Tutor
By: Aviantei
[Twelve Shots of Summer: Another D8 7/12]
[Parameters: "Planting Seeds" + "The (Square) Root of the Problem"]
There had been assorted grumbling from the other end of the table for at least the past twenty minutes, but Tao Ren had let it go. Oh, sure, it was frustrating at times to have his concentration broken, but he could always refocus it with a little bit of effort. Not to mention that he had volunteered for this position, so it wasn't like he could just back down over a little minor irritation. No, it would be a good experience for him, too, from both an emotional and an academic standpoint.
The Shaman Fight had been finished for months now, but returning to normal life wasn't so simple. Goldva's announcement back at Mimata Hall at the opening ceremony had been true: after that point, there was no return to their ordinary lives. Even if they survived all the way to the end but didn't become the Shaman King and could return home, nothing was the same. Every participant had spent a few years of their life away from the normal flow of the world, and it wasn't as if they could just drop back in where they'd left off, either, everyone else having moved on without them.
For Ren, it was somewhat difficult. He'd had to drop out of school while he traveled first to Japan, then to America, and then to the Island of Tokyo, and at last Mu underneath the sea. His family had been there for parts of his journey, and, in many ways, his home life was now better for it, but it would still take some time for him to pick back up the other parts of his world. Having no interest in integrating back into his previous grade with a bunch of immature brats a few years his junior, Ren had resolved to complete enough home study to test back into high school at the appropriate grade before finishing his education. Considering that he'd always been rather skilled when it came to the core school subjects, this was not that intimidating of a goal to accomplish.
Ivy, on the other hand, had much bigger complications.
Her normal before the Shaman Fight had been unique, even among the competition's participants. She had traveled the world alongside Hao for almost a full decade, but that was no longer an option with him becoming the Shaman King and residing in the Great Spirit. She'd never been all that close to Hao's other followers, either, meaning she didn't have much reason to go with them. Vargas and Kiha were still friends, but they'd settled down in Japan together, which was far away. And Opacho had decided to stay at Ivy's side, but the girl was so young that integrating her into school at a normal age wasn't that hard for her.
Ivy had received intensive tutoring up to the age of five, a much more relaxed pace of homeschooling until age six, and then a more shamanic-focused instruction up through the Shaman Fight. Hao was knowledgeable, yes, and he'd passed on what he had in the meantime, but the standards of education from his lifetime were very much different than those of the modern world.
Even so, Ivy had expressed interest in going to school to be a good role model for Opacho as well as to share the experience with Ren and Lyserg, but her pride and stubbornness also meant she didn't want to be around those who she was on the same educational par with—which was even lower than Ren's estimated academic standard, putting Ivy on a similar par to people half her age just because she'd never had the opportunity for traditional study, so she was trying to follow in Ren's ambitions to test back into the appropriate grade level.
The results, as it were, had been mixed.
While Ivy wasn't familiar with the classic pieces of literature taught in schools, she was sharp enough that a few reads and conversations caught her up to speed on what she needed to know. At their level, being able to identify things in the text was important, and she was good at finding what she needed, though on occasion she stumbled over reading a word or two that she knew how to speak in Chinese but not read. She also could memorize facts well enough to pass history quizzes, though it was hit or miss sometimes. Still, enough studying could fix that issue, so that subject wasn't a complicated one.
Math, on the other hand, had been giving her issues.
Basic math was no issue, and, though a bit rusty, Ivy had even been able to recall her times tables from memory. Division was slower, but doable longhand, which was good enough, and a little fiddling on a calculator had given her the basics. Algebra and the like, on the other hand, had been giving her much more trouble, and, sure enough, that was the worksheet that had set off her latest round of grumbling now.
The clock showed that it had been a good half an hour since Ivy had started grumbling, and now there were even a few curse words thrown in here and there. Tucking his pencil into his own practice workbook as a to mark his place, Ren set his work to the side and tapped his fingers against the top of Ivy's papers to catch her attention. "Were you planning on getting yourself so worked up you can't think straight, or were you going to ask for help first?"
Ivy bristled in indignation, as she was wont to do, but Ren didn't even flinch. In comparison to the animosity and killing intent she could produce, a little agitation wasn't anything to be afraid of. She opened her mouth, looking all the world like she was about to snap back at him, but caught herself, embarrassment taking over her expression. "I…can't figure it out."
Those few words seemed almost like she had forced them out, which Ren could understand. They both prided themselves on their ability and skill—and their shamanic abilities were the pinnacle of that. And since Ivy was used to not just succeeding but outclassing those around her, running into a roadblock would be a frustrating experience, and even more so since it wasn't for lack of trying. She had several crossed-out equations scattered across a few pages, and that that wasn't even counting all the erase marks. It was a wonder that she hadn't torn the paper to pieces from all the pressure she'd put it under.
