#like instead of getting mad or something ill think what would ryu do and most of the time the answer is do nothing and walk away

[lainpsx]

sometimes a character is so good i decide to install them into my brain. they help me make decisions and keep me entertained when im bored. only the most elite of my favorite characters are allowed to reside in my brain. here are some: ryu from streets, super mario, kim kitsuragi, sasuke uchiha, minato arisato, and yusuke kitagawa

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Who’s worse and why: Futaba or Makoto?

I mean if you’ve read this blog you probably know who I’m gonna choose, but as for why….welp under the cut

I’d have to say Makoto, both as a person and as a character. I know my bf ranks Futaba as the worse solely because of her BS hacking. And listen, for me Makoto and Futaba are both freaking close, and me saying “Futaba’s hacking isn’t as bad as Makoto” is more an opinion than fact, and shouldn’t boost any positive feelings/pride for Futaba fans because I chose her hacking over Makoto. Her hacking is HORRIBLE I was to make that clear, I still hate it. I’d probably hate Futaba more if it wasn’t for the fact that Makoto gets a single amount of criticism that we all have to come and explain ourselves (that’s the only good thing about Futaba is that her fanbase doesn’t come for my throat, but it also doesn’t mean I think about how crappy she is/think as critically about her as much as Makoto). 

With that out of the way I’ll give reasons for disliking both of them:

Makoto:

She never gets dragged. So you might know that I hate the P5MC, I think he’s an asshole and never gets called out on it (and not just he has asshole options, but he does asshole things we can’t not do). One thing I hate is that he drags like Anne, Ryuji, and Yusuke a lot like you wouldn’t believe (like people who are very dedicated to him). But I don’t recall really ever getting a single drag options for Makoto, WHEN SHE WASN’T ON THE TEAM AND SHE WAS AT HER WORSE (even when she drove off our only lead). It was mostly neutral stuff, defiant (not the same as asshole), or begging her not to tell on us. It’s just weird that a lot of other characters will get dragged for not really doing anything wrong, but she DOES screw us over and we don’t get to drag her at least once?

Gets away with A LOT of shit. Like she victim blames Anne, and Anne apologizes? And then has the audacity to say Anne and her are the SAME?! No boo, Anne didn’t know about the abuse, but YOU DID. Anne didn’t report the abuse because she didn’t know, you admit you didn’t report it because YOU DIDN’T CARE ENOUGH. You stalk us, take photos and video recordings without our permission (btw illegal in Japan and would be thrown out in court), but then get surprised when we (mostly Anne/Ryu/Yusuke since they can talk obvie) get mad at you? Complain about how people don’t know your struggles when they yell at you, but you are literally the one causing their grief (so of course they’d yell). Was literally an asshole from the get-go from introduction(she literally insulted Anne from her first words, no wonder Anne didn’t like her) , and pretty much the reason why every scene started to go to shit (only time she didn’t come in like an ass was the scene they called her useless in, and 1) considering her track record they probs assumed, and rightfully so, she was coming to put more pressure on them, which they didn’t need, and seque into 2))

Number 2, she was being useless to the PT! She didn’t do shit while investigating, instead just hovering over us being like “did you get the info? You know will happen if you don’t do this. SO you better do this!” And it’s like???? Bitch, you didn’t even bother to help. You’re useless in the one thing you can do (cause we know you won’t help in the Metaverse). Hell she wasn’t even the person who broke the news about Kaneshiro! We heard a rumor about it on the train as the MC/Mona before Makoto did! But the game made us freaking wait cause we needed the illusion of her doing like…ANYTHING. She also drove away our one gd lead, like WHAT THE FUDGE?! We’re all out here busting our asses and you are just sitting on yours, you really are useless. And she also withheld vital info…..

Withholding info. She does this twice, once during the Kaneshiro arc where we have to waste time investigating this one kid (and we know she knows cause he goes to her after we talk to him, upset cause she might’ve blabbed, oh if only, but like she could’ve asked him questions and she could’ve relayed the same info but NO!). She also doesn’t tell us about Sae’s Palace, and like….that would’ve been FANTASTIC considering we were all like “oh man wish we had a Palace we could go into” the entire gd game.

