5 // Weaponsmith

 

 

The effort used for the strenuous swing of her arms was returned with the formation of a thin, brittle wall of ice that collapsed back into the snow within seconds. Yumi groaned in frustration. This was harder than she thought it would be.

 

"Try again."

 

Daehyun was observing her from the sidelines as she tried, time and time again and without luck, to recreate the magnificent wall of ice that she had accidentally used to trap the three water-wielding demons in. The two were standing in the Yoo resident's outdoor courtyard, which was fortunately large enough for Yumi to train in and would hopefully help her gain control of her abilities.

 

It was now the second day since she had found out about her identity as a Guardian and already word had spread throughout the entire village that the Guardian of Water has appeared. Her identity was kept no secret, as there were a few witnesses of her transformed appearance from when they had returned from the battle with the giant demon. It took her the whole night to figure out how to control her transformation and to return to her everyday appearance. With the way word spread like hayfire, she wouldn't expect any less than for the whole of YoungNan to hear of it within the next few days or so. The news might even reach the ears of the other two nations -- or so Daehyun says.

 

After another failed attempt, Yumi turned her head to him in defeat. "I can't do this. It's futile."

 

"Nothing is futile until you've put in your everything," he countered. "And danger is imminent, so you must train yourself well and do so quickly."

 

*Because it's that easy* she sarcastically thought to herself.

 

Daehyun handed Yumi her bow. "Why don't you try something with this? The Guardians tend to have a strong affinity with their most adept weapon, and in your transformed state, you should be able to channel your power through it."

 

She took it from him. That actually sounded like a rather believable idea, seeing as how her inner power had been awakened through that one arrow she had shot the other day.

 

She held up the bow and pulled experimentally at the string as she aimed at a pot plant that sat innocently in the snow. Yumi released her hold on it just as Daehyun noticed her eyes glimmer a shade of blue for a fraction of a second. Without warning, an arrow made solely of ice appeared from where she had released the string and shot straight through the pot plant, destroying it into rubble.

 

Both Yumi and Daehyun stared on in surprise as the latter slowly brought his hands together and started clapping, feeling impressed with what he had just seen.

 

"I've gotta say, that was a pretty neat move. You didn't even need an arrow."

 

"But I didn't try to do that," Yumi heaved. "Why is it that my abilities only seem to work when I don't actually intend to use it?" She pouted and started grumbling. "Why can't it just work the way it's supposed to?"

 

Daehyun chuckled. "Nothing in life is easy."

 

There was a pause as he noticed her staring at him strangely, slightly taken aback.

 

"What?" he asked rather defensively.

 

Yumi shook her head lightly. "It's nothing much. It's just that... you were actually smiling just a moment ago."

 

It was definitely a big contrast to the glares he had been shooting her way since his misunderstanding of her being a demon. He was being more friendly now, just like when he had first encountered her and had saved her life.

 

Daehyun cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away before finally glancing up at her again. "I'm sorry."

 

She blinked at him.

 

"I'm sorry for accusing you of being a demon and, well, for treating you like one of them. I'm… I'm really sorry, Yumi."

 

Seeing him apologise to her so genuinely made her feel grateful and she soon found herself smiling at him. "It's okay, I can sort of understand how the circumstances led you to think that way. I should actually be thanking you for saving my life once again and for training me."

 

He returned a warm smile that did everything to radiate his good looks. "Thank you for saving mine too."

 

There was a short silence as the two drank in the improved atmosphere between them.

 

"You should try using that awesome move of yours again," Daehyun suggested.

 

Yumi stared over gloomily at the shattered pot plant. "I really hope that there wasn't anything especially valuable about that pot plant to Youngjae's family, because I totally destroyed it."

 

Her attention went back over to Daehyun, who didn't have a very good expression plastered across his face.

 

"About that..."

 

"What? What is it?" she began in alarm. "Oh please don't tell me that.."

 

"Yeahhh… I probably shouldn't tell you, so I won't," he replied. "Ok now, back to training."

 

"No, hang on!" Yumi cut in worriedly. "Was it something valuable?"

