The debut of the training I

Matteo opened the door of his apartment without closing it back and carried Andre to the largest sofa which was in the living room, he helped him to have a seat and the latter soon let his body fall on one side so he could rest on it.

Matteo stood there a moment staring down at him in silence, the latter, then, who had his eyes closed said, " are angry at me for having provoked him? You know that I didn't have another choice, otherwise, he would have left me behind ".

" I don't care about what you have done, that's between him and you anyway, " the boy paused, looked away for a short moment before he sighed, " I just wanted to be sure that you realize how small your chances are to win, Jamal seemed to be serious and you can bet that his student, as well, won't go easy on you ".

Andre remained silent.

" You recognize who is Carla, don't you? I don't know her for too long but I do know that she is physically as strong as Natasha and I also heard that she was the strongest soldier Montclay's army had in among them, so she must have a lot of experience in the field... more than you have " he paused again to check on Andre's reaction but the expression of the young man remained calm, " You can't win against her, " he ended by saying.

Both stayed quiet for a short time before Andre sighed longingly, " you know? It's not like I don't realize how strong my opponent is or as if I'm trying to ignore the gap between her and me, it would be stupid of me to think that way, " the corner of his lips extended to reveal a slight smile which disappeared as soon as it appeared, " I... it's just that Jamal finally give me a proper chance to be part of the team after turning me down many times, you see? So I don't care how weak I am compared to her or how disadvantageous the odds are... " he tilted his head and looked straight at the young boy, " I simply don't want to waste this chance ".

Matteo could see how motivated he was, his eyes were overflowing with determination so much that he had the impression that the young man was not anymore looking at him but rather he was staring at a goal far away ahead of him.

" Do whatever you want " Matteo spat before he turned around and walked toward the door.

" Where are you going? " Andre leaned on his elbow and helped himself to lift a little bit the upper part of his body to see Matteo leaving.

" I have things to do, also I must go tell Carla about your duel. You better rest well I will return to check on you later, " he walked out of the apartment while closing the door this time.

Andre pushed down his body to rest on the sofa and began to stare at the roof. He stayed silent for a moment while meditating on the words he just heard, " to do whatever I want, huh? " He then closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

•••

Matteo was waiting in front of Natasha's house's door, knocking on it for more than ten minutes without any response, he was about to leave while supposing they were just out when he heard a scream coming from inside. Without thinking too much he took a paper clip from his pocket, straightened it and forced the door, he rushed inside and focused trying to detect where the scream came from, as he was hearing noises coming from the kitchen he walked in that direction as careful as he could while to be aware of any danger.

He was getting near when he started to hear footsteps which seemed to rush in his direction and before he could react, to what he thought was a potential threat, he suddenly saw Dana rushing out of the kitchen in pajamas with a sort of paint on her face. She was screaming and unconsciously went to hide behind Matteo's back.

When he turned his head to check on her, she had her eyes closed, " why are you- ".

Before he could finish Natasha and Carla appeared in front of him in pajamas as well with makeup tools in each of their hands.

" What the hell is going on here?! " Matteo cracked and shouted.

" It's none of your business, boy. Don't resist, give us the girl and we promise that we won't harm you, " Natasha replied while slowly walking ahead still with her makeup tools in hand, holding them as if they were weapons.

" What did you do for them to be so angry? " Matteo decided to directly ask Dana without turning his head since he thought that those girls before him would not help at all to understand the situation.

" It's not what she did but what she said, " Carla lowered her upper body while arching her back and pulling her hands back like a wild animal ready to jump on its prey.

" And what did she said? "

" You ask too many questions, just give us the girl and you will be fine, " Natasha interrupted him and snarled while showing signs of impatience.

Matteo realized only too late that she had shortened the distance too much as she was, now, at only a few steps from the two youngsters. He tried to step back, turn and run away but, that woman was just too fast. Natasha grabbed his hand firmly, pulled and threw him away, he was screaming while he was flying away, scared to smash his head on the floor or a wall and break it open, but hopefully, Carla went to quickly catch him in mid-air.

Natasha pushed Dana down on the floor, sat on her, and blocked her movements while the latter was still agitating herself vainly.