Her actions and words about her don’t line up (wow awkward sentence XP). People keep describing her as “scary” and “oh man you better not make her mad” and like acting like I should be scared of her. But like???? She’s really such a pushover, she needs to be saved countless times, she showcases no hidden fire-y side (in fact Anne shows that off more, but no the game is too busy dragging her through the mud for some reason). Hell even in the dance games, her and Anne’s reaction of Futaba trying to grope them is different. Makoto is shy and tries to run away iirc, Anne looks like she has the face of murder (Futaba better sleep with one eye open, like jesus what was that game thinking, 1) poor taste to do that to Anne, 2) doesn’t seem like she was having fun and…..that’s so out of place). Just….it’s just really annoying to hear it over and over, and then she needs help over and over. Like she puts up barely any resistence to the guys hitting on them at the beach, all while Anne is ready to throw down and raising a shit fit (understandable, but why isn’t Makoto????) and then if you say “you guys did well” MAKOTO is the one that responds and is like “Oh thanks but it was getting dicey” like bitch you just stood there, Anne was ready to cut a bitch, why are you responding you didn’t do anything????

She takes up too much screen time doing nothing. Her big job is to connect the player with Sae…..and she does a shit job at it. We learn pretty much nothing about Sae or her relationship, except it’s strained (but not TOO strained). She explains easy to understand stuff, but like we already had Mona for that so no need for her. She’s shit at her role as a strategist, 1) she doesn’t do a whole lot of it, 2) the few plans she’s come up with, the majority have failed, 3) her role is useless in a game where we already have a leader and choices are supposed to “matter” so why sin’t the MC just a double duty strategist? 4) Her CoOp ability should’ve already been a part of Futaba’s/Mona’s skill set (like with past Navis). She adds nothing, instead takes screen time away from other characters, as well as removing choice from the players (and possibly coming up with their own plans as well as ideas to utilize everyone). 

Futaba:

Her hacking is unrealistic and OP. Just….it’s just bad in and of itself.

Her hacking removes choice and other means to get around a problem. So many times it’s just “*points at something* Futaba hack it” and it’s done. Like Sae’s dungeon, a lot of people say it showcased Goro’s abilities, but all I remember is him saying “Futaba I choose you! Use hack” and that’s how it mostly went down. So like Makoto, her role screws the player out of a more enriching gameplay experience. 

Also takes up too much screen time. I mean it’s mostly for her stupid hacking too, but if it wasn’t for that and her it could’ve been utilized for other characters. It’s also weird cause she takes up a lot because of her mom, but we don’t get a whole lot about her mom…..it’s mostly just a plot device rather than a character. It just leaves you unfulfilled. 

Her mental illness is horribly written, pandering (in a sense of people thinking it’s cute and you should date her cause of it, not them having a character with mental illness in and of itself is pandering just the……fetishization of it is), and inconsistent (her gameplay and story segregation, aka CoOp and main story segregation, is just so appalling). I think I did one rank of her CoOp and she was all like “MC only you helped me. You’re the reason I started to get better! I can only go outside if you are with me MC! MC MC MC! PT who? Only MC!” and then literally the next f****ing day the main story progresses, she’s waiting outside with Yusuke and everyone is like “You went outside by yourself?!” and Yusuke’s like “nah I picked her up” HMMMM YOU SEEM FINE WITH THE PT WHAT’S THIS ABOUT MC ONLY?! It’s also…..I hate her crush, it’s soooooo unhealthy. She starts to become SO DEPENDENT on you, and is saying some very worrying things like “I don’t think I can do this on my own without you” like all the time. And apparently if you romance her she suddenly becomes more independent, which I don’t think would happen….romancing her route sounded more like I’d encourage her behavior rather than her deciding to just suddenly not do that. The friendship route was the only time it felt like it was realistic, we turn her down and we help her make one more step by herself and let her walk around Akihabara alone within a safe distance and then she gets used to it so it’s possible for her to leave all by herself later. Only time it was semi realistic, because any other time they just bring the freaking mental illness up whenever they freaking please. That’s also doesn’t take in the fact how they “cured” her so they could have a beach episode. A crash course and friendship isn’t gonna cure you suddenly (and it’s not like they actually stole her heart, which I hate she keep saying they did), and that’s an unhealthy mindset and unfair to a friend who wants to help but isn’t fair to put the burden on them to cure you. 

