Bishamonten had pinched the bridge of his nose when he came upon the kitchen in the tea shop. His familia member, Lily, looked on sheepishly as he surveyed the mess she caused and muttered something under his breath. “…So,” he began to say, looking at her, “What do you have to say for yourself?” “Um…I wanted to make that thing you were talking the other day?” she said uncertaintly. “What thing?” “…Mochi. Did I do it right?” He pinched the bridge of his nose again for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “Your method…is not how mochi is created.” “So…no.” “No.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “I expect you to clean up the mess you made.” Her smile turned less sheepish and more eager. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my best!” Pause. “After this is training, right?” He nodded and watched as she squealed in delight and began to work right away. Admittedly he admired the girl’s enthusiasm, but sometimes it would get in the way of teaching her discipline, both body and mind. He sighed as he went out of the kitchen and made sure the sign on the front door of the tea house was flipped to close. Once that was done, he went back into the kitchen to supervise the Pallum girl. She did her best to scrub the counter and the floors, as well as wash the dirty dishes. After some time, she looked proudly at the god, who gave her a nod of approval. “Yes! I did it!” She pumped her fist into the air as he sighed. “Come along now, it’s time for your training,” he said as he beckoned her to the back of the tea house. He was lucky to have an empty lot just right for training and meditating. There was a path of stone he walked on and it had some more stones sitting around the lot, to give it an aesthetically pleasing look to it. It wasn’t much, but he did his best to make do with it. He went over to get a wooden sword and handed it to the girl. He took one for himself and moved a bit aways from her. “Ready?” “Yep!” She immediately charged at him, intent on hitting him. He dodged her movements and gave her a good thwack to the back. “Gah!” “Don’t always charge ahead, how many times have I told you that now?” “Uh…not sure,” she said, gritting her teeth through the pain as she whirled around to try and hit him. Her wooden sword met his with a clack. She kicked him in the shin, earning a hiss of pain from him. He did not falter, however, and simply continued to block her movements with the sword. “Focus, do not get angry if I keep blocking your blows like this,” he said. “How can I not be frustrated if I can’t hit you?!” “Frustration isn’t the same thing as anger.” She made a frustrated noise and continued to try and hit him with the wooden sword. He still kept on blocking, not really taking any hits until she decided to do some experimental jabs with her sword. He nodded in approval at the girl, who began to beam brightly. It left her open to attack and she immediately fell on her bum when he knocked her over. “Hey!” “Focus, remember?” “Alright, alright.” She got up and tried to charge at him again, once more finding herself blocked. This continued on for some time before she found herself knocked over again, a wooden sword pointed at her throat. “Alright, that’s enough,” he said as he began to put away the weapons. Lily sighed as she stood up. “…I’m guessing next is meditating?” she asked weakly, giving Bishamonten puppy dog eyes. The god wasn’t buying it. “Yes. Sit down and get comfortable.” She sighed and did as she was told. He sat down opposite of her and began to narrate. “Close your eyes.” She snapped them shut and took a deep breath. “Rest your hands on your knees.” She moved her hands to her knees. “Bring your attention to your body on the ground you’re sitting on. Feel it how hard it is, how it supports you. Feel your body’s weight on the ground and relax it, from the head, to your chest, to your stomach, then on your legs and hands. Feel your breaths as you breathe in, slowly, deeply, then exhale, slowly.” He himself was keeping his eyes closed so that he could concentrate without having to point out her mistakes. “Notice your stomach and chest moving as you breathe, filling it with air. Relax, as you breathe in, and out.” He paused, giving him some time to do what he narrated. “Now, feel your breath through your nose, going in, then out. Just focus on your breathe as you breathe in, and out. When your mind wanders, or you’re distracted, pay attention to it before-“ “How am I supposed to pay attention to it when I’m not supposed to do that?” He kept his eyes closed and took in a deep breath. “As I was saying, pay attention to it for a brief moment before going back to your breath. Feel it go in, and out. In…then out. Allow your thoughts and feelings to occur-“ “But that’s not what you’re supposed to do in meditation, right? Don’t you have to clear your mind?” “No, you just have to be mindful.” Silence. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she grumbled as she fidgeted in her spot. He let his mind calm down after being rudely interrupted and continued to narrate. “Feel your breaths coming in, then out. Focus on them for a moment.” He waited for what seemed like a long time to the fidgeting Pallum before he said, “Now bring your attention back to your body, then open your eyes.” Both their eyes opened as she sighed. “I don’t get it, meditation,” she whined. He could only shake his head. “You’ll learn with time. Come, let’s open shop again and serve the customers.” “Okay!” She jumped to her feet and ran back inside. “What am I going to do with her?” he sighed as he went back in.
