuzuru gave a bow and exit the pharmacy.
"So, ready for your first training?" Akira looks at Yuzuru as she raise her eyebrows, giving him a smirk.
"As ready as I will ever be."
Akira then brought him to a exquisitely designed training ground which was surrounded with bamboo trees and cherry blossom.
"Woahh!" Yuzuru can't help but exclaim in shock.
"This belongs to a friend of mine. He likes to practice his spells and martial arts in a place that is peaceful and quiet so he built this place. We used to train here together." Akira explains as she remembered the times when she and the old Yuzuru would train together.
"Wouldnt he get mad at me using it?" Yuzuru asks as he gets captivated by the cool scenery and training area.
"I am pretty sure he won't." You build it after all. Akira replies.
"Alright, let's begin! Take a seat" Akira clasp her hands together as both of them sat down with quite a distance in between, facing each other.
"The most important thing in wielding magic is to make sure that the monster's soul in the soulshard is on the same frequency as yours. This means that both of your souls should be connected and only then could you draw power from the soulshard and use it as your own."
"To make it easier for you, firstly, close your eyes." Upon hearing Akira's explanation, Yuzuru closes his eyes.
"Dig deep into your inner soul and allow yourself to be absolutely relaxed when doing so. Imagine that you are falling deeper deeper into an abyss. Among the darkness, there is a sound calling out for you. You then feel the warmth of a light running through your veins. Allow yourself to be one with your soul and let the magic flow through. When you feel that the moment is right, blast out your magic." With that, Akira demonstrates by firing out a beam of magic.
Yuzuru on the other hand, tries to wield magic by putting his hand out however to no avail. Only a small spark managed to appear.
Awkward moment of silence...
"Errr, that is not bad for a first try. At least something came out. Nobody can get it on their first try. You just have to concentrate harder." Akira consoled him and encourages him to try again.
After a few unsuccessful tries, Yuzuru was starting to get a little frustrated and the repeated process made him feel lethargic.
I don't believe I cannot do it! Relax, concentrate, focus! Use the drive taken from figure skating and transfer it into motivation. Yuzuru take a deep breath, and closes his eyes once again. He remembers himself during olympic stage and grand prix final. He calmed down and allow himself to sink deeper into his soul. He then feel his soulshard glowing and put his hand out. Not long after, a beautiful icy blast came out.
"Yes! I did it!" Yuzuru finally breaks into a smile after a few moments in frustration and annoyance.
Just as powerful as I remembered. Yuzuru's magic is always look so majestic yet reserved with sophisticated grace.
"Great job! That was pretty impressive and I got to say your magic is kinda unqiue." Akira praises Yuzuru, geniunely impressed.
"We do have to work on the controlling part though." Akira casually looks at the already destroyed bamboo tree.
"Opps, I didnt mean to do that." Yuzuru scratches the back of his head as he shyly turn his head to the side.
After which, Akira teached him how to use magic more efficiently as well as ways to improve his magic. But oh boy, Yuzuru is sure a fast learner and can pick things up pretty fast.
"I think we have done enough for the day. Lets wrap things up here." Akira tells Yuzuru and both agreed that the training session was absolutely fruitful for Yuzuru.