All right! Now here's chapter 21! Happy reading!

Chapter 21

Smoke and Water

Another couple of days had come and gone. I was still taking some jobs from the request board to make some jewel. They were simple jobs, but the pay was pretty good and the jobs were usually manual labor. It was pretty much like training only I was getting paid for it. For all the jewel I earned, I kept it in a box so I could give it to the siblings for later under my bed. The reward money varied and some of the jobs were a little hard, but as long as I was able to help out the Strauss siblings it didn't really matter.

But to be perfectly honest going on jobs and earning jewel was great and all, but I was ready to start on the next part of my training. Unfortunately, I still had no idea when the next part of my training. We still haven't heard anything for Tu Chi. She must be taking a lot of time to prepare for my next part of training. So until then, I just had to be patient and wait until that day came. I kept myself occupied by going on jobs. Other times I would hang out with the Strauss family, but like a tiger eager to hunt I was ready to start training any day.

One day I was walking through town about to go on another job. I eventually started walking by myself. That way Finn wouldn't have a reason to worry about me and it gave me a sense of independence. I was looking through the job request trying to find another job request to go on, but nothing really seemed interesting. There wasn't even a request from Marco.

"Man... none of these jobs look very good," I mumbled to myself. "I wish Marco posted another fishing job. I'm starting to get bored around here. Maybe I should just go see Mira and the others today."

"Hey there Willy. How's it going?" said a voice.

I looked at the source of the voice and I saw Sieri coming towards me.

"Oh hi Sieri," I greeted.

"Looking for a job again?" she asked.

"Yeah. For some reason, there doesn't seem to be anything I would like to take," I said.

"That's understandable," said Sieri. "Say, Willy, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What's up?"

Sieri looked around and spoke low in my ear.

"How are things getting along between you and Mira?"

I felt puzzled. "Well... things are going great. Although there are times that Mira acts a little weird, but that's OK. She and I are good friends."

"And... how do you feel about her?" continued Sieri.

"How do I feel about her?" I repeated. "I... don't understand what you mean."

"I mean do you like her? You know as a girl," said Sieri.

"Of course I do," I said. "I like her."

The moment I said those three words, Sieri blushed a deep shade of crimson.

"What?! You... like her?!"

I couple of the townspeople looked at Sieri hearing the sound of her voice, but Sieri paid no attention. She was more focused on what I just said to her.

"Are you serious Willy? You like Mira?!"

"Yup I sure do," I said. "And I also like my Mama and Papa, Aquadia, Finn, Elfman and Lisanna, and you of course Sieri..."

As I continued to tell her of all the things I liked, Sieri's shocked expression quickly changed into a neutral one that looked slightly annoyed.

"Willy, hold on a minute," she said. "Do you understand what I mean by like?"

"Um... you mean like a friend or family? That kind of like?" I asked.

Sieri stared at me. Then she squealed and gave me a hug which kinda surprised me a little.

"S-Sieri?"

"Oh my gosh! You're so cute! You have no idea, do you? You've never actually liked a girl before have you?"

"What do you mean by like Sieri?" I asked. "You're kinda confusing me."

"Let me put it this way," said Sieri. "You said you read a lot of fairy tales when you were a kid right?"

"Yes."

"You know how in the stories, the hero rescues and always gets the girl?"

"Yeah..."

"That's what I meant by like. You know... the prince and princess get together kind of like. Except there's another word for that. It's called love."

"Is...that so?" I asked still feeling kind of puzzled.

Sieri sighed. "It seems you still have no idea the difference between like and love yet. Don't worry about it. You're still young. You'll learn about what love is eventually. Just make sure you do one thing."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Take care of the Strauss siblings, especially Mira no matter what," she said with a wink. "You got it?"

"OK... whatever you say Sieri... although I still don't know what you mean," I said.

Then suddenly something zipped right by me and Sieri hit the job request board with a twang.

"Whoa!"

"What the heck was that!?"

Sieri and I looked at what zipped past us and there on the board was an arrow with a note tied around it. Sieri went over to the board and pulled the arrow out. Then she untied the note around the arrow, opened it, and read it.

"What does it say Sieri?" I asked.

"I think you'd better read it, Willy," said Sieri handing me the letter. "Something's telling me that this note's for you."

I took the note and opened it. The note said: "Come to the lake and get ready for your next part of training."

"All right! Finally!" I said. "I gotta go Sieri! I gotta go tell Finn about this! I'll see you later!"

"Willy! Wait a minute...!"

But I didn't stop. I was already running eagerly wanting to head for the dojo. First I stopped by the clinic to let Finn know what I was doing, then I raced over to the dojo ready for the next challenge.

