Tilted Axis

Chapter: 4

Killua Pov

After breakfast father and I began our walk to the shooting range. We walk in a tense silence. I'm not used to be around dad alone. As we get closer, I see a few men standing around talking. One sees us and waves us over.

"Privet! O vremeni vy poyavilis'!" One of the men says to us as we walk up. The man is a towering wall of muscle. By his speech, I guess he's Russian. He looks like he could take down a bear by himself.

"Uvo, I don't think the boy knows Russian." Says another. This one is blond, he speaks fluent German but his accent I can't place. He nods to dad. "Good to see you again Silva. I see you are doing well."

Dad chuckles and shakes his hand. "It's been too quiet for me." He gestures to me. "Phinks this is my son, Killua. He's the one you guys will be training. No need to to go easy on him." All the men laugh accept one. The shortest man in the group is mysterious to me. Half his face is covered by his clothes, his black hair covering down to his ears.

The man named Phinks steps up to me and puts out his hand and I shake it. "Nice to meet you. Allow me to introduce us. As it's been established I am Phinks. I'll be your hand to hand instructor. The big Russian fellow there." He points the man with long spiky black hair who had called to us in Russian.

"That's Uvogin, Uvo for short. He will be your guy for guns and explosives." Phinks points to a tall skinny Japanese man with a sword on his side. "That's Nobunaga. He will teach you with melee weapons. Knives, swords, etc."

He finally points to the short male. "The creepy one in robes here is Feitan. He will be teaching you torture tactics. He can get even the most hardened of men to squeal like baby girls." He laughs at this and I give a small smile. I don't see what's funny about it.

"We are Four of the members of the Phantom Troupe. Similarly to your family, we are mercenaries to a point. Most of the time we do what we want. Guess you could call us more criminals than mercs. We are the best their is, your father has admitted as much." Phinks says to me. I look at dad and he nods.

"We are helping because we are friends of your father. Fought side by side with him in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Assisted the Japanese in their victory." I nod understanding. Dad had mentioned helping the Japanese a few years ago but I couldn't go. He didn't mention making any friends while there though.

"Alright enough talk for now. We can all discuss this later. For now, let's get some target practice in." Dad says. I nod and Uvogin claps me on the back. "You're going to have fun, boy!" He says in German. His Russian accent still thick in it.

He walks me over to the range. A variety of guns laid out on a table. He picks one up and inspects it before handing to me. "We will start with the Italian Beretta Model 38. Firing rate of 600 rounds per minute, and a muzzle velocity of 417 meters per second."

I whistle impressed. "Wow!" He nods. "Small gun but she packs a punch. But I will remind you. Guns are not toys. Treat every single one as if it is loaded. Do not aim at others unless you have the intent to kill. Pointing it at allies even an unloaded gun is a one-way ticket to a bullet." He says to me, serious.

He points to a target downrange about 100 meters out. He positions me into a proper stance and so I hold the gun properly the stock is braced against my shoulder. "Take aim. Line up the sights right to the center." He instructs.

He grabs a magazine from the table. "This clip has 40 9mm rounds." He says as he loads the gun for me. "Keep the sights on that target and fire." I nod and steady my grip.

I gently pull back the trigger until it stops. That's where the dead zone is. I pull harder and bullets begin firing. The knockback surprises me and sends bullets everywhere but the target. I get my sights back on the target just before the clip empties.

I set the gun on the table and look at Uvo. "So. How did I do?" He raises an eyebrow. "Let's go look at your work before I judge you."

We walk over to the target and I realize I did horrible. Out of the 40 rounds, only about 7 hit the target. 3 just barley skimming the edge. "der'mo mal'chik. I know it's your first time but that was horrible." I hang my head. "I've got my work cut out for me. But by the time I'm done with you" He puts his hand on my shoulder. "You will be an expert marksman like myself." He gives me a reassuring smile and I nod.

He sets up a fresh target. "Let's go again. See if you got a feel for it." He says. "Yes, sir!" I say grinning.

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    Roughly 2 hours later Uvo sent me away to have my lesson with Feitan. This got me nervous. He's very quiet and has this unsettling creepy aura about him. I push it aside as I walk back to the house. My lesson with Uvo went well, however, I feel I didn't improve very much in my shooting. By the time we finished, I still couldn't get all 40 rounds into the target.

    He told me not to worry so much about it. The first day you get anxious. And when shooting at something so far away, a tiny bit of movement matters. I hope to improve soon, I don't think Uvo is the kind of man you want angry.

    I reach the house and enter making my way to the dungeons underneath. Figures that Feitan would have the lesson there.

    "Mr.Feitan? Are you down here?" I call through the dark halls. I hear the familiar clank of metal hitting metal. "I'm down here." His voice is light and quiet. I walk down the hall and enter the room his voice came from. He is inside with various tools and torture items spread around the room.

"Ok, Killua. I'm here to teach you torture tactics. As well as how to endure it." He says a hint of joy in his voice. I shiver in fear. "Umm..ok," I say nervously. "And just call me Feitan." He says and I nod.

"Over here I have a test subject." He lights a lantern illuminating the room better allowing me to see an unconscious man chained to the far wall. I step back in shock. "What the fuck?!" I cry out. "Where did you get him? Why is he here??" Feitan gives me an annoyed look.

"You can't expect us to train you without a dummy, can you? Your father found this man. Homeless and abandoned on the streets. Gave him a choice. Stay on the streets, or go through something which could result in death. If he survives and does as he's told he is set free and set for life." He explains.

"Now Killua." He picks up a pair of pliers. "Shall we begin your first lesson?" He says as I can hear the smile and joy in his voice.

(Authors Note. Hellooooo! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. This one was fun to write especially. What do you guys think? Leave ya thoughts in the comments. Also as of uploading this chapter Drawn by Fate has reached 1k reads! Thank you all so much! You have no idea how happy it makes me seeing people enjoy my writing. That's all from me this time, see ya later!