AS A matter of fact, many things would go wrong that day, and not just for seungmin.

it started when everyone was trying to figure out where to go to train. before anyone could say anything, changbin grabbed felix by the arm and the two promptly disappeared into thin air, a small piece of paper fluttering to the ground in their place.

"what the—" hyunjin started as jeongin picked up the paper.

"it says: 'felix and i are going to the big tree and none of you can stop us'. wow, they really just did that to you guys, huh?"

"that's so unfair!" jisung fumed. sparks flew out of his ears, a tic that occurred whenever he got upset. "training spots are supposed to be decided altogether with a fair system! they can't just teleport wherever they want!"

"actually, they can," minho said, much to jisung's distaste. the fire mage stuck a tongue out at his blue-haired partner who merely rolled his eyes in response.

"well, if they're gonna play dirty, we might as well, too! let's go, seungmin!" hyunjin yelled as he began sprinting towards the trees at the edge of the clearing. "we're gonna train at the fairy field today!"

jisung and minho's heads whipped in the warrior's direction. "what? no!" jisung cried. "fairies are magic users! us mages should train with them!"

"too late," seungmin grinned, shoving jisung before taking off after his partner. the redhead heard a curse behind him and turned around just in time to get blasted in the face by a ball of fire. he fell to the ground with a cry, hands covering his face and eyes squeezed shut.

"jisung!" the voice of chan rang out, the guild leader stepping off the final rung of their treehouse's ladder. "what have i told you about violence towards your team members?"

"...not to do it," jisung mumbled, casting his eyes to the ground.

"and yet you went ahead and did it. jeongin, can you heal seungmin's burns?" the healer nodded and went to go check on seungmin. "seriously, jisung, i know you're a fire mage, but you've gotta learn how to keep your temper under control."

jisung frowned. "i'm sorry, okay? i'm trying my best, but sometimes the fire just...comes out. i can't stop it."

chan sighed. although quite powerful for his young age, jisung wasn't yet accustomed to controlling the fire that burned within him. the nineteen-year-old struggled with temperance issues and it was evident in the way that his magic seemed to flow out of him nonstop. on the other hand, his partner, minho, was always calm and collected; a stellar opposite to jisung. chan had partnered them together in hopes that the elder would help to bring down the younger's flames, but so far, it had not worked.

before chan could open his mouth, minho spoke. "jisung is very sorry, so please don't scold him further. to make amends, we will allow hyunjin and seungmin to train in the fairy field. is that a sufficient apology?"

"yeah!" hyunjin called from across the clearing. "sounds good!"

"then it's settled. come on, jisung. let's not waste any more time." with a swish of his blue cloak, minho made his way to a different side of the clearing, and jisung trailed behind him, annoyance seeping off of him in the form of smoke.

"do you think jisung is gonna burn down a tree again?" jeongin asked, sidling up to chan. it was typical for jisung to accidentally set fire to a tree or two whenever he trained while in a bad mood.

the blonde man shrugged. "i'll go after them in a bit to make sure things don't get too chaotic. but for now," he said, turning to face the younger boy, "i've got some pain in my back. do you think you could try your best to heal it for me?"

jeongin beamed. "sure! i need more practice, anyway."

seungmin, face freshly healed, eyed the pair from the edge of the clearing. "do you think jeongin's picked up on it yet?" he asked hyunjin.

"picked up on what?"

"...never mind."

»»————-　♔　————-««

as soon as they reappeared, felix slumped to the ground. "changbin," he groaned, "you know i hate it when you do that! teleportation makes me nauseous."

changbin rolled his eyes. "cut the dramatics, felix. being an assassin means you have to get used to this kind of thing. it's sad enough that you can't even plant a single curse yet— that means your body is still too weak."

felix jumped to his feet. "i've planted— ugh," he moaned, stumbling back to the ground. "i've... i've planted a curse before...when i was younger."

