Tilted Axis

Chapter: 3

Gon Pov

The next morning I am once again the first up and outstanding at attention waiting for sergeants orders. "It's cadets like you that make the other bellends bearable," Knuckle says to me. "To see one truly devoted and determined helps me get up in the morning."

He gives me a look as if saying I have permission to speak. "Thank you, sir!" I exclaim. He smiles pleased before standing up front waiting for the other cadets to fall into formation with me. Sergeant watches his pocket watch timing them.

A few minutes later, the deadline set by knuckle is up but we are still missing one. He soon comes rushing out of the barrack straightening his shirt. "Paladiknight! You are a minute late!" Knuckle roars at him. "Sorry, sir! I misplaced my shirt."

He joins formation and knuckle strides right up to him and examines his uniform. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" He yells in the cadets face. "YOUR UNIFORM LOOKS LIKE IT HAS JUST BEEN ALL OVER THE FLOOR!" Knuckle grits his teeth staring him down.

"Well to be fair sir. That is where I found it." At this point, everyone can't help but stare at the cadet. Even knuckles jaw dropped. "Cadet Freecss!" He calls out. I step and turn saluting. "Sir!"

"I'm putting you in charge of this one. Show him how to properly dedicate to the service. Model him after yourself." He instructs. "Yes, sir!" I step back into my position into formation and knuckle takes his position up front.

"Platoon! Forward, MARCH!" He calls out. We march forward before beginning to run. Sergeant begins calling out an American army cadence. He had decided to use it as of yesterday. "WHEN I WAS BORN MY DADDY LEFT!" He calls out. "Left, right, left." We reply in unison.

"LATER ON MY MOMMA LEFT!" He calls next. "Left, right, left." We chanted back. He continues the cadence as we run our steps falling into unison with it as we run at a steady pace.

Roughly 2 and a half hours later we finish the 15k and have a quick breather and water before resuming morning training. The cadet sergeant had assigned me walked up to me. "So I've been assigned to you huh?" We look each other over. He's tall and lanky. He has a fair muscular build on him so he has some previous athletic ability.

He smiles and puts a handout. "The names Leorio! Leorio Paladiknight." I shake his hand and he pushes his glasses up a tad with his free hand. "Gon Freecss," I respond with a grin.

He grabs a bottle of water and quickly downs it. "So you are gonna help me get into shape huh?" He asks. "I guess so. Hope you don't hate me for it." He shrugs. "Depends. How strict are you?"

"I trained myself in military regulation. But if you are serious about the army life you best listen otherwise you won't survive basic." He gives me a look. "And what will you do if I don't listen?"

I shrug. "Lord knows. Maybe I'll have sergeant make your training worse." He laughs. "Well, I'd rather not make this harder on myself than I have to."

"So what ar-" I'm cut off by Sargent. "Alright maggots! Back into formation! Got your pushups, Sit-ups, and finally the obstacle course before breakfast! You will not stop until I say so!" We all quickly line back up into formation. "Sir yes, sir!" We say in unison.

"Drop and start!" We all immediately drop and start pushups. We all start off strong but as time rolls by it's getting difficult. Cadets have started collapsing onto the ground their arms unable to support them anymore. "Awww does baby want his mommy?" Knuckle teases. "I didn't say, stop boy! Keep going!" He proceeds to kick any cadet that stops in the ribs.

Leorio and I are going by sheer will power and the desire to not be kicked in the ribs. Knuckle looks at his watch. "Stop! Switch positions for sit-ups!" My arms give out and I flop face-first into the dirt. "This is bloody barmy," I mutter. My arms feeling like jelly.

"Yeah. I agree with you there." Leorio says. He rolls over onto his back and gets into position. I quickly follow suit and cross my arms over my chest. "Go!" Knuckle says and we all resume. It doesn't take long before I feel the burning sensation in my core.

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"Finally! Time for a well-deserved brekky!" Leorio says smiling sitting next to me. Today's breakfast has scrambled eggs, toast with various kinds of jellies, hash browns, and tea. "Yeah. Think of this was the only thing getting me through this mornings training." I say grinning.

I hold my cup of tea to him. "To our health. And a hope we survive basic." He grins and taps his to mine. "Cheers mate!" I sip my tea and frown. "Damn forgot to add some sugar. Pass me a sugar cube?" I ask Leorio. He nods and uses the small tongs to put one in my tea. He does the same.

"I'm not the only one who likes some sugar in their morning tea?" I ask surprised. "Of course not. Helps kill some of the bitter." He says stirring his tea. "Obviously. But where I come from I was one of the very few people to actually put sugar in it. Almost everyone else liked it as is."

"Where are you from now that you mention?" He asks. "A place called Aberporth in Wales. A small town on the coast." I say.

"Wales eh? You are way out from home. I come from London myself." He says taking a bite of his eggs. "In London? And you wanted to join the army over some cozy desk job?" I tease lightly.

He laughs at this. "You would think I would. Some desk job or even a doctor like my old man. But I feel like I had a calling to the military. To protect the people and the country I love so much. But as you saw this morning, I'm not taking it as seriously as I should." He turns to me holding his toast. "Why are you here then?"

"I've wanted to join the military from a young age. Similarly to you, I have people I want to protect. But I have another reason. But you gotta swear to keep it between us." I point my fork at him. "I promise. Out with it ya dog." He says biting his toast.

I sigh. "My father is Four-Star General Ging Freecss." Leorio chokes for a moment on his toast. "Your father is the general?!" He exclaims in a hushed tone. I nod. "Yes. I've never met him. I joined the army in hopes of being able to finally meet him."

"Good god mate. Not what I was expecting. I'm surprised sergeant hasn't realized this from your name." He sips his tea. "It's possible he has but hasn't said anything. We will discuss this in more detail later. We need to finish eating so we are done by the time said sergeant calls us back for more drill." He nods and we quickly eat in silence.

(Authors Note. Hello hello! Hope everyone is enjoying TA so far. Sorry if updates are slow between stories. Want to make sure I have each chapter just right. Of course, TA, however, will also be at a slower pace. So all that good biz. Anyway, leave thoughts in comments and I'll see you guys later!