Later I arrived at the lake dressed in my gi and I found Tu Chi and Jade waiting for me.

"There you are Willy," said Tu Chi. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Hi, Master. Hi, Jade," I panted. "I came as soon as I got the message and I'm ready to start on the next part of my training."

"Is that so? Well then I admire your spirit," said Tu Chi. "but I should warn you this training will be more difficult than before and you may have some trouble this time. You sure you can handle it?"

"Yup!" I said. "I'm ready for whatever training you got, so bring it on master!"

Tu Chi smiled from my confidence. "Very well then. Let's get started. Come with me."

Tu Chi with Jade on her shoulder walked alongside the lake and I followed. We walked along the right side of the lake and then eventually we came to another stream. We walked along the stream and eventually, the stream led to a beautiful waterfall with a large flat rock at the bottom in the middle of a small pool.

"Whoa... It's beautiful," I said.

"It is isn't it? Better enjoy this while you can because this is where you will be training," said Tu Chi.

"Really? Right here?"

"Yes. First, let explain what this training is for," said Tu Chi. "Do you remember when I had you use that spell a while back when we first met?"

"You mean that spell that let me find Mira and allowed me to see all those weird shapes before?" I asked.

"Yes. That was one of my basic spells. A water spell called Aqua Sense. It allows you to sense water within a target's body and if you use it on a wizard, you can not only use it to sense water, but you can also sense a wizard's ethernano and their pulse. Also when you touch a body of water, the spell becomes even stronger expanding to as far as the water goes."

"Really?"

"Yes. The goal of your training today for you to sense magic power. So far you were only able to use it twice. The first time I was able to help you and the second time you were able to do it on your own. Now we're gonna focus on taming that ability. See that rock in front of the waterfall? Stand on that if you will." said Tu Chi.

"OK."

By jumping on a couple of rocks on the water like stepping stones, I eventually made it to the big flat rock and stood in front of the waterfall.

"Now what?"

"Here's what you need to do. There's gonna be some small balls filled with water coming at you from the waterfall. All you need to do is smash them. You're allowed to use your magic, but you can't dive into the water either."

"Doesn't seem so bad," I said punching my fists together. "This'll be easy."

Tu Chi smiled. "I like your confidence. Let's begin shall we?"

She tapped her staff and then a small ball came falling at me from above. Immediately I punched right through it splitting it in half. Then another one came and I destroyed that one too.

"This is easier than I figured it would be," I thought.

Then a third ball came a-coming. I jumped up and with a shout and I hit the ball. This time something different happened. When I hit the ball, it didn't split and I didn't see it at the same, but a magic circle appeared on it. Before I knew what happened, the ball exploded right in my face. Smoke billowed everywhere. When the smoke cleared, I was covered in soot.

"What... the heck was that?!" I coughed rubbing the soot off my eyes.

"Oh. I forgot to mention one more thing," said Tu Chi. "Do try to be careful which ball you hit because some of them have been rigged with explosion magic. When you hit them well... that happens."

"Couldn't you have told me that before I hit it?"

"Sorry. Must have slipped my mind," said Tu Chi cheekily. "Anyway in order to improve your Aqua Sense, I'm training you to sense magic power as well as the water without having to use the water to sense it. Your goal is to see if you can hit about ten balls without setting off the ones rigged with the explosion magic. If you can complete this part of the training then I will teach you all of my spells as well as my techniques."

"Seriously?!"

I looked at the waterfall and the balls I destroyed. Then I straightened up and took a fighting stance.

"I'll do it! I'll pass this training and I'll have you teach me your skills! Just watch me!" I said.

This much I knew. This part of the training was gonna be a little hard, but I was not gonna back down without even trying. I was gonna pass this training or give up trying.

"All right then! Then let's begin! Hajime!"

Tu Chi tapped her staff again and the balls came falling on me one after another, but I stood ready and my training continued.

NO POV

Tu Chi watched as Willy resumed his training.

"This training will be harder than before," she thought. "Even Finn and some bit of trouble. This will determine if you are really destined to become my successor Willy. The only thing I can say is good luck."

Just then Finn arrived walking up to Tu Chi until he was next to her.

"How nice of you to join us Finn. How was the clinic today?"

"You know how it is Master," said Finn smiling. "Same old, same old." He looked at Willy hard at work training by the waterfall. "I see Willy's moved onto the next step. I remember going through that. Man, I hated it. Sure took me a while to pass it."

Tu Chi chuckled. "If I recall, it took you about three weeks to complete it."

"Hey it was wasn't that long. It was about nineteen days at most," said Finn. "Anyway, looks like Willy's having a bit of trouble."

