Both Were Better

BOTH WERE BETTER

Eli was about to sleep inside the forest, when he suddenly heard a euphonious sound of a shamisen. The plucking of the strings and how clear it sounded caught his whole attention. He transformed into his human form, before walking towards where the sound is coming from.

Every time Eli steps closer, its as if he was getting bewitched by it even more. Once Eli found out who was the one behind playing the instrument, he just continued watching her. He closed his eyes as he listened to her playing, however just when the song is at its climax, the sound suddenly stopped. Eli opened his eyes to check what happened, only to find out that the girl was now staring at him.

"You're really good" Eli complimented her.

The girl was slightly shocked by his remarks. She then slowly gave a small smile before continuing playing the shamisen to finish the song. Eli attentively listen to it as he feel honored by hearing her play.

Once the song was done, Eli could still not get over how amazing that performance was.

"I'm not as good as my master, though" she said.

Eli could not give any reply as he could not comprehend what a human being thinks and feel. He just watch the girl put her instrument back to its case before she bid her good bye to him.

"She really plays well though?" Eli whispered while tilting his head in confusion.

"I agree. What she said is not the truth. She plays better than me", said by an old man that suddenly walked beside him.

Eli was not surprised by the old man's presence as Eli was already aware that he has been hiding there for a while. "What does she mean by those words, then?" Eli asked after figuring out that the old man was the girl's mentor or master.

"I'm Tsuga, what's your name kid?"

"You could call me Eli", the old man nods in acknowledgement.

"The girl who just played earlier is Shiramiru, that girl already exceeds what I've achieved and already learned everything I taught her. She's just really a stubborn child and does not want to accept the fact that she had already reached higher than what I could've reach"

---

"Hey, Tak? Is Von really the original Esperanza's student?" Esperanza couldn't help but to ask.

"I'm not really sure. As far as I know, Esperanza does not really accept any disciples as he believe that he should not teach anyone"

"Why?" Esperanza can't help but be curious.

"I think, it was all because when we once met someone who surpasses his master."

"What about it?"

"Don't ask me. I was really confused at that time as well. I don't even understand why the master feels so sad and keeps trying to surpass his disciple. It was like their roles suddenly got reversed, you know? Rather than the disciple trying to surpass its master, the master was the one trying to surpass it's disciple" Tak tried so hard to explain even if it was still so confused on what happened that time.

However, Esperanza got the gist of it. He slowly understand where the original Esperanza was coming from.

"Was he scared that Von will surpass him someday?"

If Tak was in its human form, she would be probably shrugging right now. "I don't know. But I did heard him says that he does not want to teach anyone as he does not want to come to the point where there's nothing to teach anymore. He did say that, a teacher is proud when its students became successful than the teacher as it just proves that they became a good teacher. What just sadden them is when there's nothing to teach anymore since that would also be the end of their relationship as a teacher and a student."

Esperanza went silent from what Tak explained. "So its not the matter of surpassing who, huh?" he whispered feeling ashamed on his thoughts.

"Why does it even matter who surpasses who, master?" Tak asked feeling confused.

She then continued asking, "The teacher shines during its own time, while the student just seems better because the teacher made it easier for the student, right?"

Esperanza gave a small smile and nodded in agreement. "That is true".

----

Hello~! Here's a really short chapter, hope you liked it~!

I'm sorry for the slow updates as well. I just finished the short novel that I've working on last year called : "What Matters the Most", it's in a Filipino language. I am also currently writing another story called, "Questline". Both of those stories are published here in Webnovel and Wattpad.

Please support me by voting or sharing your thoughts in the comment~! I would really appreciate it and it will motivate me to write more and faster.

Thank you and Enjoy Reading~!

- ZelkyieAnn