5] The devil trainer

(Commander POV, Guardia training grounds)

Commander- "Begin!" I watch as the 7 year old lunges toward the fully grown adult with an intense speed.

Both of his swords are blocked by the trainer, but he doesn't seem too upset. The kid rears back his body and kicks the adult in the chest, sending him backwards a little bit.

Zero throws one of the wooden knives we gave him, although I didn't know that he had them on him. The adult dodges the incoming knife and rushes toward the kid, both of them sharing a smirk.

Zero ducks under Jean's legs while slashing both of them with his wooden daggers. He emerges from behind and cuts at Jean's back with his wooden katana. 

Commander- "Zero wins!" This kid beat our resident trainer so easily, he's at least as good as any guard we have here... Maybe I can make him do the training on days that Jean takes off. I'll have to ask and get permission from the higher ups, but it'll be fine. I just can't get into specifics.

(Zero POV, Guardia training grounds.)

I hope I get a good spot, I'll bet beating someone like this is hard for even adults. Maybe I can even become a commander by the age of ten. If I don't get a decent rank, I'll just work harder than anybody else. I'll force them to acknowledge my ability, and then I'll become top brass.

The commander walks up to me with a smile on his face.

Commander- "Well done, I bet your dad is proud of you." I make a fake sad face, as I look to the ground.

Zero- "Yeah, I hope he is too." I say, whispering just loud enough for him to hear it. The commander and the trainer both seem to have sensed what happened, so their faces mold into a more saddened one.

This causes me to laugh maniacally in my mind. I sure do love when plans come to fruition. 

***

I end up going home, but before I leave they say that they'll send a letter informing me of my success or failure. This causes me to click my tongue, because they're saying that there is a chance that the higher ups will reject me.

***

A few weeks pass, and I get Marle's letter.

Zero- "I wonder how surprised she'll be when she hears this." In my hands is an acceptance letter, a sort of internship. My job is to train a group of failures for half a year, and depending on my progress with them...

This causes me to laugh, worrying my mother.

Mom- "What do those letters say?" She looks at me, and I can sense her fear.

Zero- "I got accepted for a job, so I'll be gone for a few months." This news causes her apprehension to rise.

Mom- "Why are you getting a job? You should play, with Crono. You aren't old enough to grow up." Tears start building up in her eyes. I hug her, showing that I care.

Zero- "I'm not doing anything dangerous, and I'll be training." Training others, but that won't slow me down.

***

(Crono POV, front of their house)

Why does he have to leave? I started training to protect our family, and he's leaving?

Zero- "Alright, I'll be leaving today. So I am saying my goodbyes."

Lucca's dad is here as well, but it seems that Lucca couldn't come herself. 

After saying individual goodbyes and reassurance, he walks up to me.

"Hey, I know you're not a big talker. So I'll keep this short, take this." He hands me a bag, a pretty heavy one. I open my mouth, and hesitantly speak.

Crono- "What is all of this?" I see the corner of his mouth rising into a smirk.

Zero- "It's a gift, for my favorite little brother." He ticks me off with that, and he knows it.

Crono- "You're only older by a couple seconds!" I see his smirk getting bigger, and it evolves into laughter. Not that crazed one that he does sometimes, but a kinder one. A laugh that eases anyone who hears it.

Zero- "Look inside, I think you'll enjoy it."

(Zero POV, same place as before)

Crono excitedly opens the bag and pulls out a katana in it's sheath, his smile reaches from ear to ear. He looks to me, and back to the sword.

Crono- "This is for me?" I nod, and he unsheathes it. Looking at the blade with admiration, he takes a swing to get a feel for it.

Zero- "There's other stuff in the bag you know, not just your blade." After he sheaths his katana, he looks through the bag. What he sees is two high quality wooden katanas, some chain mail in various sizes, and a book written by me on how to defend yourself without a weapon.

He takes out the two katanas and looks at me with curiosity.

"Training weapons, duh. I'll be teaching you the basics to dual wielding, the whole day."

And so, for the first hour I was just showing him many different stances that he could effectively use his blades. And then, taking out my original two wooden katanas started to do different slashes.

He follows my every movement, and after another hour it's time to put what he learned into practice. Step one, time to beat a child.

For the rest of the day, I ended up beating the crap out of Crono. By the end of it, he was able to put up a decent fight... But at most, he could block fatal strikes from seemingly nowhere.

***

The first day of my 'test' has come, and I walk to the training area. A group of about 14 people, ages ranging from 15-24. Most of them seem on the younger side.

The trainer from before stands in front of the group.

Jean- "Ah, the last one has arrived. Now you can really get started." The group looks to my direction with looks of surprise on their face, but their confusion grows when I go to stand next to Jean.

"All of you have signed the forms, so you aren't allowed to leave for the next six months. You must listen to this boy's every words, and if you come out greater for it-" He makes a gesture with his hands, almost like he's asking for a hug. "-Expect promotions."

Jean leaves, causing the group to look at each other. An 18 year old with dark hair walks up to me, trying to seem intimidating. 

18yo- "What is this pipsqueak going to teach us? I'll bet that he only got here using connections, and-" He continues prattling on, which causes me to tune him out. I take out a notepad and write one word: 'discipline.'

Zero- "I'm leaving, do what you want." I put the notepad in my pocket, and I walk into the tree line. The others seem confused, but the rash boy from before seems proud.

I guess I'll watch what they do on their own for a week, and then I'll act on their flaws. After that week, it's time for them to experience hell.

==========

Name: Zero

HP: 380/380

MP: 9/9

PWR: 45

SPD: 42 (+5)

MAG: 9

END: 38 (+5)

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Skills: [Limit Break] [Focus Point] [Wind Slash] [Fatal Strike]

Proficiencies: [Dual Wield, A 35%] [Swords, B 26%] [Daggers, A 6%] [Throwing, B 97%]

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Equipment: [Seraph's Song] [Headband] [Iron Katana x2] [Iron Daggers x2] [Iron Throwing Knives x5] [Combat Clothes]

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