She’s kind of an asshole, like Makoto is an asshole before she joins, but Futaba…..I just dunno how most people even get along in the PT. It’s not social awkwardness, she’s just a straight up douche sometimes and I don’t like it (esp when you can’t call her out). It’s not just her, Yusuke is too and so is Mona (and Ryu is to Mona but he’s not an asshole, but he’s not 100% a good boi, but MC is also an asshole too, but sometimes he can be good). 

I also just don’t like her dungeon. Like how it’s written. But I could say that for most of P5′s dungeons. It tries to imitate P4 but…..doesn’t do what P4 did right. Her’s just steps on my toes even more cause it’s more closer to P4 than any other dungeon, and it’s a gd shame they didn’t expand on P4′s way of doing it (aka you don’t get the info basically handed to before going into the dungeon, there’s actually a revelation as you go through XP)

(Not points against either, but I find it weird that it feels like Futaba is closer to Makoto rather than Anne…..like nothing is special between Futaba and Makoto for them to be kinda like that, but like Anne was the one to technically appealed to Futaba to get her out of the closet…..You’d think she’d cling to Anne more….Sorry more of a confusing writing issue but since we were talking about these two and my mind wandered 8U)

Edit: I think I answered all my points (albeit it’s the abridged version), but god forbid I missed a couple.

[whispersatdawn]

A Flower’s Path | Final

GIF Credit to: ygo-gx

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2

Pairing: Ban Ryu (Do Ji Han) X Reader

Genre: angst, coming-of-age, slight!romance

Word Count: 4,712

Request: Hi! For the Hwarang scenarios, what about one where you are a great enough fighter that you are asked to be the ONLY female hwarang (but against your will). Once inside, Ban Ryu is constantly complaining about how you shouldn’t be there and how it’s a disgrace for a woman to be in the Hwarang house. The two of you keep bashing heads bc even though you didn’t want to be there, you weren’t going to take that from him. Once the princess gets there she gets jealous that most of the hwarang gets close with the female hwarang and tries to get rid of her. - @starbooks13

I’m going to kill Ban Ryu. I seriously cannot think of any other reason why he would be near the bathhouse when it’s my scheduled time. Maybe he really is a pervert. I should expose him! Yeah. That’ll get him to leave me alone. He didn’t see anything, right? Ugh. I need to confront him about this or else it’s going to keep bothering me-

“Um, (Y/N).”

“Yeah?” your head shot up, and you found five pair of eyes on you. They were talking about the princess, right? “Oh yeah, sorry, the princess. I don’t know. Maybe she’s here to see how we’re doing to give intel to Her Majesty.”

Soo Ho leaned in closer to the table, causing the rest of you to do the same as if he was about to say something that should only be shared among your group. “I hear... that Her Highness is actually coming here in search of a great warrior to be betrothed to soon,” he whispered.

Your brows furrowed. “She wants to wed to a Hwarang? I thought that she would most likely be arranged to one of the princes of the other kingdoms.”

“She doesn’t want to be with a man who has always been sheltered inside his own castle,” Yeo Wool followed up with some realization. He usually caught on quickly. “Princess Sook Myung herself is great at fighting. I think she wants to be with someone like that, but I am not sure why the queen would allow it. Wouldn’t it be better to marry from another royal family to secure an alliance?”

“Her Majesty always has tricks up her sleeves,” Ji Dwi mumbled from the side.

After some more light-hearted conversations with the boys, when it was time to finish up dinner and call it a night, you and your friends cleaned up your trays of food and walked out of the dining room together.

