Chapter 5: A New Life
Four years had passed since Legosi and his friends joined the brotherhood and started their training. At first, it was difficult to balance their school lives and their duties as assassins, but they somehow made it work.
In that time, they were taught philosophy, how to speak multiple languages, and more about the hidden history and the pieces of Eden. In addition, they had strict training regiments that involved lifting weights, enduring harsh environments, learning how to fight with weapons and their bare hands, and gymnastics.
It was tough, but the results spoke for themselves. By the time they started high school, Legosi and Collot had nearly doubled in size and had the muscles of Olympic level athletes. Meanwhile, Durham, Jack, Miguno, and Voss, who had also bulked up quite a bit, were fast enough and flexible enough to be contenders for a national acrobatics' competition.
Despite all that however, they never lost their sunny personalities or humor, quite the opposite in fact. Thanks to all the confidence their training gave them, the group lost all their doubts and inhibitions. Even Legosi, who was once so reserved, was able to laugh and play just like his packmates.
This was made even better when they found out they would be roommates for all of high school too. They also laughed when they found out their room number was 701, since it was the same number given to their squad. Needless to say, life was good for the 701 pack.
It had been two weeks since high school started and Legosi was sitting on one of the benches outside the cafeteria. He was playing with a beetle when he heard someone calling him.
"Hey Legosi!"
The wolf turned his head and saw Jack walking over to him.
"Hey Jack, what's up?"
"Nothing much, just thought I'd come and keep you company," the labrador answered as he sat down.
"Thanks Jack, I appreciate it."
"So, what are you up to?"
"I'm just playing with Beetly," Legosi said as he held up his hand to show the beetle.
"He sure is a cute little guy," Jack said with a smile.
"Yea, he is," the wolf responded. "Anyway, how was your meeting with Mentor T'Challa?"
"It was a lot better than I thought it would be," the labrador answered. "I thought I was in trouble since he rarely calls on us individually, but actually, he wants me to start a new kind of training."
"Really? That's great," Lego said excitedly. "What kind of training is it?"
"Mentor T'Challa wants me to study under Kion and become a hacker. When he saw that I'm good with computers and that I have a good grasp of coding, he figured having me become our team's hacker was the best course of action," Jack explained.
"That makes sense," the wolf said with a nod. "You've always been the smartest one in our group and your talent for logical thinking and problem solving is second to none. Plus, given that some of our targets will have some pretty high-tech security, this'll only make things easier for us in the long run."
"That's what I thought too," the yellow dog said happily. "But what about you? Does the mentor have any use for those huge muscles of yours?"
"Hehe, well, not yet, but there is something. Since it's pretty clear that I'm gonna be the team leader, Mentor T'Challa is training me personally. He's having me study strategy and team coordination. He's already had me gain some field experience and my control over my eagle vision has already gotten a lot better," Legosi explained.
"Field experience? Wait, does that mean you've had your first-"
Jack brought his right index finger up and slid it across his neck.
"No, not yet," Legosi answered. "But given my progress, it'll most likely be soon. Mentor T'Challa just had me do some information gathering with two of our brothers. I led them to a pretty bad part of town and instructed them on how we would go about it."
After the wolf finished his explanation, he flicked his wrist, revealing his hidden blade.
"You know, I've been training in order to use this for four years and I still can't believe it. Any day now this blade is going to have its first taste of blood and I gotta say, I'm not excited for it."
"Have you talked to Mentor T'Challa about it?" Jack asked in a worried tone.
"I did, and he said that it's good that I'm hesitant. It shows that I still have my animality and that I should never lose that or lose the pain I'll feel after every kill. That said, he told me that I can't be hesitant when the time comes," Legosi explained.
"Doing so would get me killed and would give our enemies even more power. That's why Mentor T'Challa is also teaching me how to perform the last rites. He said that since killing is something we have to do, then we should at least show respect to the dead."
"Last rites?" the yellow dog asked.
