𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 | 𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒌𝒆 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ Poolside Disaster

Training lesson 4:
"Sink or swim"

The sound of your sneakers slapping against the hard concrete echoed through the massive training facility. You and Daisuke walked side by side, the distant hum of the ventilation system barely audible over the clatter of your footsteps.

You were both on edge, having just made it past the bizarre
"Weather disaster " drill—an activity that still didn't quite make sense in your mind.

When you stepped into the next area, your breath hitched in your throat.

A big ass pool.

And parked right next to it—
the van.

"Uh... What's going on here?"
Daisuke asked, voice slightly quivering as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

His eyes scanned the area with uncertainty, as if trying to piece together the logic of what he was looking at.

"Ah, Rookie's!
Welcome to the real deal!
Time to get serious! And by serious,
I mean dangerously serious!"
Curly winked dramatically.

It somehow made the whole thing sound more like a game show than any kind of real-life training.

You exchanged a glance with Daisuke. "Dangerously serious?"
you repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Curly gave you a thumbs-up. "Absolutely! This is all about staying calm when things go south...
or underwater, I should say."

Curly's grin only grew. He gestured toward the van, which was still sitting on the poolside, perfectly dry.
"Here's the deal: this van's gonna be submerged in a couple minutes, and your job is to get out. Simple, right?"

Daisuke's face went pale.

"Wait, what?
The van is going in the water?"
He looked between the van and Curly, disbelief written all over his face.
"This isn't some kind of joke, is it?"

"Oh, it's no joke, kid!"
Curly boomed, rubbing his hands together.

"You need to learn to escape a vehicle that's been submerged in water.
The idea is that no matter what the situation, you're prepared for the worst. Now,"
he turned to you.

"You're both going to learn how to stay cool under pressure when the world is literally going downhill—or, in this case, underwater!"

You swallowed hard, staring at the van, trying to keep your cool.
It didn't look like much—just a plain old delivery van—but the thought of being trapped inside while it sank to the bottom of a pool had your stomach doing flip-flops.

Your heart started to race, but you couldn't show it.

Not in front of Curly.

Daisuke, on the other hand, was already shaking his head in disbelief. "You're joking, right? This is insane,"
he muttered, voice low, almost as if he was trying to talk himself out of it.

Curly didn't seem to notice Daisuke's hesitation.
He grabbed a couple of diving masks and fins from a nearby rack and tossed them toward you.