Ice was standing exactly 10 meters away from Jonathan, facing his direction. They were both in an open space in the woods near the safe house. It had been exactly a day since they had arrived at the safe house, with Ice deciding to do the lesson tomorrow since he would have more time to figure out what to teach. He also written down all down into a book he took from the Infrost.

It was time for Ice to impart his first lesson for his number 1 and (hopefully) only student he shall ever have.

Jonathan was ready for anything Ice had to throw at him as well as ready to suck up any possible knowledge that would be imparted from the super agent.

Meanwhile, Ice was just wondering how exactly he was convinced to agree to train the EX-PATRIOT member. His mind quickly went to work as he quickly remembered the events of yesterday.

Flashback

Ice was staring at Jonathan as if he had known him his whole life, with him only speaking English, only to suddenly be speaking in another language the moment he looked away. It was unsettling for him due to the sudden change in Jonathan's personality. From what he had seen, they had been an anxious and jittering mess for most of the journey here.

He was currently trying to figure out a way to back out of this without hurting Jonathan too much as he scratched the back of his snowy hair.

While he was trying to figure out a way to get out of this, Jonathan had stood up with a determined look before saluting, completely oblivious to the panic Ice was having. "Thank you, master! I will try my best not to disappoint you!"

The word master short-circuited Ice's brain's functions before he began to wave his hands frantically. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! I just misspoke. I am not-."

Unfortunately, he could not stop Jonathan, who was currently planning a training regimen for himself. "I shall start with basic training! A 10 km run, 100 situps, 100 pushups, and 100 squats!"

He felt like facepalming hearing this as Jonathan continued. "I shall train in the ways of the ice to make sure I find a way to my inner coldness master!"

"Inner coldness? What the-." Ice repeated bewildered, practically swearing as he quickly tried to compose himself only to find himself shouting. "What in bloody hell- what does that even mean!? You're not joining some sort of dojo—wait, no! You're not joining anything! Also, I am NOT a master." The word master left a sour taste in his mouth. It made him feel old. He was only 25 years old.

It also didn't fit someone like him who had just been winging it ever since his first mission began. He didn't feel like a master, and he had been only giving lies or half-truths to this poor innocent soul.

Despite hearing this, Jonathan remained resolute in his decision. "But you are a master! You saved me and took down a crime lord's base all by yourself! You're more than qualified to teach someone like me."

He tried to think of an excuse in order to not do this. "Don't you have an HQ to go to and an organization to serve? I believe PATRIOT is still waiting for your report."

"About that..." Jonathan closed his eyes while taking in a deep breath in order to prepare for what he was about to say as he felt a small tremor at the back of his throat before he reopened his eyes and spoke. "I quit."

"What?" His voice came out blankly after hearing this due to the amount of shock he was currently experiencing. Also, because an excuse for him to not train him has disappeared. "Why?"

Jonathan looked down for a moment before gathering his words and staring down the stunned gaze of Ice. "I am quitting because... when I was with them, I felt like nothing, just another cog in the machine of their… "Patriotism" and I was right. The first chance they got, they just threw me to the wolves. Didn't even bother trying to send anyone to see if I was even alive. Yet you did, and you did it all on your own. Which made me realize why I should follow some uncaring agency when I could follow a true hero!" Jonathan wanted to add, 'Besides, it's not like PATRIOT would care a low-ranking agent quit."

He didn't know how to react to this. That this agent would just quit their highly prestigious organization just like that or that he wanted to follow him, of all people.

"Look… pal..." Ice decided to just say what he was thinking. "I am not a "hero". Hell, I am probably not even a "good" person. At this point, I pretty much killed many people that can fill a building. You don't even know if I have just been constantly lying to your face, and I probably would have left you to die had I cared to scout around the base for a bit after finishing the job."

This simply made him shake his head with the words bouncing off him. "That's exactly why I want you to teach me. You are real. You're not some kind of big figure or a face on a poster. You're not pretending to be perfect or some sort of saint. Plus, I already know you kill people since, well, I saw it. Remember?"

This entire trip made Jonathan come to a slight realization that maybe Agent X might just be propaganda for PATRIOT and probably isn't really the freedom-loving guy he is thinking of... But who knows honestly, he hasn't met him and probably never will.

Ice tried to understand what Jonathan was thinking because, from what he remembered, he was trying to act like a good person… that killed people… slapped him as well as threatening him- ok maybe he didn't act the way he thought he did. That was until he realized halfway through escaping the base he had slapped him and showed his true personality, which made him want to punch himself back in time in order to stop that from happening.