The moon was full tonight, lighting up the sky with million of other stars. Sounds of crickets could be heard from around you. You couldn’t wait to get some sleep from another long day in the Hwarang House. “I’m still envious that you get your own room (Y/N),” Sun Woo revealed. “You don’t know how difficult it is to be together with these guys.”

“I know what you mean,” Soo Ho agreed, nodding his head.

“I am sure you don’t know what he means, Soo Ho,” Yeo Wool chuckled, “because I am sure he’s talking about you and Ban Ryu fighting all the time in the middle of the night. Right, Ji Dwi?”

Ji Dwi turned to you, a small smile his face. “You’re really lucky, (Y/N).” He was the first one to start walking back to the males’ room.

One by one, your friends bid you goodnight and followed each other back into their rooms for the night. Watching them from behind, you realized that you were lucky. Fate might have brought you into a group that you were hesitant to be a part of, but she also brought some people into your life that you can’t find yourself without anymore.

Before, you were usually stuck in your own household. The only person you could share things with was Soonja after your mother passed away. Your father was always busy with meeting with the other True Bones. When you went out to Okta where most of the other royal bloods hung out, it was difficult to get along with the other ladies as you were different from them. So, thinking back to what Master Wi Hwa said on your first day of arrival, you were gradually starting to see that this place would allow you to grow.

Most of the young elites were already heading in the same direction as the others, so you begin to walk to your own room which was in the opposite direction. The days were usually loud Master Wi Hwa teaching class in the morning and the martial arts or performing arts practices in the late afternoon. When the sun fell, making room for night, that’s when you were able to find some peace. The air was quite cool, making your walk more enjoyable.

You were only halfway when you felt a hand grab your shoulder. In surprise, you jumped up and immediately turned around. “Ban Ryu!” you exclaimed.

“Sh!” Ban Ryu placed a finger in front of his lips, signaling you to quiet down.

You looked behind him to see if anyone noticed, and when you found not a single person, you looked back to face the man in front of you. There were times when you both were in each other’s faces, but you never took the time to pay attention to his features more than the insults that were leaving his mouth.

Standing in a spot where the moon illuminated right onto his face, you can see why the other maidens would gush over Ban Ryu despite his cold demeanor. Though you would never let him hear it out loud, he was indeed handsome.

“Have you come to spite me one last time before the day ends?” you snapped. Then you figured you had a more important question. “No, actually, w-why did you enter the bathhouse when it wasn’t your time?”

As much as you hated bringing up that memory, you wanted an explanation. Your cheeks started to become warm again, and Ban Ryu also became flustered once more. You noticed his eyes has never met yours even once since the incident. His own ears were turning red. Who would believe you if you told that the tough, heartless Ban Ryu, son of Park Young Sil, had an expression that was mortified?

“That’s exactly what I wanted to discuss with you.” He was trying to sound as calm as possible, but you found the small waver in his voice. “I honestly didn’t know it was your time! Master Wi Hwa had told us that you had a different designated time from us, but he never specified in fear that some of the men would purposely find you in the shower. He just told us to stay away from the bathhouse until after dinner.”

“Which is making me more suspicious of you...”

“I thought it would be great if I didn’t have to wait to share the shower with the others at least once. I didn’t have any ill intentions, nor did I s-see anything.”

“Is this an apology, Ban Ryu?”

Ban Ryu closed his eyes and sighed. You wanted to laugh at his defeat.

“Alright, I’ll take it as an apology. If...”

“If?”

“You stop calling me names. And thinking so lowly of me just because I am a woman.”

Ban Ryu finally looked at you, straightening his posture. “That is all you ask of me?” he asked.

“It seems like no big deal to you, but it would mean a lot to me,” you admitted. “I am daughter of Jung Young Sik, the last True Bone of my family. Because I have no brother to later take care of the family, I have decided to do what I can to protect my own. It is not my job as a lady, but I refuse to stay still and helpless. I can cook, I can clean, I can conceive a child. But my role right now is not to be pretty maiden trying to win attention of any royal blood. You have seen me fight during training, Ban Ryu. I am so much more.”

