Metanoia

Hydra, Vruydon: Chapter 18

    Renjun was learning very quickly that nothing in this city was simple or small in the least. The foyer was nothing close to tiny; the free space was absolutely humongous; the dorms were extremely spacious, the cafeteria was basically a building within itself; and once again, the training area was beyond ginormous. The brunette was getting very skeptical that there were any small places in Vruydon. Not even the run down hotel room was small enough to be considered a good argument against his point- because that room was incredibly empty. And he bet those private rooms in the dorms weren't tiny either.
    He could feel the grumble rise in his throat when remembering Vinzent's bragging throughout their first night. Keeping his door only slightly open so he could easily get his boasts out to the rest of the students. Renjun was learning quickly who would become a pain in the ass once training started. The red haired teen was definitely on that list.
    Through that night however, the brunette was starting to get used to the other students who were also left with the eight beds in the middle of the dorms. Riya had been from the same school as Vinzent, Alberto and Jadon however they didn't seem to get along. As the girl stuck by Zuri's side for the rest of the day it became obvious that this was the truth. Elisabeta, on the other hand, was completely new to this trio and was welcomed in with opened arms and hungry eyes.
    'Vinzent is a lustful pig from what I'm seeing.' Renjun was wondering if this advancement in humanity course would get through and actually be stuck in the prick's empty brain. Or if it would phase through his head like everything else.
    The other students weren't much to remember, he could hardly get a good look at the one named Kailani- who had fought near tooth and claw for the private room she never got. The pink haired girl named Mei was extremely quiet and her hair was so long it covered most of her face (Which was kind of bothering Renjun for how unsettling it was). Same went for the girl named Saige, who wasn't tempted to talk with anyone much less stay anywhere close to them.
    Than there was Kuzma, who Jeno said was the cashier at the grocery store. There was something about that teen that made them unique from everyone else. First things first they didn't seem to be keen on tipping the scales to be in favour for either gender as their appearance stayed ambiguously in the middle. Second, they recommended Jeno join the company in the first place, which was rather suspicious. Third they gave a large impression of being way too 'out of their element' for Renjun's liking. They weren't prepared for Hydra as everyone else was.
    But for now, the brunette decided not to look into it. He had bigger fish to fry. That being said he was certainly going to have to focus in on what was going to be taught. In that exceedingly colossal training room.
    There were two large floors, a bit smaller than the normal perimeter solely so the teachers could spectate the training in motion between both floors. The first levels floors were lined with padded mats and the walls were filled with every type of close combat weapon possibly imaginable by the human mind. Renjun wasn't keen on keeping his eyes trained on the large practice scythes which looked to be more of a decoration than a tool. From the both roofs punching bags descended down to eye level and ropes hung from the top. On his right there was a door that had the sign 'range' pasted onto it. Renjun could only imagine the larger amounts of danger that would come from there. He decided to try and get a better look at the second level. However it was nowhere near his line of sight, but he could see from the ropes tied together and the larger blocks forming miniature buildings that it was no doubtingly an obstacle course of some sort.
A large smack on the ground snapped him out of his thoughts. For a moment the brunette forgot that he was in the room in the first place, having to listen to a lesson. None the less, it made no difference as he saw Vinzent's back collide roughly with the ground.
"A basic hip toss." Johnny brushed some dust on his sleeve, helping the winded red head get back up on his two feet. "Are we able to get into partners and try that out?" It wasn't much of a question but more of a command and it seems that the rest of the class got that idea as well.
With awkward shuffles, each person found a partner and lined up in the middle of the room. Renjun faced his friend in a serious manner, completely unsure how they should be treating the training. There was a soundless confirmation to start and Saige was the first to try out the move. She had her grip on Kailani's wrist tighten and moved swiftly to support the others weight. In one rapid movement, the purple haired girl jerked forward and near dragged her partner forward. She was ultimately successful in her technique from what Renjun saw as another clean smack hit the mats.
"Good job Saige!" Johnny clapped cheerfully as he saddled up beside her. "But try and get a much better grip on your opponent. It will make the throw much more clean. Otherwise you seem like a natural!"
She merely nodded with a mumble before helping Kailani back up. As she did so, some of the other students started to mobilize into practicing the same thing, obviously people were desperate to get top rankings.
"I'll try it out first if you want." Jeno suggested, walking towards Renjun.
The brunette made no move to go against the white haired teens wishes. However as the taller boy got closer, Renjun started to regret his pervious decision. The athlete was mumbling the steps over in his mind. He took the smaller teens wrist, enveloping his fingers around them. His heart was starting to take stutter steps. He hoped with all his heart that Jeno wasn't feeling his pulse quicken.
