TRAINING TWO LITTLE MINION II

Raiyon didn't give them much of a glance except during spar time. The good thing about him was he was never act arrogantly nor show any contempt to them. Well… not openly at least. The whole day, they were practicing how to throw kunai on a tree and step on it. the one who could climb to the top as fast as they can, will be able to proceed to the next training. Fast as in less than 3 seconds.

At first, Ailee and Miya was super motivated. It look so easy to master and they felt over confident about it. Only to have their confidence crushed as soon as they threw the kunai on the three. Raiyon smirked and look the other way, while Master Shio laughed out loud.

"What? did you think it would be easy to throw it on the tree?"

"How-"

"These trees are Elven trees. One of the sturdies and hardest tree ever lived. which is why it is well sought as a material for training martial arts and houses. Elven tree suck mana and basically regulate the mana all around it from roots to leaves."

"This is impossible for a beginner like us!" Complained Miya.

"Nothing is impossible in this world. Now, train until you get it right." He clap his hand and went back to instruct Raiyon. They look at them longingly, seeing as they are practicing how to used the sickle and chain, attacking a wooden dummy.

Ailee exhaled loudly and said, "We can do this!"

She focused the tree before giving it another try. She threw kunai non-stop, while Miya went to the tree and hold it. She knocked it couple of time, and took the kunai and stab it really hard. Her eyes scrunch over, as she stare at it long.

"You are not training, Miya."

"Even if we throw this until our arms falls off, we won't get it through. Might as well save our energy."

"Suit yourself. I am going to train." Ailee said with determination. Miya raised her shoulder, choosing to remain silence and knocking the tree couple of times with the kunai. She look over at Master and Raiyon and notice something.

"That trickster ninja." she narrowed her eyes at them before walking way back. This time she threw three kunai at the same time and all embedded into the bark of the tree. she threw once more, stacking it to the top. she was making the kunai act as a ladder, she ran toward the three and grab each of the kunai, to heave her up to the top. There she sat and look at Master Shio.

"You didn't tell me we have to infuse it with mana, Master." she said coyly, from the top. master Shio raised his eyebrow and wave his hand away.

"Its obvious when it's impossible to penetrate it with strength alone." He answered lazily.

"I told you. An elven tree infuse itself with mana. The only way to beat mana is by pure monstrosity strength which takes years to master or by using mana itself" he added more. Raiyon grunts and look the other way.

"It's a common sense even babies would know" he mumbled. Miya doesn't know his problem was but she was used to people looking down or talking down to her. She find it taxing to keep on taking into account every little bad things people do or say to her. So she did like what she usually would do. She rolled her eyes and ignore Raiyon.

Ailee saw her sister had completed it and follow suit by infusing mana into her kunai. Soon she followed her sister climbing the tree.

She smiled brightly.

"Good, job on this lesson. Next, Control your kunai like this." He threw three kunai and all of it fly in different direction before it landed in three different places. Raiyon scrunch his face.

"Master-" Raiyon was going to say something but

He raised his hand as if to stop him and he smiled widely while he nodded at them. "Begin"

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If the first one was impossible, the next lesson was super ridiculous.

"How the heck do you control Kunai like its a freaking a missile that locked its target automatically?" Ailee was so frustrated. It's been two weeks and they haven't made any progress. At all.

The preparation of the war was becoming more intense and here they were, thinking how to project kunai and control it at their own will. Master showed couple of times how it works. The kunai followed the fallen leaves and strike it to the tree, right in the middle. It was cool but totally impossible to do. Especially for someone who had just learned how to infuse mana into the kunai.

Miya tried to console Ailee but she seems to be so stressed out on how to solve it, that she asked to be left alone. she is regressing back to how she were when she didn't get what she want. if Miya were to continue pestering her, they might ended up with a brawl. mother isn't here to stop them. so she thought better never start if it's impossible to stop.

Miya, sighed and went for a walk when she heard a sobs coming out from the other side of wall of bushes.