 

Daehyun side-glanced her with a somewhat playful look. "Perhaps for Youngjae, but let's not worry about that for now."

 

She remained frozen in her spot as he went off to set up targets for her to practice using her abilities on. Guilt was swallowing up her entire being as she eyed the broken pieces of clay and the white flower plant that now lay helplessly in the snow.

 

 

~~~

 

 

Youngjae was studying a medical scroll at his low-table when a soft knock on his door interrupted him.

 

"Come in."

 

The door slid open to reveal a guilty-looking Yumi with her head hung low. Youngjae frowned on seeing her expression.

 

"Oh, Yumi-ah. Is something the matter?"

 

A few seconds of dumb silence followed as she contemplated what words to use, and in the end decided to just show him instead. Reaching outside the door, she held in her hands the very same pot plant that she had destroyed -- except now, the plant was contained in a pot made of ice rather than clay. Youngjae's eyes widened in interest when he saw it.

 

"Wow, did you do that?"

 

Yumi nodded meekly before bowing with her hands held out straight in front of her, still holding onto the plant. "I'm sorry!"

 

The young scholar gave her a confused look. "Why are you apologising?"

 

"I accidentally destroyed it while training in the courtyard," she explained. "But I tried to save it as much as I could! I'm really sorry…"

 

Youngjae let out a chuckle. "It's quite alright, there's no need to apologise." He glanced at the flower. "Honestly speaking, I didn't even know that we had this plant, since it doesn't have any medicinal value."

 

Yumi furrowed her brow. "Really? But Daehyun said that…"

 

She paused as the truth finally dawned on her. Youngjae was laughing by now.

 

"I think it's safe to say that the two of you are on better terms now. He's even joking around with you."

 

Yumi bit into her bottom lip feeling both embarrassed and slightly upset. She eyed Youngjae's sword that was leaning against the wall by the door.

 

"Can I borrow your sword for a bit?" she asked.

 

He raised an amused eyebrow. "What are you going to use it for?"

 

"I'm going to teach that demon-slayer a lesson, if you know who I’m referring to."

 

Youngjae grinned blithely and held up his hands. "Nobody's stopping you."

 

Yumi reached over and grabbed the sword in its sheath. It was definitely heavier than her archery bow, but still light enough to easily wield. "Daehyun cast a spell on this sword, right?"

 

"Yeah, but the effects only activate when I use it," he replied. "It works like any other sword when anybody else uses it."

 

She nodded in wonder and placed her hand on the handle to unsheathe it -- only to feel a shock go through her entire body as a sudden vision appeared in her mind.

 

Yumi's heartbeat accelerated as she saw the incomprehensible images flash before her eyes. It all went by very quickly and she didn't understand what was going on. One second she saw an array of weapons, and then the next she saw someone fight off a group of men with a double-edged straight sword and a red handle. Blazes of red, orange and yellow shrouded her vision and changed into various sceneries before focusing on a small red jewel resembling an earring.

 

Youngjae got up from his seat and went over to her when he noticed that something was wrong. "Yumi, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

 

She nodded her head lightly. "I'm okay, but I think I just saw a vision of some sort."

 

"What did you see?" he asked in alarm.

 

She explained what she saw and handed the sword back to Youngjae. "It suddenly happened when I touched the handle."

 

"Yumi, do you know what this means?"

 

She shook her head.

 

Youngjae grinned. "It means that we now know where to start off with our search for the other three Guardians. All the clues point to the Guardian of Fire."

 

 

~~~

 

 

The four youngsters were once again seated in the living room, huddled around the low-table. Youngjae placed his sword down in the middle of it.

 

"This sword is the clue. Finding the weaponsmith who forged this may very well lead us to the Guardian, and I know just where to find him."

 

Daehyun leaned forward and rested his elbow on the table. "Whereabouts is he and how long will it take to get there?"

 

"He lives three villages away to the north, and a ride on horse-back should only take us until nightfall to arrive."

 

AeMi clapped excitedly. "Then we should set off as soon as possible."

 

Yumi remained quiet as she pondered over something. The other three glanced over at her when she spoke.