    Which was pretty much the case. Instead of commenting on the sudden sped that Renjun's heart was taking, he tugged the brunette forward instead. And as the runaway stumbled forward, he was steadied by a strong arm wrapping around his waist and clenching onto the belt of his new uniform. In mere moments Jeno's body was flush against his own. Renjun wasn't feeling so good.
    Mark, who was passing by to see how everyone was doing, paused where the two were.
    "This is the stance right?" Jeno asked, a hint of nervousness tinging his voice.
    "Spot on," The assistant replied, his glazed with a kind, approachable feeling that Renjun knew to be fake. "How about you go ahead and throw your partner?"
    'Not using my name.' Despite his scorn the teen wasn't able to stay completely angry. 'What is he like fi-'
    He couldn't finish his train of thought as the world was suddenly spinning on it's axis. Renjun's immediate instinct was to try and scramble out of the situation as the blurring colours around him brought back the memories of the chases. His once heavily beating heart was now frozen mid beat. The brunette opened his mouth to yell. But instead of a hard surface hitting his back, Renjun felt a gentle caress of the mat against the shirt off his back- and he was gently placed on the ground.
    Some snickers and laughs could be heard from the other end of the room as Vinzent and his lackeys stared at him with wry amusement.
    'Do they seriously not know that it would help prevent becoming winded?' In spite of his logical thinking, his face went red from embarrassment.
    "Why is everyone laughing?" Johnny came into the middle of the room. "Is it funny that Renjun got thrown on the ground?" This time around, he was asking an honest question. The students were all wondering if he had even noticed what happened.
    Alberto piped up. "It's just that he yelled like he was-"
    "Ready to get winded right?" The teacher interjected. "Like he was ready to prevent it from happening to him so he could recover quickly?" A smile graced his lips and he pat Renjun on the shoulder, effortlessly pulling the student back up on his feet. "Good thing Jeno was extremely controlled with his throws right? That just means that these two know what they're doing. And the rest of you still have a long way to go."
    The brunette quickly went from red to white in the blink of an eye. The four students who were quickly becoming their own closed off group glared at him. Their eyes were a flare with anger at the student who could dethrone them from the private rooms they were taking all too seriously. All the while Johnny started to go on once more about the rankings as he pulled up a screen to tap in some scores.
"Keep going."
Throughout the rest of the training session, Renjun felt as if he was under a microscope. Both him and Jeno were being observed by their classmates as the two continued to go on and practice the throw. This one small action was both rewarding and punishing simultaneously. For one, they were able to start fitting into the society of Vruydon right away as trainees of Hydra. However they were also being shoved in the spotlight, which meant there was no room for mistakes of any kind or they could be in serious shit. So as Johnny kept showing them moves, the two kept up their mediocre performance, pushing down instincts they've started to learn from their trip.
However it was a near insuperable task as they continued on with the lesson. Hip toss, shoulder throw, basic punches and jabs, roundhouse, front kicks, side kicks, hook punches, uppercuts. They went through the motions easily, they understood how the other thought so simply. It was a walk in the park to be going through the moves as they both bounced ideas off of each other to improve. A wordless communication shared by friends who were spending their lives together 24/7 for a good while. Perhaps the trip to Vruydon was both a blessing and a curse.
"Now." It was time for yet another move to be thrown at them. Renjun was sure they'd been in that training room for about three hours now, drilling in the moves they had learnt in the same day. Once again, the class went silent, watching Johnny take a volunteer. This time it looked like Mark didn't have a say in the matter. "Before we move on to a more exciting part of training. We need to cover this one move."
At this point the room was ravaging with greed, mostly of Vinzent's, as they awaited yet another good move for fighting to be brought to their knowledge.
Johnny's eyes, instead of lighting up like usual, became dark and foreboding. "I don't want anyone in this room to use this move. There will be consequences if it is used at all, and I can tell you that none of the options are good in any sense." With a practiced, poised stance, the dark haired man gripped Mark's uniform and swept the assistants feet from under him. The younger teacher collapsed with a yell, similar to Renjun's.
In a flash, the taller agent had Mark pinned on the ground, one hand pushing the raven haired teen's chin upward. The other hand was pulled back with only two fingers pointing down. It was clear to the brunette that Johnny was aiming for Mark's throat.
"This is a killing move." Their teachers voice was grave as he stood back up, his companion doing the same with a calm expression. "Understand that if you do this the results will be dire for you and you only."
With that his expression shifted to a lighter tone. "Now how about we go to the range and learn how to properly handle guns?"