"so you've told me," changbin snorted, unimpressed. "anyway, i brought us to the big tree so you can do some target practice. i'm going to meditate, so don't bother me."

from his place on the ground, felix let out a huff. having changbin as a partner wasn't bad— it was terrible. when he had first entered the guild and met the silent, brooding boy, he figured that maybe he could get him to open up. felix was known to have an infectious good nature, after all. but even after two years together, their relationship hadn't progressed a bit! the only improvement they had made was when changbin finally agreed to take him as a partner a couple of months ago, but even that wasn't much. hell, they hadn't even formed a bond yet, and felix was starting to worry that they never would.

pulling himself to his feet, felix made his way to the gigantic tree near him. moonspeak forest was home to two massive trees: the one that the ninth guild made their home and this one. it was strong, sturdy, and durable, making it ideal for practicing on when no monsters or people were around. its bark held numerous marks and scratches that the guild members had made on it, showing just how much time had passed since they began their life here.

"your daggers aren't going to throw themselves," changbin called from behind him, and felix jumped slightly.

"sorry!" he responded, pulling two small daggers out of his leather knapsack. they were the only gifts changbin had ever given to him, so even though he hated using them, felix always kept them nearby. the freckled boy's class was the assassin class which specialized in a lot of close combat as well as some magic and illusions, but changbin wanted felix to train his knife-throwing skills to hone his ranged attacks. felix didn't see the point— why bother with long-distance attacks when he should be focusing on fighting up close?— but nevertheless, he complied with his partner's wishes, not wanting to upset changbin in any way.

felix tossed one of the daggers towards the tree, aiming for the carved-out target changbin had made for him a month prior. instead of hitting the tree, the dagger landed pitifully in the grass a few feet away from it. cheeks burning in embarrassment, felix turned to make sure that changbin hadn't seen his sorry excuse for a throw before trying again.

in actuality, changbin had seen the embarrassing display because he was not really meditating. rather, he was observing the actions of his so-called "partner" in order to figure out all of his weaknesses and how to improve upon them.

born and raised in a clan of ninjas, twenty-year-old changbin was built for battle. it was in his blood to become an assassin, and he lived by that fact. he had joined the ninth guild at the request of his clan to help spread their influence and gain recognition. however, he didn't expect to be forced to spend every waking hour of his day with his obnoxiously loud guild members. so, whenever he could, he would disappear to train by himself in the forest and hone his skills in solitude.

then felix joined. changbin had never met another person training in the assassin class before and, despite his love for being alone, was excited to meet him.

until that is, he opened his mouth, and changbin realized that he was just as obnoxious as everyone else.

in changbin's mind, felix wasn't meant to be an assassin. it baffled him as to why he wanted to become an asura— an assassin who attacked by planting curses on their opponent— so badly despite having no tact or skill whatsoever. maybe that's why changbin relented when felix begged him to teach him how to be a proper assassin. at the time, he had figured that he might be able to teach him a thing or two; now, he was beginning to regret it.

a ninja never goes back on their word, he reminded himself as he watched felix's dagger bounce off of the tree. i can't back out of this. might as well just accept my fate.

changbin never wanted a partner. he was always known in his clan for doing well on missions when he was by himself. but chan was insistent that he form a bond— whatever hillbilly bullshit that was— with someone in the guild, and since changbin was already mentoring felix, they were stuck together. in the short man's mind, it was like being stuck with a failure.

"changbin!" the ninja focused his attention on his partner who was jumping up and down excitedly. "look! i finally did it!" shifting his gaze to the big tree, changbin saw that felix had hit the target dead center. he couldn't stop his eyebrows raising in surprise. it was the first time felix had ever hit the middle of the target.

"alright," he said, "do it again."

felix paled. "what?"

"i said, do it again. a real assassin could do it a thousand times over."

felix ran his hands down his face. "come on, changbin! you know i can't do that! i just wanted some positive feedback from you!"

"you'll get some when you become consistent with your actions." changbin closed his dark eyes. "now, don't bother me again. also, fix your stance. your feet are too close together."

even with his eyes closed, changbin could sense felix's jaw drop, and he fought the urge to let the corner of his lips twitch upwards. felix still had an extremely long way to go if he wanted to get on his level. however, changbin was there to help.

not because he wanted to, of course. it was just because he had to. a ninja never goes back on their word.