Chapter 12: Orientation

He received a package one day before his admission to IAEA. Opening it he realized that it contained a uniform along with a trainee ID attached with a clip. What surprised him more was that it had his name ||KAZE|| written over a tiny strip over the official logo of the IAEA. Turns out it was the uniform and they were supposed to wear it on the day of orientation.

He asked Xander about his status and turns out not only he was selected, but he was also put in the team C. While this fact didn't really make much of a difference to Kaze, Xander on the other hand was excited beyond limits. He was happy that he got this far together, and that they won't have to be rivals in the programme.

On the day, both of them drove to IAEA. It was Xander who drove them both to the center. It appeared different than the selection day with such lesser crowds. It appeared way less lively. The first time he was here it was dark and he didn't actually take the front door.

The fact they are the cadets for the new training program was evident from the uniform they were wearing. The whole uniform was black in color with a tiny gold margin like stripe running through the neck and the sleeves. At their intersection showed the batch and the name of the candidate.

The guards let them in without questioning anything at all from them. At the lobby they were told the room number they were supposed to go to and were shown the direction to it. Both Kaze and Xander walked in silence to the room which took them a little longer than required to find.

Even though Kaze had been here before, legally and illegally, this part of the whole complex was still new to him. In fact they went in the complete different direction until ZIA notified Kaze in the ear about it and led them to the correct place. Turns out even she took notes of the direction when they were told.

In the room he saw a few equipment that looked brand new. Most of them looked like they were right out of the gym set, while few of them looked like weaponry for an upcoming war. The orientation of the room made it worthy of its name,"Training room 04".

After entering, both of them stared at awe. There were supposed to be three more members apart from those two, but for a moment it seemed like it was only two of them. Why for a moment? Because on careful observation they found a figure sitting down on the floor, while supporting his/ her back on the folded treadmill. Their face and the upper half of the body was covered with the jacket of the uniform, but if one had to guess they would go with the gender female for that person.

"Should we say something"? Xander whispered to Kaze.

"Why"? Kaze, who failed to see any logical reason to fraternize with the person, asked the former.

"Cause she will be our teammate" Xander explained but the confused expression was maintained on his face. Xander glanced at him for a moment before sighing. " Never mind".

Exactly at that moment two people, a woman and a man entered the room chatting between them, "I think this is it" the man who opened the door and took the lead declared. The woman who followed him simply nodded.

Once Kaze noticed the woman he felt something click, as if he had seen her before but just couldn't recall. When he was new despite the differences all humans looked the same to him, fragile fleshy people with a rubbery skin. Even after undergoing the transformation of his appearance he had a hard time getting adjusted to look this way. While people found him attractive, he found himself hideous!

The moment the woman noticed him she froze "Y-you" she deadpanned at him while Kaze still stared at her with a curious gaze as he racked his memories.

"You know her"? Xander whispered next to Kaze's ear. While simultaneously that man asked that woman, "You know him".?

"It was him! The guy who stole my... stuff". She explained. Kaze still couldn't figure it out since he had stolen many stuff.

That man froze before his face exploded with anger "How dare you"!? He shouted and held Kaze by his collar.

"Whoa!! What's going on"? Xander asked, taken aback by the sudden violence while that woman tried her best to pull him back. Meanwhile on the periphery that woman with her jacket on her face maintained her posture completely unfazed by the commotion.

"How dare you do that to my sister you pervert "! That man spat at him. Kaze narrowed his gaze as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"She is the woman you met at the pool" ZIA, who ran a facial recognition in the meantime, revealed her identity. Kaze's eyes widened as he realized how it was inappropriate socially. He tried to think of an believable excuse but his mind went completely blank.

At that exact moment another woman walked in through the door. "What is happening here"? She asked.

"This guy, he is a pervert "! That man spat at him while complaining to that woman who just walked in. Xander started to fidged like he did the first time he saw her back at his garage.

"I can assure you Mr…." She tilted her neck to see what was written on his name tag, before continuing "...Sanders's that we do background check on everyone who comes here. There is nothing that had been suspicious or indicative enough on him that supports your accusation" she told him flatly. He pursed his lips as he made a tight fist with his right free hand while he tried his best to suppress his anger.

"This is outrageous" That man, Mr. Sander's, muttered. Unfortunately for him she happened to hear him. Her expression changed from polite to stern.

"If you find this unacceptable, you are free to leave. We will not chase after you" She said with contempt.