You felt your eyes start to water. Because if it wasn’t for the tough training here and enduring in a house of men, you wouldn’t have seen it for yourself. Whether you are in the queen’s game or not, maybe Father trusted you to become stronger in this place. Home was too small.

“Then I will do just that, (Y/N).”

For the first time, Ban Ryu called you by your name. Between the two of you, you finally felt some sign of respect. Trying to make light of things instead of letting your tears go in front of someone you had been mad at since the beginning, you joked, “Good. Because if you didn’t, I would’ve told everyone else about what you did.” Ban Ryu’s eyes widened. He started to say something but decided to turn around and hurry to his room. You let out a small laugh, watching his retreating back.

It was the day of the princess’ arrival.

After the long practices and training, you felt like you would actually to pull them off okay. Your morning started out great. The usual snarky remarks from Ban Ryu stopped, and you ate breakfast peacefully with your group of friends. Master Wi Hwa reiterated that all of the Hwarangs give Her Highness an outstanding performance.

More than the dance, you were quite nervous about the short sparring show you & Sun Woo would have to perform next. At first, it was going to be you and Soo Hoo as you two were the best warriors among the others, but after you noticed how much Sun Woo improved, you asked if he could take Soo Hoo’s place instead.

“Is it too late to have Soo Ho spar with you instead?” Sun Woo asked, standing next to you in line as you waited for the princess. You noticed how anxious he was by his fidgeting.

“Didn’t know you were such a scaredy-cat,” you said as you continued to look at the top red gazebo where Master Wi Hwa stood along with your martial arts instructor. “You’ll do just fine, Dog-Bird.”

When you saw your chief instructor and martial arts instructor turn in a direction and bowed, signaling the princess’ appearance, the rest of you followed suit. You soon looked up and found the Royal princess. Her aura alone gave off a vibe of authority. She did look like a warrior, just as you’ve heard from the others.

“So,” Princess Seokmyung started, “these are the Hwarangs.”

She quickly scanned each of you.

“Though you have gone through some tests to become a member, I have come today to observe you all myself. I’ll see if you have what it really takes to become a Hwarang. I have the greatest expectations.”

A chair was brought out, and Her Highness took a seat. Those who weren’t performing moved to the side so that those who were performing could take the center. You stood alongside with Sun Woo, and the both of you watched your other friends. “Yeo Wool definitely stands out,” you said while observing the dance.

“You think so?” Sun Woo chuckled. “Look at Soo Ho. I think he just made a mistake. That guy. He should just stick with swords in battle.”

“Ji Dwi and Han Sung look good, too. I saw those two practicing a lot.”

“Ban Ryu, too. I saw him dance by himself. He thought no one was watching, but I saw him on my way to Ah Ro,” Sun Woo commented. “Speaking of which, he’s been acting pretty weird lately.”

You looked from Han Sung to Ban Ryu. He was so focused on the performance, and you never really saw that side of him. You remembered how much he struggled and hated to be a part of the dance group. “Weird. How so?”

“How can you not know?” Sun Woo asked, taken aback. “Gosh, I thought you would be the first to think so considering he’s always verbally attacked you. It’s been two days since he hasn’t done so.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I’ve noticed.”

“So, what is it?” Sun Woo asked, a mischievous smile on his face. “Did you blackmail him or something? Did you finally beat him up?”

Instead of answering, the dance had finished, and you decided to ignore Sun Woo and applaud instead. Your heart thumped hard from inside your chest. You were next.

From above, the princess also applauded after the performance ended. Master Wi Hwa watched her expression. “We also have a sparring show for you, Your Highness. I hope you’ll enjoy it. They are great warriors.”

Everyone cleared way from you and Sun Woo. The both of you picked up your respective swords.

“A woman?” the princess questioned, finally taking interest in you when she saw you.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Master Wi Hwa answered. “(Y/N) is Jung Young Sik’s daughter. The other True Bones have spoken of his daughter’s exceptional skills. The Queen was the one who brought her in. She was also the one who brought in Sun Woo.”

