Sehun paces back and forth as the large, plastic tub he asked for fills up with water.  He watches as it falls from the hose. He stops and goes to the edge of the tub, looking in.
"What's this for, then?" Suho asks as he approaches. "Kitty pool?" He raises a brow at Sehun's lack of clothes aside from swim trunks.
"Chen went out to go shopping for house supplies," Sehun explains but Suho still looks confused.
"So he brought you back a big...plastic tub?"
"I asked him too," He says shyly. "I-I"m preparing myself..."
Suho's expression of confusion morphs into sudden sadness. "Oh...against Siwon." Sehun looks down at his feet but Suho quickly steps closer, grabbing his hands. "I"m proud of you, Sehun. I'm proud that you want to take this step."
"Thank you, Suho..." Sehun sighs. "I don't want to fail you again."
Suho smiles sadly. "You didn't fail anyone. If anything, I failed you. You weren't prepared and I should have listened to Kai."
Sehun looks up at him. "You just wanted me to relax, don't beat yourself up." Suho smiles again, finally nodding. "Well then..." He looks at the now overflowing tub. "I'll leave you to it." After walking off, Sehun quickly turns the hose off. After many failed attempts of trying to drag the heavy tub, he timidly asked Xiumin, their physically strongest member, to help.

"Who'd have thought, right?" Xiumin asks happily, centering the filled container to a more open area of the training grounds. "With MY face."
"I would have thought it was Kai or Chen," Sehun sheepishly admits.
"You're telling me! You should have seen Chen's face when he lost to me in an arm wrestling contest!" Xiumin giggles. "He tried to cheat and electrocute me but he was so weak that it was just a...nice shock."
"A nice shock?" Xiumin winks and Sehun blushes when he realizes what he meant. "O-oh..."
"Let's just say, he got a date," The baby-faced boy laughs and steps back. "Enjoy!"
Enjoy himself? Sehun huffs as he kneels in front of it, grabbing onto the edge. He leans back and takes a deep breath to prepare himself. Once he's ready, he plunges his head into the water and keeps it there. Sehun closes his eyes and focuses. He manifests his air, but it's just a breeze. Trying again, just another breeze. He pulls his head out, deep breaths, back in. 
He tries again, nothing. He grips the tub tighter, becoming frustrated now. Why can't he control it? He can only control it when he's being hunted or someone needs help.

He gasps as he pulls his head back out. Pushing his hair from his eyes, he lets out a groan.
"Are you trying to swim or torture yourself?"
Sehun lays back on his hands, looking up at Kai. "Yes."
"Yes to both?" He laughs and crosses his arms. "Do I even want to know what the hell you're doing?"
"I'm...training my wind," Sehun mumbles and Kai raises a brow.
"By trying to drown yourself?"
"No!" Sehun gets up. "I'm...trying to learn how to control and manipulate it."
"Okay," Kai says slowly. "How...is this helping?"
Sehun fiddles with his shorts, embarrassed now. "I...want to prepare for Siwon." He didn't realize how dumb he looks until now.
"Oh...when he tried to drown you."
"Yeah..." Sehun looks down at the water. "I tried to use my powers but it didn't do a darn thing."
"An air bubble!" Kai exclaims suddenly, causing Sehun to jump.
"What?"
"You're trying to make an air bubble," Kai puts his hands on his hips. "In case Siwon tries to use his magic on you."
"When it's said out loud, it's kind of stupid..."
"No," Kai shakes his head. "I think it's smart"
"Really?" Sehun looks up at him and he nods.
"This should help you," Kai says before walking over to Xiumin and pulls him over. "You don't need to use just your hands for your magic."
Sehun sits back down as he watches. "You don't?"
"He's right," Xiumin confirms. "I got out of a lot of sticky situations by using other body parts!"
"No," Kai steps back. "Show him."
Xiumin motions for Sehun, who obediently comes over to look at the water with him. The baby-faced boy sits back and takes a deep breath. He leans over the water and blows; the sound of crackling pops as it turns the top layer of water into ice. Sehun opens his mouth in awe.
"W-wow!"
"I'm really good when paired up with Suho," Xiumin announces proudly. "Suho summons the water and I freeze it! We're a deadly combo."
"Many of us can combine our abilities like this," Kai goes on. "Suho and Chen; Suho summons water to reach the enemy. Chen electrocutes the water, thus the enemy."
"That's...amazing!"
Xiumind nods in agreement. "I went on a mission with Lay and Suho once. I got hurt real bad by the enemy and they couldn't reach me. So Suho manifested his water into a whip and grabbed onto me with it. After that, Lay set his hands in and was able to heal me!"
"Suho..." Sehun smiles in admiration. "He's so versatile."
"Some of the members' abilities are only so useful in battle," Kai says. "Like Baekhyun, Lay, and I. We have to rely more on our fighting skills than our magic."
"But-!" Xiumin cuts in. "They incorporate their magic into their fighting, making them deadlier."
Sehun looks at the now frosted over water as he slowly nods. Everyone makes up for their weakness one way or another. He begins to think about all the possibilities with his own magic. If he can control it, what can he do with it? Fan Chanyeol's fire and cause it to grow. Or blow out Heechul's flames, perhaps control it's destination like he did with Kyuhyun's rocks. With his air, he can potentially protect himself and others from Siwon's water. With Suho, they could create tsunamis if they needed to. 
Sehun nods quickly and kneels back up to the tub. "I want to try again!"

