Chapter 5: Time Skip
Earth, October, 24, 2020
Katsumi woke me up at 4:30 am again. Today we were going to report to Michael and give him the rundown on what happened yesterday. I rather not, but they're Michael's orders.
After getting out of bed, I started heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Katsumi stayed behind to wake everyone else up and said he would catch up in a bit. While on my way, I noticed some people passing by giving me a weird look which then turned to grins. One of the men came up to me while towering over me.
"Huh, why are you alone here kid, what happened to your friends? Oh, you're alone, don't worry we'll accompany you."
I guess these are some of the people Katsumi warned me about. They probably came to me after figuring out I was alone and decided to use me to go after him.
The group then proceeded to drag me around to behind one of the buildings. Once there, they proceeded to beat me up.
Woosh
The first punch hit me in the stomach so hard I couldn't breathe. Even tears started coming out of my eyes. The pain was just too much for me.
"Oh shit, why the fuck is he this weak?"
"Even my daughter back home is stronger than this kid."
"Hahahaha, maybe he should've just accepted the leader's offer to be killed. If I was that pathetic, I wouldn't want to continue living while being so pathetic."
The group just started making fun of me. I was so angry, but there was nothing I could do about it. They are right, I'm weak, maybe I should have just died that day. What can I expect to accomplish here by being alive. I have no talent. I–
"Leave him alone and don't expect to get off easy."
"What?!"
Anabelle had found us and proceeded to try to help me out.
"Who the fuck do you think you are bitch?"
"Hey, dumbass, that's the boss's daughter!"
"Oh shit! Sorry miss, we'll take our leave."
The group left snickering and talking more shit. Anabelle came rushing towards my side. Once again I have shown her my pathetic side.
"Nathaniel are you alright?!"
"Maybe, if you can even call this alright, hahaha…"
"Oh…"
Anabelle then tried to help me get up and extended her hand, but I ignored it. I felt so weak at the moment, and taking her hand would make me feel worse. I believe that's how Lloyd felt when I tried to help him up.
"Nathaniel…"
I ignored her and just started heading to the cafeteria to get breakfast. I quickly tried to fix myself up to try and hide what happened from my friends. I know they would probably get into a fight for my sake, especially Bane, but just for the pure sake of fighting.
I'm just a burden to them. I need to become stronger, smarter, and be as good as them. Actually no, I must become better than them. So until then, I'll try to not hold them back.
***
I finally made it to the cafeteria and Katsumi just started questioning me. I tried to hide what happened, but he seemed to pick up on it. He didn't do anything though, realizing that I didn't want to trouble him and the rest.
We just finished our breakfast and cleaned ourselves up a bit, then headed to Michael's office. We knocked on the door to the office and Anabelle opened the door for us. I couldn't look at her in the face after the way I treated her earlier. I did look up a bit and noticed her sad face, but didn't say anything about it.
Anabelle just went back to her father's side while we just stood in front of his desk. Michael seemed to have noticed the tension, but ignored it and just proceeded as normal
"While are all five of you here? I only remember calling Katsumi, Takeo, and Nathaniel here."
"Sir, may you allow me to speak?"
"Go ahead Lloyd."
"Me and Bane also want to be responsible for Nathaniel's training."
"Oh, that's surprising, it seems a lot has happened already within just over a day. Anyways, I'll allow it. It seems like a good opportunity for him to learn from more geniuses such as yourselves. Now, Katsumi, how is your report on Nathaniel?"
Now we're onto the main issue. I wonder what exactly is going to happen to me after Michael hears about my "exploits" from yesterday.
"Sir, I'm sorry to say this, but he's pretty much a lost cause. He is extremely weak and can't even properly use any weapons due to his lack of strength."
"So are you saying I wasted my time by sparing this kid's life?"
"No sir, he's currently of no use, but if he trains and builds his strength he may be of a much greater use to you."
"So he's useless."
That hurts, but it's the truth. I'm useless, but I can't give up yet.
"Sir! I can still be of use! I told you before, I don't care if you beat me just to force me to train, so I'm willing to handle whatever you put me to do! And–"
"Quiet down! Nathaniel, I will give you one more chance to prove your worth to me. Do you want to hear what I would ask of you?"
"Yes sir."
"I will temporarily transfer you to a force under the International Secret Corps. There you'll be put into a boot camp that is on the same level as the army of the United States. Their members are composed of people who just weren't talented enough to make it here and are trained as if they were regular soldiers. Once you're done, if you have reached a certain level of strength, I'll accept you here and you can start your training. So, do you accept my offer?"
From the sound of it, it's going to be as tough as the military there, but I can't stay here and continue to be weak. I will be separated from my friends here, but at least I won't be a burden to them any longer.
"I accept your offer sir. I will become the strongest there and come back as a member of the International Secret Corps."
"Good, I sincerely hope you surpass my expectations of you."
***
I packed up that same day and left on the plane the next. The rest of the days till Halloween I was told the specifics of what I would do during my time in boot camp. I started my time in camp on November 1st.
***
Earth, November 17, 2022
I have finally become as strong as my four roommates after all this time. It took me over two years, but it's done.
During my time in boot camp, I managed to start building strength and started developing more awareness of the world around me.
It was hard at first, but I pulled through in the end. At first my weak body held me back, but after a few weeks the training started to show results.
I became friends with the members in my group. They all came to admire me for being able to keep up with them despite my age.
I also would constantly receive letters from Anabelle and my friends back at the ISC. Those letters were my source of motivation and were what allowed me to push past my limits.
I also heard from Annabelle that she started training too. She wanted to become stronger so she could continue helping me out. I hated the fact that she still viewed me as weak and helpless, but I had to respect her decision.
After I came back from boot camp, Michael told me I surpassed his expectations and that I might have just been talented from the start, it's just that I never put any effort before and doubted myself.
I tested all sorts of weapons again after my previous failure and I happened to be good with all of them. Because of my obsession with becoming some badass like the anime protagonists, I decided to train in many different styles with many different weapons.
I learned some styles of fighting from my friends. Katsumi taught me how to use knives, kunais, guns, and other weapons used in his clan for assassinations. I learned the same way assassins from his clan do under him.
Takeo just taught me how to use a Katana and simple honest swordplay. Takeo is a prideful guy who enjoys fair fights. He deviated from his clan partly for that reason.
Bane mainly uses two cutlass swords and taught me how to dual-wield with weapons. He also taught me how to fight with brute strength. Honestly, training with him was hard because of how much of a battle maniac he is.
Lloyd taught me fencing and how to fight with other blades besides the katana. He was the weakest in the group, but by no means is he considered weak.
I learned other fighting styles from professional trainers. I learned different martial arts and developed a new goal. I would create my own fighting that surpasses all others by incorporating factors of other styles.
My main current setup that I came up with after these 2 years consists of 2 katanas which I carry on my back and are my main way of attacking at close distance, a Desert Eagle used to fire from a distance, a hidden Snub-nosed Revolver in case of emergencies, and 3 kunai knives strapped up on each of my wrists for sneak attacks.
It was honestly pretty heavy at first, but now I can handle it. I intended to have more weapons on me, but I couldn't handle the weight and I also because I didn't have any money.
Currently, I'm preparing to go on my first mission. If I succeed, I'll be considered an official member. My friends are already considered official members and completed their first mission while I was in camp. They occasionally get called up when a mission requiring their skills appears. So now it's my time to become a member too.
If all goes well, I'll confess my feelings to Anabelle. If all goes well…
***
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Nalzaar
Nalzaar I realize I went too fast with the pace this chapter. But I felt like the story was progressing to slowly. Anyways, hope y'all enjoy.
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