Chapter 20

                                    

                                          
"Next!" The teacher yelled in a demanding voice. It was enough to make Hoseok gulp in nervousness. 
He had been practicing quite a bit for this one moment. Every day after class he'd go to the defence classroom and shoot arrows. Only a few times had he actually managed to do it with fire. Even just letting fire roam on his knuckles was difficult for him. Yoongi would help him by protecting him from the flames, still he wouldn't always be around to do that. Just like now, when he had to show his teacher his progress for a grade. 
Slowly Hoseok stepped forward laying an arrow in his bow. He concentrated and let the warmth in his fingertips build up. After a few seconds sparks started to form which quickly turned to flames. He let them roam over the arrow. 
The mere power from the bow was already making his arms shake. He couldn't hold it for much longer. He quickened the fire and let it engulf the arrow. Some parts turned black just slightly. Hoseok hoped the teacher wouldn't notice. Knowing him and his hawk-eyes he most likely would.
He could feel how the flames burned into his skin at his joints. He tried his best to keep them at bay and concentrate. That turned out to be rather difficult when his skin was blistering. He couldn't hold the arrow any longer and let go without aiming properly. The arrow shot past the target into the wall. 
Hoseok whimpered shaking his hand in pain. The air that flew past his skin gave some comfort but it did not do much. He let his hands relax and clenched them into fists a couple times, this only hurt him more. There was no way he could ease the pain now.
"Try again." The teacher said without changing his tone. He still sounded threatening and monotone. He didn't need to yell or put stress to be frightening, just his aura did the job. 
Hoseok could see the other students look on in fear. None of them dared to speak up. They were all too scared their own grade would get pulled down if they did. 
Without hesitating a second Hoseok pulled out another arrow from his bag and put it on his bow. The moment he pulled back the string he felt it cut into his burned skin. Tears brimmed in his eyes but he quickly blinked them away. After all he couldn't see the target like that. 
He let flames dance over the arrow, much quicker this time. He was going to hurt himself anyway, he might as well reduce the time it did burn his skin. He breathed in, letting his thoughts of pain and his shaking limbs float away, and let go. The arrow flew through the air leaving behind a trail of smoke. It hit the target somewhere on the side. The flames instantly died out. Hoseok let out a breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. 
"Again." The teacher said. "last chance, Hoseok."
The words scared him more than anything. He only had one chance left to prove how good he was, to prove he was good enough. After this it would be over.
Once again he readied his bow and pulled back the string. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto his cheeks and his hands were shaking even worse than before. He hadn't even started the fire yet, how could he ever get a clear shot like this? 
Hoseok decided trying again was better than not shooting at all. With some difficulty he let flames rise from his fingertips. He didn't even try to keep them away from his skin. His hands were completely wounded anyway. He moved the fire from his hands to the arrow. 
It was then, at the moment of tears, sweat and pain, that it all stopped. He felt the fire lift from his hands just slightly. Enough to let air slide over his skin and lower his temperature. His pain lessened as did his distraction. It was as if his mind suddenly cleared up as well. Adrenaline rushed through his body focusing on aiming instead of surviving the pain. Hoseok quickly breathed in, strengthened his posture, and shot the arrow. 
The few seconds it flew through the air were the most nerve-wrecking moments of his life. He could almost see how the arrow spun, leaving behind a tail of fire and smoke. He could see how they danced around themselves giving the weapon extra speed, making it even more deadly that it already was. 
With a dull sound it hit the target, right in the middle. Hoseok let out a sigh and smiled. He had actually done it, and quite reasonably as well. Yes it took him three attempts, but the third one was almost perfect.
"Good enough." The teacher said waving him off. "next."
The words might've been unenthusiastic and plain but it felt like a whole lot more to Hoseok. He felt as if all his hard work had finally paid off. All those afternoons where he would practice, all of those burns on his knuckles, they weren't for nothing. 
Hoseok looked around him. It wasn't his magic that kept the flames at bay, he knew that much. And somewhere inside he already knew who helped him. His suspicions only got stronger when he saw a familiar man stand in the doorway. As soon as he saw Hoseok turn his way he quickly walked away. 
"Alright, that was everybody. I guess all of you were able to hit the target, which is good enough for me. Hoseok of course was the only one to actually hit the target in the middle. This means everybody else would be dead. Well, not really, considering Hoseok had to try three times to accomplish that he would be dead too." The teacher explained. The class wasn't even surprised at his harsh words anymore. "but since all of you are on the same level, I guess you passed." 
They all cheered and gave each other high-fives. Some of the students walked towards Hoseok thanking him for tutoring them. Even though he was no good with fire, he could still shoot a bow, for the others that was quite the opposite. This made him the perfect tutor, and so he was. If he wasn't teaching himself he was helping the others. It was all worth it in the end seeing they all passed.
Hoseok quickly dismissed them and  waited patiently until his class was over. The one person he had to thank most wasn't here. 
Wowie I actually did it. I'm on a writing schedule now for the first time and seeing how it works out. If I stick to it I'm gonna post a chapter to every of my books at least once a week. This book will be on Tuesdays. Don't quote me on that though as I'll probably give up before the week is over.