Bury the Hatchet *Ticci Toby x Reader*

How To Train Your Proxy.

My head throbbed at the amount of crying. They all waited for my tears to dry, before doing anything more. After nearly 3 hours, I couldn't do anything but make hiccups, curled into a ball. Finally the first man approached me. "G-get up. We decided to l-l-let you live. Y-you're gonna be trained by Tim," he pointed at the one with the feminine mask.

Tim grabbed me, picking me up by the arm. "Trained?" I asked, pulling away from Tim. The first nodded, twitching slightly. "I-I don't want this... please don't make me. Just kill me, please." They shook their heads, pushing me out the door with Tim.

"What weapon do you want?" Tim asked. I stayed quiet, barely hiding down the memories of my family. He stood above me, while I sat in the shade of a tree. My arms wrapped around my legs, hiding my chest and face. He kicked me lightly, getting my attention. "I said, what weapon do you want. We have gun or knife." I shook my head, laying it on my knees. "So, fists? We can do that." I shook my head again.

"I don't want to..." I whimpered.

"To what? Fight? Well, you don't have a choice. Suck it up, because you will do as we say. Now choose a weapon, or I will choose for you." I glanced at him, then standing hesitantly. He glared at me, crossing his arms.

"A-a gun, I guess." I whispered. He took a pistol out of his pocket, giving it to me. He then took out a silencer, letting me put it onto the gun.

"You know how to work one?"

"Uhm, I have never used one, but I've seen enough movies to figure it out." I hesitantly turned off the safety. "I took archery in school, and I imagine it has some similarities." I aimed the gun to a tree, closing one eye. After a moment, I pulled the trigger. It hit the edge of the tree, pulling off some bark. I then handed the gun back.

He nodded, "pretty good. Now we have to work on aim."

<Timeskip>

We sat under the same tree, seeing the many bullet holes in trees. "You're alright, kid. Maybe Toby was right." He gave me a pat on my back, standing.

I followed, "Toby? Is that his name?"

"No," he sarcastically remarked, walking back to the chapel. The other two were at the small table. They talked quietly about nothing in particular, though it was mostly Toby speaking.

Brian noticed us first, waving a quiet "hello", then returning to his conversation. They soon finished, and stood, making their way to me.

"So, how was your first training session?" Asked Toby. I didn't respond, avoiding eye contact.

A moment of awkward silence passed, before Tim spoke up. "Uh- she did well. She's gonna use a gun, so Brian can train her next. But, seeing as this entire thing was your idea, Toby, why don't you show her around the woods."

Toby shrugged, gesturing for me to follow him out the door. I glanced nervously at Tim, who pointed to Toby. With a sigh, I walked back out into the heat.

<Timeskip>

We strolled through the woods, him pointing out markers, while I took mental notes. After a while, we decided to stop, and sit on an old bench. It creaked as we both sat, each on the other side. I sat quietly, my body closed and tight, even though he was outstretched and relaxed. "It i-isn't that bad." I glanced at him, but he hadn't moved his gaze from the trees.

"What isn't?"

"Being a proxy. It'll t-take s-some time, to accept, but..." he trailed off. I finally lifted my head, meeting his eyes. His goggles had been taken off, now resting in his lap. His hair was matted, greasy. He pulled off his mouthguard, letting it fall onto his neck. The left side of his mouth was severely burned, his teeth showing without him opening his mouth. He had a small goatee, which he scratched for a second. I dropped my gaze.

"Why are you doing this?" I looked over my shoulder, using my hair to hide my face from him. Toby shifted slightly, pondering.

"F-for one: we haven't had a-another proxy f-f-for a while. And, when you killed your parents, the look in your eye. Hehe, you were having fu-"

I grabbed him by the sweatshirt, "don't you dare say that about my family. Don't talk about my family. Don't." Tears pushed at my eyes, but I held them down, getting up.

He too stood, "yeah, whatever. Come on." His sudden anger made me slightly afraid, causing me to follow far behind him. I couldn't wait to get away from him.

When we finally arrived back at the chapel, a blanket hit me, falling onto the ground. "Take that as a present, it gets cold at night," Tim said, gesturing at the blanket. I slowly picked it up, seeing small rips at the sides. It was light, but soft, and would definitely keep me warm that night. "Unfortunately, we still only have 3 mattresses, and unless you want to share with someone, you'll be sleeping on the ground."

I didn't answer, throwing the blanket over a chair. "So... what's your name?" Tim asked, finally breaking the silence.

"(Y/N)," I replied quietly.

"Well, welcome to the team, (Y/N)."