" Now, will you apologize or do you want me to resume your punishment? " Natasha warned her while holding the paintbrushes just above her face to threaten her.

" I won't apologize for having said the truth! " The girl seemed to not be intimidated enough since she could still run her mouth and resist her. Dana was still agitating trying to get Natasha off her while spouting off her truth, " how you both can eat all day long and still be fit and fine that should be criminal... and how the hell can you be fit and yet so heavy... you are crushing me with your big ass ".

Matteo couldn't see Natasha's face but it was not difficult to guess her expression.

" That's what caused all this drama? " He thought about what Dana has just said and he could but feel exasperated, " because you can't support people to say that you are two blessed gluttons who can't gain weight? How ridiculous ".

" Listen here you little gremlin... " Carla started while tightening her hold on Matteo and the latter understood that she was very upset too, " if you want to grow up in life without getting in trouble one of the rules you have to memorize is that to never argue about a woman's weight and on how much she eats. And just for you to know when you're like us, working so hard every day, believe me, you, too, would want to eat a little more than you would normally do ".

" If only it was just a little... " Dana didn't miss to comment even though it started to be a little difficult for her to breathe.

" Carla... forget about the painting give me a needle and a thread, I will sew up her nasty mouth once and for all, " Natasha said with a voice far to be calm while throwing the painting tools away.

" No need... with all this weight you are putting on me I will surely die in no time " Dana couldn't hold herself commenting despite being aware that she was not in the situation to give such replies.

[ You're not helping at all, you stupid. Can't you just switch into your shy self ] Matteo scolded her in his mind, annoyed by how she kept provoking her in such a desperate situation.

" Everyone stop! " He shouted before Natasha decided to kill her definitely, " please listen to me, I have something important to tell you ".

Carla, who was still holding him firmly, looked at him doubtfully before deciding to give him a chance, she shook him a little, " speak ".

" I can't... you are compressing me... " he managed to articulate though he was out of breath.

" Oh, sorry ". When Carla released him, he immediately stepped forward to inhale some air while stroking his neck, he then turned his head and stared down at Natasha and tilted a little the head in Dana's direction as to ask the woman to release her too.

" No " she instantly turned him down, " I agreed to free you since you just have been caught in this storm involuntarily and that you said having something wanted to tell us but for her it's different, she went too far ".

Matteo started to think about which argument should he use to negotiate Dana's liberation when unexpectedly the latter started to cry, tears started to flow while her cheeks were turning red.

[ Thank goodness! ] He couldn't help rejoicing in his mind as she finally switched.

" I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you please... " as she started lamenting and apologizing Natasha found herself not capable to keep her anger anymore until she lost interest in getting her revenge thinking that there was no point punishing a crying little girl.

She slowly got off her and let the space for Matteo to come to stand her up.

The boy was relieved that her other personality was such a big crybaby otherwise he thought it would have been very hard for him to settle that dispute. He accompanied her upstairs and came back to the living room, a moment later, where he found the two women sitting on a sofa calm and silent as if they just got scolded.

" She calmed herself after I helped to clean up the makeup on her face and went straight to her bed to have some rest. She must be really tired after fighting both of you ". As none of them showed any reaction while he was talking, Matteo couldn't help but feel like he was talking in the air.

He stared at them, sighed, and decided to give another shot, " why are you looking so disappointed, weren't you the ones asking her to apologize? " He pointed to upstairs with his thumb, " that was a real apology, wasn't it? With tears and cries like we rarely see ".

" Yeah, but that wasn't the apology we wanted, in fact not that way. That's too easy to change personality whenever you have to face your responsibilities and take on the consequences of your actions, " Natasha responded to him while still staring away. " That's not the first time that happens, by the way, in similar cases instead of facing the problem and taking on her responsibilities she would always lock and herself behind her mask of a fragile and innocent little girl and I'm sick of it ".

The boy couldn't imagine that the problem had such dimensions. He thought that maybe by humiliating her a little and putting her in a corner, the two women were somehow trying to help Dana to get on maturity and evolve in a personal way. Even though, he thought that their methods were quite brutal.