Sehun lays on his back, staring up at the golden sky. He rests his hands on his chest, feeling his heart as it beats fast. He's been practicing all day- trying to control and create an air bubble. He made a few but nothing big enough to protect anyone. Still, it's a baby step in the right direction, as Suho says.
He sits up when  D.O approaches him and silently sits down beside him. He grabs the bag in his hand and gently lifts it up; dumping rocks all over the ground in front of them. They both stare at them for a moment before Sehun looks up at him oddly.
"If this is a weird penguin thing and you're trying to announce your love for me or something-"
"Here," D.O interrupts, handing him a rock. It isn't too big, easily fitting right in the middle of his palm. "Train your wind with these. Your air is too soft."
Sehun looks at the rock and raises his brows. "What?"
"You're not a gust of wind," D.O says. "You're a tornado." He motions at the rock. "The tougher your wind, the easier you'll be able to break this rock down into sand."
"Sand?"
D.O nods. "What do you think sand is made of, hmm? Decomposed rocks. Wind breaks it down. You learn this and Kyuhyun is dust in your hands."
"Kyuhyun..." Sehun remembers the grim-looking man with Heechul. "He has your ability, huh? 
"Yes, but we're not related. Neither is Heechul and Chanyeol, or any other members aside from Suho and Siwon." D.O stands up, grabbing the bag with him. "Practice breaking down rocks into sand first, build up the strength of your wind. If you can do that, your air bubble with come almost naturally, like breathing."
Sehun keeps his eyes trained on the rock in his palm. Everything starts with nothing. No one can expect something to come from nothing and suddenly become strong. Everything starts...with nothing.

Sehun groans as he stands up, dropping the rock. He barely made dust come off of it- how is he expected to make it into sand? He looks up at the night sky, stars surprisingly bright tonight. He lets out another sigh before turning and heading back inside. He decides he'll wake up early and try again then. Maybe giving his brain a rest will help.

Sehun stops when he notices Kai hanging around the door of Sehun's room. He watches him oddly, slowly making his way over. "Kai?"
"Hey," Kai greets him after looking up from the floor. "I came to see how you were doing."
"With my training?" Sehun leaves his door open for Kai once he steps inside. He sits on his bed and shrugs. "I'm frustrated and tired."
Kai nods as he leans against Sehun's dresser. "I meant with your nightmares."
Sehun looks away. "You know about those?"
"My room is next to yours," Kai says. "It's hard to ignore your screams."
Sehun kicks his foot in embarrassment. "Has anyone else ever...?"
"Of course," Kai shrugs. "I got ran through with a sword my first week."
Sehun widens his eyes at him. "What?! With a SWORD?"
"Yeah. I was with Luhan at the time. I got sent too early on a mission. Luhan wasn't looking and I well.."
"Got stabbed."
"It didn't hurt," Kai says as if knowing what Sehun was about to ask. "Not at first. It was the nightmares that really got to me. But I'm stronger now for it." He goes quiet for a minute or two. "I was heartless about your trauma," He finally says. "I forgot that...this life isn't easy on everyone." Kai takes a deep breath as he stands up straight. "That shouldn't of happen to you..."
He just shakes his head. "Suho and you both," He mumbles. "I don't blame either of you."
"But we-"
"Did the best you could prepare me," Sehun cuts in, looking back up at the man. "I respect both of you immensely and I don't blame either of you for what happened to me. I want to make that clear."
Kai seems to think about it for a moment. He puts his hands in his pockets and finally nods.
"Fine but...let me make it up to you."
"Like how?" Sehun scoffs before taking a drink of water. 
"Let me bring you to dinner."
Sehun spits out the water in his mouth, coughing on it. He wipes his mouth and looks at him quickly. "W-what?!"
"Dinner," Kai repeats. "I'll pay if you're broke."
"You want me to go to dinner with you?!"
"I can repeat it as many times as you want. So? Dinner or not?"
Sehun holds his bottle close to his chest. He looks around nervously, unsure what to do. He's never done this before. What do you even do on a date? Where do you go? Wait, no. It's not a date; just dinner between two friends. Before he knows what he's doing, he opens his mouth to answer.
"S-sure."
"Sure? Good," Kai turns to leave. "We'll go tomorrow. So get some sleep."
Sehun stands up quickly but ultimately remains silent. He slowly sits back down on his bed, pushing the bottle off his bed. He admits he felt something strange when Kai gave him a private lesson. Even then, Sehun was still confused and unsure; chalking it all up to a temporary attraction from not ever being close to someone.
"Dinner..." Sehun slowly lays on his back and stares at the ceiling. "With Kai. Alone." He turns on his side and groans. "It's not a date. It's not a date."
Sehun isn't sure what he's gotten himself into. But all he knows is that it'll definitely end in Sehun doing something stupid. It always does.