As they talked, Willy punched a ball and then punched another one which exploded making him covered in soot once again.

"Yes. Looks that way huh?"

"You think he'll be able to pass this part of the training?" asked Finn.

"I'm sure he will," said Tu Chi getting out a kettle filled with tea. "Until then, why don't we have some tea, Finn? I can tell that this is gonna take a while."

"Sure. I'd love some," said Finn.

WILLY'S POV

Later that evening, I still was trying to pass the training. I tried to hit a ball, but I would either miss or hit a ball rigged with an explosion spell. I was basically just relying on my senses, but sadly I kept hitting the wrong ball one after another.

"Ya-me!"

I heard Tu Chi call me which meant I had to stop. I looked over to Tu Chi who was watching me train the whole time and she wasn't the only one either. Finn was too.

"Finn? How have long have you been there?" I asked.

"For quite a while," said Finn. "Anyway come on over here. It's time to head home for the day."

"OK," I said as I jumped off of the rock and then joined Finn and Tu Chi.

"So Willy, this training seemed a bit harder than you thought right?" asked Tu Chi.

"Yes. It was," I said. "But don't worry. I'm not gonna give up. I'll figure out this part of training tomorrow! Just you wait and see!"

Tu Chi smiled. "That's good. Keep that spirit. You're gonna need it. Until then, I'll see you tomorrow. You're are dismissed."

Finn and I then bowed courteously and then left. After that, we both headed home as the sun finally set over the horizon signaling the end of another day.

For the next few days or so give or take five days, I was still training. So far I haven't had much luck trying to pass this part of the training. As far as streaks go for hitting the balls, the highest I've ever gone was two. Three if I was lucky enough. After that, I would hit a ball with an explosion spell on it and end up being on the receiving end of the smoke. Granted I was getting tired of getting blasted with smoke, but I kept going trying my best to complete the training.

One evening I was training hard as usual covered in soot and water. I was practically a mess. Three balls were coming at me from above. I hit one using my Iron Fist Spell.

"One!"

The ball split and water came splashing down. I dodged another ball and I hit the one that came after.

"Two!"

As soon as I hit the ball it didn't split and a magic circle appeared on it.

"Oh no-!"

The ball exploded covering me in soot once again which meant that I had to start all over again. I straightened up and got ready for the next ball that came. I hit the first one that came close to me.

"One!"

But the ball didn't split. It was another exploding one and I ended up getting blasted and covered in soot again. The force of the blast caused me to fall flat on my butt.

"Darn it! Not again!" I complained as I got back up. "All right! One more time!"

"Ya-me!" said Tu Chi signaling the end of the training for today.

"Aww, master. Can't I train just a little longer?" I asked.

"Come on Willy," said Finn. "It's time to head home. Besides, you must be hungry after all that training."

"No, not really. I'm not that..." I began to say, but then a loud grumbling came from my stomach causing me to blush a little. Tu Chi and Finn couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sounds like your tummy's saying it needs you to take a break," said Finn. "That's enough for today. Come on, I'll treat you for some orange chicken and rice over at Sid's place and then we'll head home and give you a bath. Sound good?"

"OK," I said.

"Oh, by the way, Willy," said Tu Chi. "Why don't you take a couple days off tomorrow? You've been working hard for the past few days and you could use some rest."

"I suppose," I said. "But to be perfectly honest I would much rather be training."

"That's understandable, but you're forgetting one of the most important things about training," said Tu Chi. "Resting. It's important to take a break after working hard in training. Resting can even help you find the answers to problems you never thought possible."

"She's right you know," added Finn. "Even I took days off back when I was training. Besides you've been training hard. Not to mention you've been going on a couple jobs here and there. You could use a day off. Don't want to overwork yourself."

I knew that they were right. I have been at it for about five days and I was feeling a little worn out. Maybe a couple days of rest was all I needed.

"All right then," I said. "I'll take a break then. When can I come back to train?"

"Anytime you want," said Tu Chi. "Feel free to come back anytime you want. Until then, get plenty of rest and take some time off. Understood?"

"Yes Master," I said bowing courteously.

"Good. Dismissed."

Later, Finn and I went to Sid's stand we ate some orange chicken and rice. After that, we walked back home. As we walked back, we heard a voice call out to us.

We both turned and we saw the Strauss siblings coming towards us.

"Hey there kids," said Finn. "How are you all this evening?"

"We're great. Mira was just picking us up and we were on our way home," said Elfman. "How about you two?"

"We were just on our way home ourselves," said Finn. "We just came back from eating at Sid's."