 

"But doesn't the village need Daehyun here to protect them? What are they going to do if the demons suddenly attack?" she asked. "We'd be too far away to hurry back in time."

 

"That's true…" AeMi said.

 

"And if the news has already spread that the Guardian of Water has appeared, then wouldn't the other Guardians also come looking for me?" Yumi continued. "That way, Daehyun doesn't need to leave the village."

 

Youngjae shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm quite certain that the other three Guardians do not even know of their own identity, just like you didn't."

 

Daehyun snapped his fingers. "I have a solution. I'll send a message back to my village requesting for someone to take my post while I'm gone."

 

He hurriedly got up and left the room before anyone could even respond.

 

Yumi blinked at the siblings questioningly.

 

"Daehyun comes from the next village down south that is widely known for housing demon-slayers and spellcasters just like himself," AeMi explained. "Sending one over to protect our village shouldn't be any problem for them."

 

"And it shouldn't take very long for the demon-slayer to arrive since our villages are close  by," Youngjae added. "So we should ready ourselves to set out soon."

 

 

~~~

 

 

Youngjae was right, as it didn't take very long for the spellcasting demon-slayer known as Insoo to arrive from Daehyun's village.

 

"Thanks for accepting on such a short notice," Daehyun was thanking with gratitude.

 

Insoo clapped his shoulder in a brotherly way. "No problem. Many of the others also wanted to tag along to see the Guardian of Water." He glanced over at Yumi, who bowed in greeting. "Stay strong and good luck on your journey, Guardian," he smiled good-naturedly.

 

Yumi returned the smile. "Thank you."

 

The four embarked on the road with three horses, where Yumi and the siblings travelled in a carriage towed by the two brown horses, and Daehyun rode on the back of his own black horse who he called 'Night'.

 

There were no peculiar encounters on the way, and soon nightfall came and Daehyun's voice was heard announcing their arrival to their destination. Yumi peered out curiously. The other two villages that they had passed by earlier looked more or less the same as the one that they had come from, as did this village.

 

Except here -- there was a huge commotion going on outside one of the huts.

 

Two young men clad in attire suitable for combat were banging on the door and were hollering for the person inside to come out whilst villagers crowded around them unsurely.

 

"We know you're in there, so there's no use hiding!" one of them called. He was the shorter of the two and had light brown hair with childlike features, but the expression he held was far from any innocent intent.

 

His taller companion stepped forward. "I've got this, Baekhyun." He kicked at the door, causing it to creak, but it did not budge. He had black hair and sharper facial features, and was grinning menacingly at the hut. "Wouldn't it be a shame if this hut suddenly lit on fire, with your helpless bedridden father trapped inside with you? Why don't you just come out like a good little boy so to not endanger your precious family's life."

 

The threatening and taunting eventually reaped the rewards he wanted, as the door slowly creaked open to reveal a well-built young man in his twenties.

 

He was obviously not thrilled about having to see the two people standing before him and was glaring them down with dark eyes.

 

"Nice one, Kai," Baekhyun remarked, nudging him in the arm. His attention went back to the man who had just emerged from the hut and laughed derogatorily at him. "Look who's finally come out of hiding."

 

Youngjae's brow creased as he focused his eyes through the dark of the night to study the threatened man's face. Realisation struck across his face soon after.

 

"T-That's the weaponsmith!" he exclaimed. "He's the one who made my sword!"

 

Yumi, Daehyun and AeMi looked from him to the man standing outside the hut.

 

"What do you want?" the weaponsmith questioned, with anger coating his deep voice.

 

Kai snorted. "I think you know what we want…"

 

He smirked.

 

 

 

"… Bang Yongguk." 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Four new characters have appeared: MYNAME's Insoo, EXO's Baekhyun and Kai, and of course, B.A.P's very own Bang Yongguk! What do you guys think will happen next...? :P

Thank you all for subscribing and reading and for commenting as well ^^ Please anticipate the coming chapters :D

P.S. I wrote this chapter instead of studying for my two exams that I have in two days, so lets all pray that I don't fail now, haha. 

--- Mistlea