The next morning, Shinso and I prepare breakfast. I try to leave him to chop his vegetables by himself, but I soon hear him cursing at the knife. After putting a bandage on the tiny cut, we finish our tasks and sit down again for a meal. Nyikang once again takes his food to his office. 

"Is he gonna do that the whole time?" Shinso asks, trying to fit his chopsticks in his hand with the bandage. 

"Probably," I illuse in response, already digging in. "He has to take off his mask to eat, right? It seems like he always wears it around us."

"Hmm, you're probably right," he trails off pensively and we fall into a comfortable silence as we eat. 

The rest of the meal is filled with occasional discussions, but we go to get into our hero costumes early so Nyikang won't tell us off again. He leads us through the bustling streets to a large, imposing building. The outside is a deep grey that feels like it's suffocating me. 

No wonder he has a dojo off sight. This place looks miserable. 

He leads us through the offices, introducing us to various sidekicks, most of whom I forget their names as soon as they're said. We do odd jobs around the office for hours when we finally go back to the dojo to change and eat lunch. 

•°•°•°•

In the training room, Nyikang unsheathes one of the swords on his back. "Have either of you ever held a katana?"

I shake my head, but Shinso speaks up next to me, "I have."

Our mentor cocks his head to the side. "Have you ever fought with one?"

The boy pauses for a moment, "...no."

"Fantastic," he says sarcastically, unsheathing his other sword. He hands each of us one and steps back. "Now you're both on an even playing field."

I adjust my hold on the grip, feeling how nicely balanced the sword is in my hand. He begins taking us through the basics of sword fighting. 

•°•°•°•

By the end of the day, Shinso and I can properly disarm each other, though we're still a bit clumsy with the weapon. It's clear Shinso still remembers cutting himself accidentally on the chef's knife this morning. This much bigger of a blade must be giving him a bit of anxiety. Nyikang says we will practice more with the swords throughout the week. 

He allows us 45 minutes to shower, then requests our presence out back. I wait for Shinso outside of his room, wondering what we're going to be doing outside at 10:30 at night.

"Hey," Shinso says as he exits his room. I incline my head in response. "Why do you always wait for me?"

I shrug, falling into step beside him. "Why not? I mean we're in this together, right?" I look up at him. 

Again, his eyes seem to be searching for something as they examine me. "Yeah, I guess," he says, turning away and putting his hands in his pockets as we walk outside. 

Nyikang is just outside the doors, waiting for us. He beckons us to follow him. He guides us through the expansive gardens that I had yet to explore. Fireflies poke out of the tall grasses, winking at us as we pass. The lanterns strung around the pathway give off a warm glow. A sweet smell makes its way to my nose. It's familiar, I realize. As I breath in the scent, I find some of my tenseness washing away, reminiscent of a long gone memory that I can't put my finger on. 

I don't register that my attention has drifted until Shinso reaches out and grabs me before I can walk into a pond. I laugh sheepishly. "Thanks," I illuse, continuing behind Nyikang on the narrow pathway. 

"Just be careful," he says in his bored tone. 

Our mentor leads us into a clearing and sits on the ground, gesturing for us to do the same. "We will be meditating. Make yourselves comfortable," he says, crossing his legs.

Shinso and I sit in front of Nyikang, forming a triangle. He places his hands on his knees, so I do the same, letting my eyelids flutter closed. 

"Focus on your breathing," the pro hero says. "Let your senses feel the world around you."

I take slow, even breaths, as the soft wind brushes past my face. It pulls at a few flyaway hairs and tickles my cheeks. Songbirds tweet back and forth in conversation above us. Somewhere, a cricket is lurking in the grass that makes the faintest noise as it chirps. 

A soft flutter lands on my cheek. The creature begins climbing with its tiny legs until it sits on my eyelid. Through the thin layer, I see a bright blinking light and smile at the friendly lightning bug. Mic would hate this. He'd probably pee himself and scream so loud, everyone in 5 miles would be deafened. I, on the other hand, am not bothered by bugs. As long as they aren't trying to hurt me, I let them do their thing. The bug climbs up to my forehead and then down to my other cheek. 

The sweet scent still swirls around me. I get a vague memory of warmth and wooden picnic tables. When's the last time I went somewhere with picnic tables? The memory boggles my mind. Somehow, it's simultaneously the clearest thing in my head and the foggiest, most hidden memory. 

I try to think of anywhere I might have smelled this before, but come up blank. Is it a flower? A fruit? It's so mellow, but also...rainy? Is that even a word to describe scent? 

"Now open your eyes," Nyikang's voice snaps me out of my daze. "Let's go inside and get some sleep."

I reluctantly force my eyes open. If he hadn't interrupted me, I could sit here and be surrounded by this beautiful scent all day. We stand and begin walking back to the dormitory building. 

Shinso clears his throat next to me and I look up, blinking tiredly at him. "There's a bug on your cheek," he says softly. 

I nod and reach my hand up to gently get the bug to climb into my palm. "His name is Harold," I illuse in an even tone. 

Harold? Where did that name even come from?!? Oh well, I guess your name is Harold now, I think, smiling down at the firefly in my hand. It blinks at me in response. I stop by a cluster of tall grasses, reaching my hand out for him to join his family. With one last blink, he takes off, becoming one of the many twinkling lights of the garden. 

I inhale the earthy, fresh smell of the outside one more time before walking through the door Shinso is holding open for me. 

------Author's Note------

Hey y'all! Sorry this chapter was short, but there were a lot of things I wanted to add in and it just didn't fit with the next chapter.

If you guys have any fan art or memes you want to send me, I always love to see it, so feel free to check out my bio for how to contact me or dm me and we can find another method!

Don't forget to vote and comment if you've enjoyed! It always makes my day!