Hopelesly devoted to you (Crossmare)

Fight like fools

A lone recruit ran down the hall, cursing their tardiness. They ran down a few flights of stairs until they came to another smaller hallway with a door that led to their destination, the training hall. Said training hall was filled with recruits and guards. While the guards did some stretching, the recruits murmured amongst themselves about the moon guard captain. They had seen him quite a lot, most of the time by the side of their king. He had a face covered in scars and a presence that commanded respect. They could see why he was made captain.

But everyone wanted to know more about this mysterious captain. He seemed to be so secretive, only letting his guard down around a select group of monsters. And most of all they wanted to know what his relationship with the king was like. Some had seen their banter and didn't hesitate to spread what they had witnessed, only fueling the already existing rumors.

Everyone fell silent when said captain entered the training hall, wearing very different attire from what they were used to. He was wearing a gray tank top and black sweatpants.Which was appropriate attire for fighting, but most were busy looking at his scarred arms and lean body. Another person with tar tears followed, dressed in the same attire.

"Good morning everyone. This is your first training session. I'll be training you along with a terror." He motioned at Killer. "And some off-duty guards who kindly offered up their free time." Cross gave the guards a nod, who nodded back and stood straight. "Before we begin discussing moves, you will need to warm up. You will do about 20 laps around the training hall." The guards were already in stance and started running around the hall. The recruits looked dumbfounded.

Killer let out a snicker. "Run you dumbasses!" The recruits looked panicked before they started running the same way as the guards. Cross sighed. "What a sad bunch. How are we gonna get them into shape in one revalota?" Killer laughed. "Oh we're not Crossy, let's pray their fighting is not as bad as their running." Cross huffed. "Doubt it."

But alas it seemed their fighting was somehow even worse than their running. They could barely throw a punch, let alone defend themselves from any incoming blows. After half an hour of watching them struggle, Killer and Cross stopped them.

"Alright it seems you have much to learn. So Killer and I will give a demonstration of what a good fight should look like." The two of them got in front of the group and got on the mats covering the center of the hall. Killer smirked at him. "Been a while since i've done hand to hand with you Criss-Cross. Miss me that much?" Cross rolled his eyes. "No holding back."

Killer shot him a grin before launching himself forward at Cross, left hand aiming to hit his neck. Cross moved aside and turned his back to Killer, grabbing Killer's arm and twisting it to lift him. Killer responded by wrapping his legs around Cross's torso and grabbing his neck with his right hand. Quickly, Cross dropped on his back, Killer giving an 'oomph' noise as they hit the floor. Taking advantage of Killer's distracted state, Cross twisted himself in Killer's grip to push himself off. Killer sprung up and they circled each other.

The recruits watched with amazement.

Killer lunged at him to which he ducked down and to the side. He pushed Killer aside, the other tumbling down before regaining his balance into a crouched position. Cross got up but it was a bad move. Killer had gone for his ankle to pull his feet out from under him. He stood up as he pulled, making the flip harder for Cross to land on his hands or feet. Nevertheless Cross landed on his hands and did a small tumble sideways to land on both hands and feet.

Then he swept one of his legs under Killer's feet, catching him off guard. Killer flipped, landing chest forward and landing on his face. Cross took the momentum to get on his lower legs and pull back his arms. He held both his arms with one hand and used the other to pull his head back, trapping him. Killer's feet flapped a little but he knew it was no use.