"They're basically mini funerals," the wolf answered. "When we kill them, he should give them comfort before they go to the other side to ensure they can at least rest in peace."
Jack frowned at this before looking at the ground disheartenedly.
"So this is it then. Once we go on our first mission, we'll be killers."
"Jack, we knew this day would come when we first joined. We made our decision back then and we knew there would be no going back," Legosi said sadly as he wrapped his arm around his friend.
"I know, I guess I never really thought about it though," the labrador answered. "I mean, we've been putting it off for so long that I just kinda pushed down the idea altogether."
"Jack, you know you-"
Before Legosi could finish his thought, Miguno came running up to him with a serious look on his face.
"Legosi, Jack, Mentor T'Challa wants to see us!" the Hyena said through heavy breaths.
The two canines jumped up immediately. Legosi put Beetly in his terrarium while Jack gave Miguno a bottle of water. The three then headed to the assassins' hideaway through one of the tunnels that connected it to their school.
After making it to the main hall of the hideout, the trio saw Collot, Durham, and Voss waiting for them.
"Hey guys," Legosi said with a wave.
"Hey Legosi, Hey Jack, I was wondering when you'd show up," Durham said with a smile.
"Sorry, we were pretty far from the tunnel," Jack said with a toothy grin.
"Do you know why the mentor asked us to come?" Legosi asked.
"We don't know," Collot answered.
"He said it was serious though," Durham said with a thoughtful look.
Just then, T'Challa walked into the room with another assassin following close behind. The assassin's face was hidden by his hood, but the six canines could tell he was a leopard. They bowed their heads to the mentor before the leopard assassin gave each of them a sheet of paper.
"What's this?" Legosi asked.
"It's a list for the upcoming clubs." T'Challa answered. "Now that you're all in high school, you're gonna see a lot of animals divided into groups. However, that also means that you'll be isolated if you don't find a group of your own to join. That's simply how high school is."
"Now, that may seem like a good thing given our profession, but it's actually not. Isolated animals are easy targets for those who want to intimidate others. If they have you in their sights, it'll be next to impossible for you to slip away. As such, I want each of you to join a club."
"But sir, wouldn't that make things just as hard?" Miguno asked. "If we join a club, we'll have club responsibilities that we'll have to commit to. It won't exactly give us a lot of time for training."
"That's why we printed out this list," the leopard said as he passed out the papers. "This list shows the clubs that don't meet very often. At most, most of these clubs meet three times a week. What's more, we excluded the sports clubs since we can't risk any of you showing your abilities. That said, these clubs still require a good amount of physical labor and study. As such, they will aid in your training."
The 701 pack took the papers and gave them a once over. When they did, they found that they liked the selection and were already thinking about which clubs they would join.
"The Debate club looks good," Jack said as his tail started to wag. "It says here that they study world history, current events and discuss political issues and viewpoints. This would be good for keeping us up to date on what's going on."
"The Greek club looks good," Collot said with an interested tone. "It offers a lot of help with academics and is able to get in touch with a lot of large businesses. This could help us find some of our targets and maybe even help me find a job once I graduate."
"Man, I can't decide which one to pick," Durham said. "I really wanted to go for the Wrestling team, but I guess that's out of the question."
"How about the Comedy club," Miguno said with excitement. "It's a good way for us to connect with others and knowing a few good jokes is great for making people drop their guard."
While Durham rolled his eyes at the hyena, Legosi was still thinking about what he should do. That is, until he found a club that was perfect for what he was looking for.
"I think I'll join the Drama club," the wolf said, surprising everyone.
"Wow Legosi, didn't take you for a showman," Jack said in an impressive tone.
Voss nodded his head in agreement.
"It's nothing like that," Legosi said as he waved his hand dismissively. "I don't think I would be good on stage, but there's a lot of openings for backstage hands and looks more up my alley. It says here that I would be required to transport heavy props and equipment, which would help build up my stamina."
