That Friday at noon, a car drove along the street...
Damian drove his car towards his destination, driving with one arm while the other rest on the open window. He had a serious look on his face, but his nerves were still welling inside of him.
"How far are we from the place now? I imagine we're making our final approach?" Oborus asked Damian.
"Yeah, it's coming up soon." he replied with his mind.
"So, this job your about to take, do you mind giving me some more details? You've only mentioned before that it had to do with teaching how to fight."
"I mean, as far as I'm concerned, that's basically all they want for me to do. I only really have to concern myself with the whole technique aspect of it."
"Technique...?"
"Like how a professional would fight. I've only ever been in street fights myself against dudes who cant even spell out the alphabet, so I'm inexperienced to say the least. Although I do know where to hit people where it'll hurt, so I guess that could count as a kind of technique."
"I see... you know, I think I could gain some valuable experience with it myself if I watch."
"What do you mean? You don't know how to fist fight?"
"Not really. I've only ever needed to cut down my enemies, after all. Using my fists to inflict damage is rather inefficient compared to using a blade."
"But using your fists is a lot cleaner than using a blade. It's also a pretty badass show of power, in my opinion. Everyone uses weapons nowadays when it comes to combat, imagine a fighter so strong and capable they have no need for them, they could rip through anyone with just straight hands. You may not appreciate it as much, but I sure as hell do."
"Hmm... I'll keep that in mind."
"There you go, gramps. Learn to appreciate the art of being a hardass. After all, we're gonna need the guts from here on out."
Damian continued his drive across town for a few more minutes, until he arrived at a small plaza. He pulled into the parking lot and parked the car right at the front door of a building with a sign that read "HCSA: Harper Combat Sports Academy". He sat in the car for a few moments, checking his phone.
"Just about made it in time... alright. Here goes nothing, I guess. Don't hesitate, just play it cool and it'll be good." he talked to himself. Then, taking a deep breath, he exited the car and walked to the front door.
When he walked through the door, he was greeted by the receptionist at the front desk. It was a man in gym clothes, he looked rather fit.
"Hey there boss! What do you need? You here to register?" he called out to Damian, enthusiastically.
"What's good, nah I'm actually here for an interview. Is the boss here or something?" Damian replied.
"Oh! Yeah, she told me she was expecting someone today. You're Damian Duran, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"Alright then, hold up here one 'sec. I'll go get her."
The receptionist walked away from the desk and walked through the archway on his left leading into the gym. Damian stood in his spot for a few moments, waiting for him to come back. Eventually, he showed back up in the middle of the archway and called out to Damian.
"Yo! The Boss wants to see you now. Follow me real quick."
Damian then walked into the gym, following right behind him. The front of the gym looked similar to any other, with all sorts of machines and weights around. Some people were in the middle of using them, and some were being guided by instructors, who were all women. Towards the back of the gym, where they were walking, there were four big fighting rings shaped in octagons. There were two people already sparring in the back left ring, being surveyed by a tall woman in a black long-sleeve with glasses.
The receptionist called out to her, "Yo! Harper! I brought him here."
The woman glanced at him and nodded her head, then turned to the two sparring in the ring and spoke up with authority.
"Alright you two, that's enough for today. You're free to go, the next lesson will be on Monday. Don't slack off now, both of you still have tons of work to do."
The two then left the ring, taking off their gloves and began talking to each other as they made their way back to the front of the gym.
The woman then walked over to Damian and the receptionist, she then greeted Damian with a smile.
"Well now, look at what we have here. You're Damian, right? It's good to meet you. My name is Anne Harper, I'm the boss here. Although, you probably knew that already." she said, as she reached out her hand for a handshake.
"Yeah, pleased to meet you." Damian simply replied, then shook her hand.
"Wow, you're tall kid. Same height as me, I don't see that too often. Looks like you have some muscle on you too, not bad if I say so myself." she complimented him, warmly.
"Hah, thanks Mrs. Harper. I'm not be the smartest, but I do know how to keep myself healthy." he responded with a smile.
"Missus Harper? Oh, you flatter me. Unfortunately, it's just Miss Harper right now. Anyway, Chris, you can go back now. I'll take it from here."
The receptionist nodded his head and walked back to the entrance. Anne turned to face Damian once again.
"Alright, let's not waste any time now. Follow me, please." she said, and made her way towards a door in the very back of the gym. Damian followed right behind.
They walked through the door and entered a hallway, heading left. Anne began speaking to Damian in the meantime.
"That's a pretty necklace you got there. Where'd you get it?" she asked him.
"Um... my Grandfather gave it to me. It's kind of like a family treasure." he replied, trying not to sound suspicious.
"I see. Is there any history behind it?" she asked again.
"Yeah, it's seen it's fair share of battles n' such. Now I just keep it on me in his memory." he responded.