“Her Majesty brought those two into the Hwarang House,” the princess said. She carefully watched as the two fighters from below swing their weapons at each other, blocking, striking, defending.

The match went on for another minute or two until you finally hung your sword right in front of Sun Woo, a few inches from his neck, ending the sparring. Everyone around you cheered, and you placed the sword back down at your side. Sun Woo shared a smile with you, patting your head for a job well done, and the both of you returned to your friends’ side who continued to cheer for you. “As expected of the cool (Y/N) and Sun Woo!” Han Sung exclaimed. “Wow!” He brought you into a hug, and the rest joined in. You all jumped around in celebration of a successful show.

Something pang in the princess’ chest from watching you all. She had no idea why she felt the way she did, but she didn’t like the sight of it. Especially knowing that her brother, the king, was among the men. His sister was finally here, but he’s probably giving his attention to another girl.

She continued to watch the group, and her eyes spotted one who wasn’t among the group of cheering joys. From a distance, his eyes was basically glued onto the female Hwarang.

“I don’t like it,” the princess said.

Master Wi Hwa was flustered. He spent all this time training and teaching. He really didn’t expect those words to be what came out. He was ready to be praised. His face fell. “Uh- What did you not like about it, Your Highness?”

“You think that if these group of Hwarangs go out into a battlefield that they’ll be ready to put their lives on the line? What good will a routine do for them? Battles are heartless, cold, raw. They need to fight like it’s life or death.”

“My apologies, Your Highness but-”

“And the woman? Take her out.”

“(Y/N) is one of the greatest fighters. I think her being a part of Hwarang is a great asset to us. I don’t understand why we need to do that. The Queen was the one who asked for us to bring (Y/N) in.”

“Her Majesty may not see it is a problem.” The princess murmured the following sentence. “She’ll do anything to keep the throne and protect herself.”

Her normal voice resumed. “But she does not see what I see. Keeping (Y/N) here will be a distraction to the rest of the Hwarangs. She may be good with weapons, but the whole group needs to be at its best. We can’t expect her to fight well and the others do the bare minimum. They all need to be focused. For the better of everyone, we can afford to lose the girl.”

You stopped jumping when you heard a throat clear from behind you. You quickly let go of the group circle and turned around to find Master Wi Hwa and the princess in front of you. Automatically, you bowed at her presence.

“Jung Young Sik’s daughter.”

“Your Highness.”

“Your fighting skill surprises me if I’m going to be honest. Who taught you how to hold a sword?” the princess asked.

“Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness. I started very young myself but soon found myself a trainer for a while.”

“And you decided to fight instead of what you intentionally supposed to do as a royal blood? Was your father not against this?”

“At first, Your Highness, but he was the one who asked me to join Hwarang. I have decided to use my skills for a bigger purpose.”

The princess watched you without blinking an eye, and you secretly felt intimidated. Why was she interrogating you so much?

“I see. So, you did not intentionally want to become a part of Hwarang, but it was because of your father and the Queen. If you want, I can do you a favor and excuse you from being among these other elites.”

You shifted your position so that you were facing the princess. You frowned, and your brows knitted. You couldn’t tell if she was asking you or ordering you. It made you uncomfortable. The male Hwarangs stood quiet around you. “There seems to be a misunderstanding, Your Highness. It is true that I did not want to come here at first, but I have no resentment towards my father or Her Majesty for being here now. How could I? I... I have lots to learn, and I think I can be someone who can serve the kingdom as well as its people.”

“It has come to my attention that having a woman among a group of men will not help serve the kingdom nor its people,” the princes countered sternly. “We cannot risk having anything cause this group to fall through. You all are here to train and fight. Nothing else.”

“Your Highness,” a voice interrupted from nowhere. You looked to find Ji Dwi stepping up. “My apologies for speaking up. You say that Hwarang was only built as soldiers, but I believe that we are much more than that. We were not taught to kill. We were taught to be loyal to our country, to our parents and teachers, to each other. We don’t retreat from our enemies. We never kill without a cause. Before (Y/N) entered, most of us were arrogant and only thought of ourselves. Despite being judged by many, (Y/N) stuck through the difficult beginnings and showed us that we all have so much work to do.”