" Well, we don't have to mind about it for the moment, " Carla proposed to close that discussion about Dana. She reported her sight on Matteo after she thought that it was time to talk about more important matters, " let's focus on something more important like what you wanted to reveal to us, I imagine that was not only a strategy to stop us, am I wrong? "

" No, you're right and it's especially concerning you, by the way, " Matteo noticed that his announcement didn't miss to surprise them.

Carla pointed herself with her finger confused as if to ask if she had heard him clearly.

He nodded and started to tell them what happened earlier in the morning at Jamal's apartment and once he finished all eyes were on Carla.

" What do you decide? " Matteo interrogated her after having given her a moment to think.

" Well... if Jamal has asked me to do it I don't see any reason to turn him down, " she shrugged, however, her face was stiff as there was still something bothering her, " but I quite don't understand what is the point of doing that. He would certainly be at a disadvantage since I'm way too fast for him, too strong, with better reflexes and even if I don't use my power my experience in the battlefield would still allow me to say that he has no chance against me ".

" You may not see him as an opponent but he definitely does. For him, you are the first wall he has to overcome in order to step forward in that quest to find his own self, " Natasha started warning her friend, her eyes still stuck on the decor of the house in front of her, " it would be an error of you to underestimate him because of the gap of strength and skills separating you from one another. Never underestimate a man who loses everything and especially when he is desperate to find who he is or what he can become ".

" Are you saying that I would lose against him? " Carla asked her, a bit vexed about her remark.

" Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting in doubt your strength and ability, I have trained with you and saw you fight so I know what you are capable of, but I'm just warning you to not get so sure about your win, one of the things Jamal taught me is to always be sure of your capacities but never look down on your opponent. Moreover, it will be quite rude of you to face him with such an attitude knowing that on his side he is giving his all, don't you think? "

Carla took her time to meditate about those words before she raised her head and nodded at Natasha.

The latter, then, reported her attention to Matteo, " is that all that you wanted to share with us? Weren't you discussing something else with Jamal and Lina, like before Andre interrupted you? "

Matteo wanted to tell them about his meeting with one of the enemies, what they have discovered about them as well as Jamal and Lina's plan to counter-attack but the moment he was about to open his mouth and speak, he suddenly remembered about Jamal's warning, that the enemy may be there at any time trying to spy on their conversations, so they have to be more careful then than usual.

" No... " he shook his head, " we were just talking about some small matters, nothing important ".

He stood up and prepared to leave, " well, guys, I have something to do. I just came to inquire about Carla's response and now I know she accepts, there is no need for me to hang out here any longer ".

[ I can't reveal anything to them yet until I make sure that no one will be eavesdropping on our discussions ] he started to say to himself. [ Even though we are not certain that they didn't already overhear our conversation of earlier and already discovered our plans, we can't take any risk ].

[ I have to train myself hard and so I can once be the one to protect them ] he thought after he finally made up his mind.

" I have to go see you later, girls " and walked out of the house.

When he left the two women glanced at each other and even though they had already understood each other, Carla anyway shared her doubts with Natasha, " he's literally hiding something very important from us ".

" Indeed " the latter nodded before she pushed herself backward, " but no need to worry about it, if he refused to share it with us he must have his reasons, some real good reasons because more than being a good and nice boy, he is also pretty smart, " she paused and smiled, " moreover, I have rarely seen him looking so determined ".

•••

After arriving in his apartment Matteo was so in a rush that he didn't even notice the absence of Andre.

He rushed into his room, closed it, and went straight to sit on his bed in a position of meditation. He, then, closed his eyes and he started to focus.

In his mind, he tried to remember that black matter he had once used to get information about the plans of the enemy. He kept on focusing and though he had his eyes closed, and so his sight was covered by darkness, he soon felt like something changed and when he finally opened eyes his surrounding was no more what it was, it was even darker than when he had his eyes closed.

He didn't even know how to explain to himself how could he tell the difference, he was sure about it, he got transported to another dimension.

He was thinking about what to do next when he felt a presence beside him. He turned his head slowly as he was a bit scared about what he would find there and when he completely turned around, as expected, he found the hooded woman.

" Well... here we meet again ".