"I don't find this unacceptable, but the fact that you are unwilling to take note of my comment does make me feel that way". He replied to her boldly. Everyone who was present there, including Kaze, looked at him with wide eyes. Even the woman who was lying peacefully removed her jacket to witness the audacity of the new recruit with her own eyes.

"Either way, feel free to leave". She said with a cocky smile before she turned to leave. She paused and turned the upper half of her body slightly, "And yes, refrain from creating such commotion. This is a workplace, not a playground. Do not make us throw you out on your very first day". And she left.

"Are you crazy? Why did you have to talk back to her"? His sister scolded him. Instead of answering her he just simply gave Kaze a death stare.

Kaze remained quiet the entire time. Once things started to seem comparatively cooler he looked elsewhere. That's when he noticed the woman whose face was visible now. While her name tag was still invisible, he was sure he would remember her by her appearance given her vibrant violet hair that made her stand out from the rest. Her hair was short length with a bob cut. She had a sarcastic smirk on her face. Most of them kind of guessed she would speak up, but she remained quiet. After a moment a man in his late thirties walked in, "Hello everyone, I am Captain Marcus Ramirez, and for your entire duration of this program I will be your mentor here. I hope everyone has gone through the brochure we sent you"? He asked.

Everyone nodded at him except Kaze. He tried hard to remember which brochure when he recalled he threw away a pamphlet thinking it was some sort of advertisement. Nevertheless, the Captain did not notice Kaze's lack of affirmation or chose to ignore him even if he did and moved on, "Its pretty much the same. For today get oriented to this building. Few buildings in this sector are prohibited for your entry while the Sector A is completely prohibited for you...as of now. You training will begin from tomorrow, and based on you perform you will be graded. Don't be happy if your teammates scores are too good and if yours are too poor. Even if you are a team here, you will be graded individually. And as we have mentioned only five of you from amongst the fifty of you will be chosen". He finished his speech while everyone paid great attention to him.

The man had broad shoulders with a perfectly carved face which could make him look younger than his actual age. He emitted an aura which would make one want to respect him naturally. The fact that he was a Captain made sense given the deep voice which emitted a dominant aura. "Any questions"? He asked when he noticed everyone was just staring at him.

That woman, who was the sister of that main raised her hand, "Yes"? Captain Ramirez allowed her to speak.

"What kind of tasks will we have to perform"? She asked.

"That you will be notified in the due time. Meanwhile, Mr Roman here will give you a tour for the day". He pointed towards a man who was standing by the door. Nobody noticed when he walked in and was surprised to see him standing there.

"Did anyone of you see him walk in"? Xander whispered to the whole team. Few of them replied "Nuh-uh".

"Follow me". Mr Roman asked them curtly and turned around.

They walked through the corridors in a faster pace but for Mr. Roman that was slower than usual. After reaching the end of alley they boarded the lift. There he pressed the button to the 5th floor. Once the reached there, the were led to the 2nd room on the left marked [C].

The rooms here were alternatively arranged. As in the Room [A] and [C] were adjacent to each other while the room [B] was on their opposite side whose door opened in the middle of the previous two rooms, which ensured no two doors face each other.

Once they entered, they noticed one single bed and two bunk beds arranged in a U shaped manner The two bunk beds almost faced each other while the single bed lay in the middle of the two. "Wait a minute, are we staying here together"? The woman who was the sister, labelled ||S. Sanders|| asked.

"Yes" Mr. Roman replied flatly.

"But we are of different sexes, shouldn't we have separate rooms"? She asked him.

"Does sharing a space with these men make you uncomfortable"? He asked her nicely.

"Yes, quite a bit" she answered him, encouraged by his smile, which vanished the moment he uttered those words.

"Then feel free to leave This academy is not for you". He said in a flat tone.

"What"? Both her and her brother uttered while the rest of them witnessed the whole scene with gawky eyes.

"First and foremost thing that you learn here is let go of comfort. This programme, this job, is not for the ones who can't deal with being a little uncomfortable". He spat.

"You are not even our mentor". Mr. Sanders commented.

"No, but I will be incharge for one of your training. I better hope you learn some manners by the time, or else you will definitely not enjoy my class" He gave him a sarcastic smile.

"The tour of the whole building will begin in five minutes. It's the same for all the teams. Gather around in the lobby ASAP". He announced and left their room to themselves. Four of them stared at each other while the tension in the room became thicker. Why four? Because the violet haired woman already laid herself comfortably on the single bed without waiting for anyone to pick.