Ren held out a hand, and Ivy passed over her work without even need to be told. As her pseudo-tutor, it didn't take him much time to see what was going on. "Ivy," he said, and the edge in his tone was enough for her to already look sheepish. It was such a difference from her normal confidence that she almost seemed like a different person. "Would you like to tell me why you've seemed to have skipped over several lessons since yesterday?"
Ren didn't accept bullshit, and Ivy knew it, so she didn't bother to make up an excuse. "It made sense when I was reading over it, so I figured I could go ahead and move on." Ren leveled her in a stare, because this was a conversation they'd had before, and Ivy was intelligent enough to fill in the blanks. "I know, I know, I got ahead of myself, okay! But you and Lyserg are almost ready to go, and I…" She cut herself off, fists clenched tight over the table, and Ren half considered that maybe it was time to take a break and work off her agitation in a sparring match before a thought occurred to him.
"Are you," he asked, making sure he didn't sound condescending (because Horohoro so liked to remind him that seemed to be his default, even now), "worried that Lyserg and I are going to leave you behind?" The look on her face was answer enough, and Ivy ducked her head in shame, though it wasn't fast enough for Ren to miss the tears of frustration forming at the corners of her eyes. He wished that Lyserg were here because, as much as it pained him to admit someone was better than him at something, Lyserg was much better at being comforting. But Lyserg had gone back to London for a few weeks to sort out his resources there, so it was just Ren and Ivy, and he would have to figure it out.
Ivy still had her head bowed, and her voice was much quieter than he was used to hearing from her as she spoke. "You two are catching up just fine. And Lyserg sounded so excited about going to classes together, so I don't wanna hold him back. But if I can't figure these things out, then I'm just going to be the one that holds you back, and…" There was a sharp inhale of breath. "I want to have this experience with you both, too. So what am I supposed to do, Lián?"
What would Lyserg say right now? Ren thought, his mind racing for answers. Something reassuring and kind. He's good at that. But the last time I tried, he said I just sounded awkward. Ugh, this is pointless imagining, anyways—
Ivy had asked Ren for advice. He just had to be himself.
"Look at me." Ren kept his voice commanding, not even bothering to be gentle. Ivy hesitated for a beat before looking up. She scrubbed away a few of the tears on her face, for what little good it did. "I'm going to remind you a few things about yourself, so listen:
"You were our enemy."
It was fact: they'd stood on opposite sides of a battle, and Ivy had always made her resolve to fight them if necessary clear, even if that meant killing them. She stared at him, not offering an argument, and Ren continued.
"You've killed people."
Accepting that statement, Ivy nodded. The same was true for him, of course; in that way they were the same. Even Lyserg, whose hands had stayed clean for so long, had brought death to someone in the end, as there had been no other choice if they were going to stop Hao on time. But that had been a last resort—for Ivy and Ren alike, they had not just killed but destroyed, and that would rest in a piece of their souls forever, though they'd decided to change how they handled their future.
"And you're worried that this is going to be what makes us leave you behind?"
Ivy's temper kickstarted her into action. "Well, it sounds stupid when you put it like that!"
"That's because it is stupid, fool." Ivy's eye twitched, looking very much as if she would like to strangle Ren then and there. This was a version of her that he knew how to handle, though, so he didn't bother to try and calm her down. "I invited you here because I wanted you around, and Lyserg's taking things because he wanted to stay, too. We've already made our choices, so we're not going to pull back and leave you to figure things out on your own or toss you aside if you can't keep up. Have a little more faith in us, dammit."
Both of them sat there in the moment, stunned. Ren was not one to be so upfront about his feelings (unless those feelings included anger), so it was a rare moment for him. But he wasn't about to take it back, because it was true; he'd wanted Ivy around since he'd realized they were the same, wanted to help her be free the way Yoh and the others had done for him. And if helping her happened to mean reassuring that he'd stay by her side and teaching her how to handle algebra problems, then so be it.
Ren had never been one to give up on a challenge, and he wasn't about to start now.
"I…" Ivy started, fidgeting of all things while her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I'm awful at asking for help."
Ren snorted. "I think I know that better than anyone else."
Ivy shot him another look, but the fierce effect was halved by how flustered she was. "What I'm saying is I'll maybe end up needing you to remind me to slow down, that I can ask. I could do it with Hao, because he could read my mind and know anyways, but I'll practice to get better at it. Just, until then, can you kick me around until I get it?" Her lips formed into a smile as she joked, "It's not as extreme as making amends for my past mistakes, but I'd like it if you could save me from this, too, Lián."
And, even though it was a joke, Ren still knew then and there that, so long as Ivy asked, he'd be more than willing to help her every time.
[Author's Notes]
Ivy is good at a lot of things. Conventional education is not quite one of them. Ren, on the other hand, is an overachiever at everything (plus has had the benefit of a rich family with a bunch of resources). So with the prompts, I went ahead and explored this bit of post-Shaman Fight life.
Thanks to LyriaHart and PunkTrashNoiz for the reviews! Sauce crew, keep going strong in the summer.
Next one shot will use the prompts "Hapless" and "On the Clock" in a very loose proximity. Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[07.17.2021]