CHAPTER TEN: TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

Dae-Seong and I came to a full stop in the middle of the hallway. The tension in the air between us was damn near visible to the naked eye. Not that anyone needed enhanced vision to see it. Dae-Seong had been a prick since the moment I woke up, as he gradually wore out my patience. Either I’d put him in his place or he’d go on acting like everyone should bow before him. I wasn’t having any of that shit.

“Is that so? Careful now, I’d hate for one of your level to step on an ant-hill and find out it’s really a mountain. I might not be as high born as you, but I’ve never been the type to let an insult slide.” Dae-Seong scoffer.

I sucked my teeth, maneuvering my body to face Dae-Seong head on.

“And neither am I. If you have an issue with me, why not handle it like a real Superiōrem soldier? With your own two hands and feet, pretty boy.” I mocked. 

My last few words must’ve struck a chord, because the glint in Dae-Seong’s eyes became even more ravenous. If looks could kill, his would give me a slow death. He smiled at the same time that his left hand streaked to my face. I blocked it with my elbow off of sheer reflex. I stepped in to grab hold of his shoulder, bringing him in close as I threw a knee into his sternum. Dae-Seong cross-blocked with his forearms as he forced off my clinch. I wasn’t the best fighter back in the Destros districts, but I learned a move or two here and there. I hoped it would be enough to protect me. There was no way for me to know what supposed training the true Elite Dae-Seong went through until now. I had only my instincts to go off of. I needed to use whatever I had at my disposal to throw him off balance.

“Well, this is surprising. I thought you would’ve been another one of those pompous Noblesse that feared his own shadow.” Dae-Seong spat, shifting around on the balls of his feet.

In the brief exchange, my body had moved on its own the entire time. There was a dull ache in my arms from when I blocked Dae-Seong’s punch, but overall, I was ready to continue. 

“And here I would have thought with the way you look this would’ve been more of a cat-fight with a lot more hair-pulling and scratching.” I said.

Out of nowhere, a severe headache came on as I tried to rely on my sight, coupled with a bout of nausea that had my insides feeling like I dragged them on broken glass. There were now two Dae-Seongs in my eyes. The fuck is going on? I raised my guard, hoping to protect my face.

“What’s wrong D? You look a little sick. Here, let me help you out.” Dae-Seong said, his voice reverberating in the hall, creating a sickening sense of dissonance.

What felt like a metal bat bashed into my outer thigh, forcing my knee to dip. A grunt escaped my lips, but I did my best to stay standing out of pride. An electric like current shocked my skin every time Dae-Seong shifted the surrounding air before every blow I took. Piling on the punches and kicks. My arms and legs became heavier and heavier as I lost sensation in my limbs. I did my best to observe his movements from under my guard. Calm down, D. Fight through the pain and think. Remember what the older cats from the block always used to say. Fighting is sixty percent brains and forty percent brawn. So what do you know? You know, every time Dae-Seong throws a punch or a kick for real; the air feels like lightning, but when he tries to feint you out, it’s barely even a tickle. And since I know that I can guess what he’s going to do next and where. I just have to minimize his options. I thought to myself, jumping backwards to the nearest wall, dropping my hips and tightening my guard. 

“What happened to those kicks of death? I thought you were a predator. There’s nothing elegant about cowardice.” Dae-Seong sneered.

I ignored the petty provocations from the boy, who looked more like a doll than a person. My body shivered somewhat as the feeling of electricity raced across my skin. The near painful sensation that came from my left urged me to raise my shoulder as I blocked another heavy kick. A tingle originated from my right. I ignored what I thought to be a left-handed feint. Ducking under a right hook to throw a counter of my own that unleashed blood onto Dae-Seong’s porcelain skin as he stumbled back, shocked. I dismissed my double-vision as I relied heavily on my hypersensitive sense of touch.

“What’s wrong, pretty boy? I didn’t know you had a glass jaw.” I said, pressing forward to take full advantage of the momentum. 

I embraced the overwhelming mix of harsh shocks and soft tingles that stimulated my skin. Doing my best to read between the lines of Dae-Seong’s blocks and counterattacks. I was successful, but there were plenty of missed opportunities where I might’ve ended the fight early. I didn’t hear the footsteps that drew closer while Dae-Seong and I brawled in the hallway.

“Look at these two dumbasses. Don’t they know they’re going to get caught?” A male voice said.

“Yeah, but won’t it be funny to see what happens again?” Another male in the background chuckled. 

Dae-Seong’s soft face ended up being covered in cuts while blood dripped from the upper corner of my eye. Another pair of footsteps echoed in the hall, except these sounded as though the person who created them was on a mission. I registered the approaching entity subconsciously, however; I paid them no mind. A ball of heat sat in my chest. I wanted to make Dae-Seong eat a fistful of his own words. I rotated my hips, about to throw another uppercut.

“Recruits, attention!” A harsh voice said. “What in the entire Superiōrem fuck are you two doing?” 

Absolute dread encapsulated me as my body reacted instantly by jumping more than a few meters away. I looked up to see a man that was missing an eye walk up in a light brown chimera suit. I watched as the familiar Superiōrem cadre stomped towards our direction. Every muscle in his face flexed in tandem to create the caustic expression he made. 

“Told you they’d get caught.” 

“Shhh, don’t let the cadre hear you. Ha, this is even better than watching them get put on their ass.”

I raced into the military position of attention, my two fists braced against each other behind my back. Dammit. I should’ve been more aware of my surroundings. Dropping my head while waiting for the rant guaranteed to come. The heat from the ball of fire in my chest spread into my face. I ground down my teeth while I listened to the other recruits mock us for getting caught in the backdrop.

“Not even twenty-four hours in your team and you two dickwads are already at each other’s necks. I can’t even imagine how either of you expect to make it through training if you can’t make it work with each other. That’s not even considering the fact that there’s still two more members in DELTA team for you both to meet.” The annoyed Superiōrem cadre said, spinning around on his heels at the same time waving for us to follow. “Recruits SSM-13 and MF-09 follow me. I’ll have to be your fucking chaperone just to make sure you neither of you kill each other. A whole joke, I swear.”

Dae-Seong and I moved in near unison. Sending venomous looks as we mouthed insults towards each other. Ignoring the small gathering of recruits that had watched the entire show play out. I’ve met some Grade-A assholes in my life, but this kid takes the fucking cake. I thought, following in step with the cadre. It was just the first day yet things were taking turn after turn for the worst. I had to get my shit together if I wanted to make it through in piece.