“Do you think those morals will help keep you alive in the case of a war?” the princess snapped, angry that someone would dare defend you and speak against her own words.

“How do we win a war if we can’t even work together?” Ji Dwi challenged. “It’s not every man for themselves. It’s us for a whole country, Your Highness.”

“And you don’t think you can do it without her?” The princess glared at Ji Dwi, but he refused to back down.

“As I have said, Your Highness. We were taught to have trust and brotherhood among friends. Since (Y/N) is here now, she is included.”

You were touched by Ji Dwi’s words though a part of you felt anxious that he was talking back to a member of the Royal Family. Did he not have fear?

“I disagree with you. I do not believe that (Y/N) should stay.” the princess said. You watched all eyes fall on you. “But.” You could barely breathe. The princess wanted you to leave Hwarang. You thought since she was a female warrior herself that she would’ve agreed to keeping you. “I will compromise. If (Y/N) can win against me in a sparring match, I will revoke my decision.”

“Your Highness, my apologies, but I do not think that-” Master Wi Hwa cut off his own words when the princess’ personal servant brought the princess a sword.

“This time, it’ll be a real combat. It is only when one of us gets cut that the fight stops.”

You froze. You knew that if you lost, you would have to leave right away. Even though the princess decided the rules, you knew if there was a chance that you cut her, it would still feel like a loss. How could you dare lay your sword on the princess?

Ban Ryu couldn’t believe the princess’ suggestion, either. When he heard how you might have to leave, his heart fell. In the beginning, he would’ve sided with the princess. But now?

You tightened your grip around your sword’s handle. A million thoughts ran through your mind, thinking of many ways this battle could end. You looked over at Master Wi Hwa who stood still, watching you. You looked over to your friends who couldn’t hide their worried expressions. From the side, you spotted Ah Ro who had been watching since your sparring with her brother. You even found Ban Ryu who had an expression you kind of wish you were able to read.

The gong sound rang out, and you quickly returned to your sight to the girl in front of you. You couldn’t afford to pay attention to anyone else except the very person in front of you. The princess stroked, leaving you to dodge her and then block her when she tried again. All anyone could hear was the sound of the two swords clashing with each other.

“I can’t watch this,”Han Sung said, hiding behind Sun Woo’s shoulder.

You could tell that the princess learned martial arts at a young age, too. She was good. Whatever the result, it would be fair. Out of all the opponents you faced, she was the toughest yet.

Avoiding her sword was easy as first, but as seconds went on, your own sword started to feel heavy in your hands. The sweat from your palm was making you lose grip in your sword. You hit Princess Seokmyung’s sword back and watched her grit her own teeth. You took the chance to breathe for a second as she also tried to regain control. Exhaustion hit both of you.

“We don’t have to fight, Your Highness,” you tried to reason.

The princess paused as if she was reconsidering the whole thing, but you heard a few of the guys on the sidelines cheer you on. The princess frowned and brought her sword up again. “I’ll let you know when we don’t have to fight any longer.”

As if ignited by a new fire, the princess pointed her sword at you and started to charge. Your quick reflex blocked the sword right away, but the princess continuously attacked you, pushing you back. Again and again she went until your hand couldn’t hold onto your weapon any longer, and it was knocked out.

Your sword clattered on the ground right next to you. “(Y/N)!” you heard a few voice cry out. You glanced down, thinking of how you were going to pick it back up since you were at a disadvantage. Princess Seokmyung swung her sword in front of you.

“Huh. Guess you weren’t as great as people were making you out to be,” the princess scoffed as if she’d already won. She took the moment to look away from you and at the other Hwarangs. “This is exactly how it’ll be outside. Don’t take your training lightly.”

In that same time, you took it as your moment to quickly retrieve your sword. From the side of your eyes, the princess caught you immediately and slashed her sword against your skin as you did to hers. Master Wi Hwa stepped in. “That will be enough!”