As they talked, I tuned out their conversation still deep in thought about trying to figure out the training. I thought up various ways to try to figure it out, but so far I had nothing.

"Darn it all. How am supposed to figure this out?" I thought. "I wish that Tu Chi would have given me a hint or something."

Then I felt a small tug on my sleeve. I looked to find Mira was looking at me curiously.

"Hey, Willy. Are you OK? You look deep in thought about something," she said.

"Oh. Sorry, Mira. I was just thinking. Don't mind me," I said.

Mira stared at me as if she was looking on my face. Then she dug into her pocket and got off a cloth and started wiping my face with it.

"Hey. Mira what are you-"

"Hold still," she said. "You got something on your cheek."

I did as I was told as Mira wiped something off my cheek using the cloth. As she was doing this, I couldn't help but notice how close she was. Not to mention I was able to get a good look at her face. Her skin was a little lighter than I thought and her eyes were a bright shade of blue. Even in the darkness, I could see them clearly. Then I felt a small leap in my heart. I didn't know what it was, but it was probably nothing.

"Sorry, but you had something on your cheek," said Mira as she finished. "It looked like some kind of soot."

"Thanks for getting that," I said. "I appreciate it."

"Awww! How cute!" said Lisanna how had clearly seen what had happened. "Trying to score some points with Willy eh Mira? Way to go!"

"What?! Lisanna! I told you to knock it off!" said Mira. "Besides Willy had something on his cheek and I was just getting it off for him! I'd do the same for you and Elfman!"

Lisanna giggled then she gasped. "Oh wait a minute! I almost forgot! Mira? Didn't you have something to ask Willy?"

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," said Mira looking away shyly.

"Come on. Go on and just ask him," said Lisanna nudging her sister. "It can't hurt to ask."

"Ask me what?" I wondered.

Mira looked downwards playing with her fingers looking nervous.

"Um... Willy? Are... you doing anything tomorrow? You know... are you gonna be busy or something?" she asked.

"No. I'm free tomorrow," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"Cuz I was wondering... if... you wanted to hang with us tomorrow? At the lake in the clinic? It's been a while since you've hung out with my brother and sister and I was hoping... that I could hang out with you too. If... that's OK with you of course."

I looked up at Finn and he answered with a smile and a nod. Then I turned to Mira and smiled.

"Sure. I'd like that very much," I replied. "I'll see you all tomorrow OK?"

Mira face brightened. "That's great. We'll see you tomorrow then. Oh, wait... is this OK with you Finn?"

"It's fine with me," said Finn. "I got work tomorrow anyway. Why not? We'll both be here first thing tomorrow."

Soon our house was in sight. After that, we said our goodbyes and we parted with the Strauss siblings as we headed home.

NO POV

As soon as Willy and Finn were out of sight, Mira and the others headed home. Lisanna patted Mira on the back.

"You see Mira? That wasn't so hard was it?"

"Lisanna. If I ever get the chance, I am gonna clobber you," said Mira glaring at Lisanna.

"Now, now sis. Calm down," said Elfman. "Besides, this is a great opportunity to hang with Willy since he's been busy for so many days. You've never even hung out with anyone before."

"I... I guess, but still..." said Mira. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I wouldn't have had to if a certain sister would have learned to keep her mouth shut!"

"Now, now. Calm down Sis," said Elfman. "Besides, Sieri was gonna find out eventually even with Lisanna telling her."

"Yeah, but still!" said Mira. "I don't need love advice or this. I need to go on some jobs tomorrow to make some jewel."

"That is precisely why we're doing this," said Lisanna. "You need to take a break, Mira. You've been working too hard lately. You need to take a break like yesterday."

"I have to agree as well Mira," said Elfman. "You've always have been on a lot of jobs lately. You could use some time off. Hey, you can even get to know Willy a little more."

"Elfman...!"

Mira tried to object, but Lisanna quickly cut in.

"No objections Mira. You need to take a day off once in a while. When was the last time you ever had a chance to actually rest and take a break from taking jobs?"

"Well... I..."

"Exactly. So tomorrow, you're gonna hang out with us and you're gonna like it," said Lisanna. "No ifs, ands, or buts! Now come on, let's get ready for tomorrow! We're gonna play hard and rest hard! Are you with me Elfman?"

"Yeah!" cheered Elfman.

"Hey! Come on you two! Listen to me!" said Mira.

But her words fell on deaf ears as Lisanna and Elfman walked ahead of her as the three of them headed home.

Nothing much for this chapter. I'm still working on some things down the line, but I promise you things are gonna get interesting later on!

Until then, feel free to follow me, my stories, or leave a fav or a review.

Dragoman out!