Miya stuck her head into the bush to see where the crying comes from.she then saw a boy that was three years older than her crying behind a bushes. The boy jumped out , surprised, as he saw a head popping out from the thick bush beside him.

"Why are you crying?" Miya look at him closely. Noting how his nose and eyes had gone puffy. It almost look like he got stung by some bees or something.

"W-w-who are you?!" Shout the boy, standing up. Though his tears is still apparent, but he was more than ready to let his fist fly on her, if she were to take a single step.

"Miya. Nice to meet you. Why are you crying?" Her head still bobbing through the thick bushes.

"Father and mother leaving me here to go to the war. Before they left, he gave me a small pendant. But i left it somewhere and i didn't know where."

Miya clicked her tongue. "Tsk. You're older than me but act like a baby." She wiggled through the bushes and popped out to the other side. Brushing couple of leaves off from her, she put both of her hands on her hips. Swingging her finger back and forth, copying her mother's sassy attitude,

"Crying won't solve anything. It won't make what is lost walking by its own feet back to you. You should try and try again until you find it."

"What if we won't find it?" Said the teary eye guy.

"hmmm.. good point. but we'll cross that bridge when that's happen."

"we?" the boy look at her.

" of course we. you just need another pairs of hands and eyes to help you. now. chop, chop lets find that pendant thingy." she grab the boy colar and wipe his eyes with it before letting it go and start searching for it.

up and down they went. she even used her newly learnt ninja skilled while searching but to no avail. the sun has set and she knew she had to return now.

"let's meet up here again tomorrow. I'll bring more hands to help us."

the boy nodded in teary eyes.

"my name is kise."

"I'm Miya. dont forget tomorrow"

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Ailee was still frustrated by the act that she couldn't learn the new skill. She began to think that maybe she wasn't suited for these kind of thing. When she was a little girl, she wanted to learn a lot of things; guitar, ukulele, piano, new languages, how to stream or even video editing. Thanks to her mom's genes, she was one of those fast learner.

Or supposed to be one of fast learner. She scoff at the thought of it.

Yeah right.

She grab few pebbles and throw it into the pond. An older granny was passing by, stop her track. Ailee was still busy thinking about how to master the skill, when the granny sit down beside her. She kept silent and grab few pebble and threw it all on the pond. Ailee saw how all the pebbles skidded but in all different direction. She squinted her eyes, thinking about it. She almost learned enlightenment just from seeing it but then, the thought slip away from her grasp like a slippery eel on a muddy surface. That made her feel frustrated even more.

She grab a lot of it and threw it on the pond while screaming.

The granny laughed and slap her thighs.

"What got your pants twist little one?"

Ailee growl and turn abruptly toward the granny.

"Nothing is working! I can't figure out how Master throw three kunai in three different direction."

"If it doesn't work, then why bother?"Said the granny. Her reply made Ailee angry even more.

"Because I cannot fail! I need to get it."

"Why?"

"Because if fail, that mean I'm useless."

"Now, where do you get idea like that, young one?" She pat the empty space beside her, telling her to sit.

"There are things in this world we are far suited to be and not suited to be. There are things we can learn and things we cant learn no matter how hard we try. That doesn't mean you are any less great than who you would be in the future nor someone you aspire to be. That is knowing ourselves and accepting who we are."

"So, are you trying to tell me I am not suited with this ninja skill?"

"You can't ask a bird to swim when it have wings to fly. You can't ask a horse to slitter on the ground when it have strong legs to run wild. The same goes to you, little one"

"But this is an assignment."

"I am sure, this assignment was made to shape your character and knowing what you can do rather than whether you fail or succeed."

Ailee look down, thinking. She look back these past few weeks. How she had been so frustrated that she basically had been ignoring her little sister. How focus she was so she doesn't fail on the task given. How Raiyon reacted when their master had given the tasks.

"Even if its true… then what am I going to do with this task?"

"If one door closed on you, break open the other doors."

Ailee scrunch up her facial expression. "Meaning? I should just complete it in my own way?"

Granny laughed and pat Ailee's back.

"It seems the world still have some bright future"