"It also says that I'd be helping with designing costumes, backdrops and props. I've always liked to draw so it could be a lot of fun. Plus, having friends who are good at making costumes would really come in hand for our stealth missions."
The other five canines nodded in agreement before turning to their master.
"I'm glad you are all thinking about how these clubs will best assist you. Now, I want you all to know that if you can't join a club, there is nothing to worry about. Simply appearing to be interested in them will be enough to make others approach you. So I expect you to report back to me about what happened by tomorrow. You are all dismissed.
Everyone bowed their heads before leaving the hideout, both excited and worried about how this would go.
After school, Legosi headed straight to the Drama club room. When he did, he found that it was empty, which was strange since the flier said to meet here.
"Well, it looks like someone actually showed up."
The wolf slightly tiled his head in confusion before turning around. When he did, he saw a red deer with crimson eyes leaning against the wall.
"Let's size you up then," he said.
The herbivore walked up to the wolf before looking at him up and down. He then started to circle Legosi while still inspecting him.
"Not bad," the red deer said in a neutral tone. "Good physique, impressive posture, and well-groomed fur."
The smaller animal took hold of Legosi's hands and spoke.
"So, what made you interested in joining the Drama club?"
"Well, I've always enjoyed working with my hands and according to what I read about it, I could learn a lot of practical skills that will help me in the future," Legosi answered. "I would learn how to handle electrical wiring, learn how to sow in order to make the costumes, and have a chance to work on my social skills."
"I see, so you take a practical approach to things," the deer said as he inspected the wolf's claws. "From what you say, you are interested in becoming a backstage hand."
Legosi nodded.
"Yes, I believe it would be good for me to work as one. I don't mean to brag, but I think of myself as an ok artist and I'm strong enough to move the heavier equipment. I also know that being a backstage hand would expose me to a lot of unfamiliar situations, so it would help me deal with the unexpected."
The red deer nodded before letting go of Legosi's hand. He then started circling the large carnivore again as he spoke.
"Seems like you really thought about this. But tell me, why a backstage hand? You carry yourself with a lot of confidence and you seem like you would fit in with the actors. One would think someone like you would want a chance to be under the spotlight."
"Hehe, I'm flattered you think that," Legosi said with a laugh. "But I've never been one for being the center of attention. I don't get stage fright or anything, but I'd rather not have the kind of pressure on me."
"You sound like you speak from experience," the herbivore said with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess you could say that. When I was in a club in middle school, I was made the leader of my team. I did a good job of course, but more often than not, I found myself improvising more often than I care to admit. I worked hard, but I was under constant pressure since everyone looked to me for guidance. It was just too much for me," Legosi explained.
"Yes, I can see how that would make you hesitant to jump back into the limelight. But you do know that you would still be under a lot of pressure, even if you work backstage, right?" the red deer asked.
"Pressure I can handle, it's everyone staring at me that makes me nervous," Legosi said with a small laugh, hoping to lighten the mood.
The red deer let out a small smile before reaching up for the wolf's muzzle.
"May I?" he asked.
Legosi nodded before giving his best toothy smile, allowing the herbivore to inspect his teeth.
The smaller animal gently held the canine's muzzle as he turned Legosi's head side to side to get a better look. When he did, he could see how much the wolf took care of his teeth as they shined like white pearls.
That's when Legosi decided to tease the herbivore a bit by opening his mouth before biting the air in between the two, showing just how strong and imposing his teeth were. He then let out a small chuckle, causing the deer to do the same.
"I must say, you're certainly an interesting one," the red furred animal said with a smile. "It really is a shame you don't want to join the acting team, but I won't force you into it."
"Welcome to the club," he said as he extended his hand out to Legosi.
Legosi smiled as he shook the deer's hand.
"Thank you, uh…"
"Louis, Louis the red deer," he answered.
"Legosi, Legosi the gray wolf," the wolf said with a bigger smile as his tail started to wag.