"That's sweet of you. Best not to lose it, after all it seems quite valuable."
Damian then decided to communicate with Oborus, he had a question after the brief small talk.
"Hey, just hypothetically, what would happen if the necklace got taken off?"
"Hm? That isn't possible. We've already been bonded, the necklace cannot be removed unless I end the bond directly or one of us dies."
"Sheesh, quite possessive aren't you..."
"...What does that infer?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering, that's all."
The two came to the end of the hall where there was a door on the right. Anne opened it up and stood outside, motioning Damian to walk in.
"This is my office. We'll talk in here. Go on, ladies first." she said, slyly.
"Thank you, miss." Damian said as he walked inside.
Anne let out a sigh, slightly frustrated. "Touché kid..." she said, as she walked in behind him and shut the door.
The room was small, the desk inside nearly filled up all the space in there. Inside some of the desk cabinets, there were multiple trophies on display. They were only in gold and silver. On the walls were some framed certificates and plaques, awarded to the gym. Anne walked over behind the desk and sat on her chair, Damian took a seat on the chair placed across from her.
"Okay, give me a 'sec, just need to set some things up first." she said, opening up her laptop.
"Damian. I need to tell you something." Oborus suddenly spoke to him.
"Woah dude, I'm about to do my interview right now, what the hell?" Damian responded in his head, surprised and annoyed.
"My apologies, but there is something I need to warn you about."
"What is it then? Make it quick."
"This woman in front of us, I sense a Vitality within her. A rather strong one, at that. She is no ordinary person. I advise you to avoid provocation with her, it will lead to trouble."
"What? I mean, I was never planning on that, but how do you know?"
"One side effect of my own Vitality is that I can detect who has Vitality and how strong it is. I only was able to notice it now because my senses were lacking, probably due to the weakened state I'm in."
"Shit... so I'm not dealing with just another gym here, aren't I?"
"Possibly so. Keep your guard up for now, I'll let you know if I find anything else."
"Alright, before we begin, I need to ask you something. You're from East L.A., right?" Anne asked Damian.
"Uh, yeah. How'd you know?" he replied, confused.
"You told me you went to Jim Field High, which is in the area. So I just made a guess."
"Oh, alright then. But why did you want to know anyway?"
"Well, a friend of mine is working on the gang attack case that happened there a few days ago. Before the main attacks happened, there was one smaller attack that happened in an alley a short trip away from the main scenes. They don't know the story behind it, but they think it may have been a trigger for the whole thing."
"An... alley? Wait... what was the attack?"
"Two members from the Herrera Boys gang were seen chasing down a man in a black hoodie, who they presume is from the Reapah gang. Here, I'll show you the footage."
Damian took in the words she said for a few moments, a sinking feeling began growing as he realized she was describing the incident he was victim of.
"Oh fuck... there's no way... she's talking about..." his thoughts were cut off when Anne turned her laptop around and showed him a short clip of the incident on CCTV footage.
"Here, you see? They're looking for the guy in the black hoodie. After he disappeared into the alley, the two gangers were found chopped up and dead. The body of the man was nowhere in the area. The way these Herreras were killed is the same way the others were killed later on. The law already has a culprit, but they're looking for this guy as he could possibly know who exactly he is. So, I know it's hard to tell, but does this look like anybody you know?"
Damian stared at the man in the video, there was no doubt about it, that was him. He was shocked, but tried not to show it on his face.
"Fuck dude... that is me. Same clothes and everything. Shit, what do I do? Should I tell her? No no, there's no way. I think they already know it was the thing that was behind the attacks, if I go in they'll notice that me and it are wearing the same necklace. Then I'll be cooked. I'll have to pretend like this is somebody I don't know." he thought to himself, worriedly.
"So, do you recognize him or not?" she asked.
"Um... nah, I don't. Sorry, it's hard to tell. he responded, as calmly as he could.
"Oh, it's fine. Well, thank you for your cooperation anyway. Alright then, I suppose it's time to get into the interview, let me just open things up again."
"Okay, she's not suspicious, I think. Damn, I knew there was a chance the transformation could get caught on camera, I didn't think me running for my life would get caught though. How did she even get her hands on that shit anyway? I have a feeling this girl knows a lot more than she's telling... fuck man what'd I just step into?" Damian thought to himself.
"Okay, all set here, let's get right into it. You ready?" Anne asked him.
"Yeah, I'm good." Damian responded, calm and unwavering.
"Just play it cool, foo. You're strong now. If anything looks off, I could easily hop on outta' here without much of a problem. Still, like gramps said, I should keep my guard up at all times. As long as I don't do nothing stupid or suspicious, shit'll be fine. Just focus up, no drama." he thought to himself, as the interview began.
...