Feeling a pain on your right arm, you grimaced and pulled your sleeve up to reveal a cut. You looked up at the princess and found her doing the same. You exhaled, thanking that it was over though you were still afraid of what would happen next. Princess Seokmyung made eye contact with you. Everyone else stayed silent. Master Wi Hwa was about to say a word when the princess made her own words heard first. “Not many people are lucky enough to land a hit on me,” she said, looking at the blood on herself. Sure, she was jealous of you and the relationships you had with everyone at Hwarang House. The princess herself barely had any friends. Even the brother she was supposed to know, she had never even seen his face. Looking back at you, the princess knew it wouldn’t be right to remove you. “You have proven yourself, (Y/N).” She then called her servant to be take her back to the palace to be treated by the doctor of the Royal Family.

As she walked away, you bowed down to her. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

You watched her walk out of the Hwarang House. Once she disappeared, cheers surrounded you, and you were smothered in your close friends’ hugs. “Wait, wait!” you heard a female voice yell louder as it got closer to you. Ah Ro pulled the males away from you and took you out of the circle. She glared at the men. “Miss (Y/N) is hurt. I need to take care of her first.”

Smiling, you followed Ah Ro into her room and sat down. She sat right next to you and started to treat you right away. “You continue to amaze me, (Y/N),” Ah Ro said. “Even though I was standing quite far, I was so nervous watching you fighting with Her Highness. I’ll never be able to figure out why you enjoy combat so much! You should just learn sewing. I can teach you.”

You laughed. “I was scared, too. I’m just glad it ended okay.”

Ah Ro almost finished bandaging your wound when a knock appeared at the door. When you looked to see who was at the door, to your surprise, you found Ban Ryu standing. “Ban Ryu...” you said.

“I can finish for you Miss Ah Ro.” Ban Ryu walked into the room. Ah Ro had a look of confusion on her face at first but then stood up from her chair.

“Oh, y-yes. Thank you. I was going to go look for my brother anyway.” She handed Ba Ryu the bandages and then looked at you. “I’ll be right back, Miss (Y/N).”

When Ah Ro left, you didn’t know where to look. For some reason, it felt kind of embarassing to look at Ban Ryu. He took Ah Ro’s seat and continued to wrap the cloth around your arm quietly. You gulped, and licked your lips, finding it quite difficult to breathe. This was the closest you’ve ever been to him. You even felt his hand brush softly against your arm. What were you supposed to say to him? “What you did was really stupid today,” Ban Ryu said once he tied the bandage together so that’ll stay in place.

“Hm?”

“Going against the princess?” Ban Ryu looked at you, but instead of the intense look he usually showed, his eyes were softer. “It was very stupid.”

“What was I supposed to do? I know everyone keeps wanting me to go, but-”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Ban Ryu told you. He took a breath. “Stupid... but brave. Sort of attractive.”

Attractive?

“Anyway, in a way, I don’t think I can do what you did. Everyone knows I have it tough with my stepfather. Whatever he says, I do. I follow his words and don’t ever think about doing otherwise. I just... I just wished you didn’t get hurt while doing so, (Y/N).”

You brushed the bandage on your arm. “It hurts, but it would’ve probably hurt me even more if I didn’t do anything. Before, I wanted to do things my way and make it easy for myself, training by myself at home. What kind of life would it be if things just came easy? Things will be tough, dirt and all. If I can stand all of the tough things that come my way, I’ll be rewarded with a lot of light in my life. I can grow to be more than just a daughter of a True Bone.”

Soil, water, sunlight - you needed them all.

A slight small smile appeared on Ban Ryu’s face. He nodded his head and stood up, getting ready to leave. Before that, he turned back and called your name. “Yes?”

This time, Ban Ryu avoided your eyes. “Well, you know how we’re free to go back home tomorrow? If you want, we can leave Hwarang House tomorrow. Maybe go to Okta? Anywhere, really.”

You smiled. “I’d really like that. Thank you for asking, Ban Ryu.”