He wanted to protest and opened his mouth to argue more so he didn't have to do this but found himself pausing seeing his immovable, determined expression. Even after hearing what he had to say, Jonathan's sudden unwavering belief in him had not wavered once. His sincerity made Ice feel responsible, and seeing that Jonathan was never going to budge on this, he made his decision.

"Alright, alright, fine." Ice had finally admitted defeat. It seemed he would have to become a teacher. Jonathan's eyes shined before Ice lifted up a finger. "But we are going to do this my way. Got it? So, no more of this talk of 'inner coldness.' That is stupid."

Jonathan tilted his head. "But master why-"

Ice put up a hand in front of Jonathan's face.

"Kid, quit calling me master."

"Why master?"

"Because it makes me feel so..." He paused for a moment before asking. "Now that I think about it. How old are you?" Ice was a little surprised he never thought of or asked this till now.

Hearing this question, Johnathan decided to guess his age since it had only been a month away before he was imprisoned, and he didn't know what day of the year it was as he guessed his age. "22."

"22, huh? That certainly explains some things..." It didn't, but that line just felt right to say, so he said it anyways before switching to his main annoyance. "Just to be clear, I am serious about the whole Master thing. So don't call me Master. Just think of me as your tutor and just call me by my regular name, "Ice." Got it?"

This did nothing but confuse Jonathan. "Wait, is Ice your actual name?"

"Wait, what? No. Why would you think that? You would have to be an idiot to think that.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "What is your actual name then?"

Agent Ice shrugged. "Wellllll that's… classified… by SYNDICATE. After all you can't have your Super Agent revealing their name to just anyone."

He nodded at this. It seemed correct since the organization was so secret that the other organizations don't know about them, so of course their Super Agent would have to not reveal their name. "Alright then. When can we start training?"

"Tomorrow. We have already done enough for today. Just follow me to the safe house. Besides, it's going to turn night soon."

Ice turned around as he was about to follow him until Ice paused and turned around. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't get yourself killed. I already have enough on my plate." It would suck if his first and only student died under his watch. Not only would he feel the guilt, but he would also be deemed a failure by the SYNDICATE.

"Understood, master."

"..."

"…"

"Are you serious?"

End of flashback

The sudden rush of memories reminded him of how he ended up in this situation. He was annoyed that his past self for not being firmer and not giving in to Jonathan's demands.

He diverted his attention from his thoughts to the person standing in front of him as they began talking. "So, what are you going to be teaching me today?" It was currently 10 am in the morning, and Jonathan had completed his daily regimen.

Ice took out his book that he had written in last night as he turned to the first page for the first lesson as he read it before closing the book and putting it in Infrost.

"Alright today. I will be teaching you lesson one. One of the most basic fundamentals of fighting after fighting. Dodging. I shall teach this lesson until you learn it. It could take a week, a month, or even a year. But I shall do my absolute best to teach you. I shall hold back so I don't kill you. Just tell me when you're ready to begin."

Jonathan was confused on what he meant. "Ok?"

Ice brushed off his white gloves a bit as he got into a fighting stance. "Are you ready?"

He nodded as he said, "Ye-." A fist then appeared in front of his body as he heard Ice yell, "DODGE!"

Unfortunately, he couldn't react in time as he was sent flying into a snow-covered tree nearby.

A painful thud was heard as he hit the tree. The impact made air leave his lungs as he groaned while sliding down the tree to the floor while clutching the part that was hit.

Ice exhaled a sigh while shaking his head. "Pal, if you don't learn how to dodge. You're going to spend more time on the floor than in the actual fight." He relaxed his stance while keeping an eye on his student. "Come on. Let's try this again."

Jonathan let out a grunt trying to get up as his body protested this action. "You could have warned me before trying to knock me out cold." He muttered while trying to shake off any daze that appeared due to being sent flying into a tree.

"I actively did." Ice said flatly with a completely straight face. "I said 'dodge,' didn't I? You just need to react quicker."

This made him let out a chuckle as he got into a stance. "I thought you would be 'holding back.'"

"John, this IS me holding back." Ice dryly stated as Jonathan almost felt like laughing hearing it as he disappeared in his eyes before reappearing before him as he received yet another fist, this time to his chest, as he was once again sent flying.

It was simply one of many fists he would receive over the following week.

He was sitting down on a seat inside the living room of the safe house. He was covered in bandages and band-aids due to the amount of damage he received from... 'training.' He was reading a book he had managed to find on the shelves of the safe house.

It was an interesting book as he found himself absorbed in the world created by George Orwell.

At least, that was until he heard a sudden yell from his left. "DODGE!" And a fist to his side as he was sent flying into the wooden wall while the book was launched out of his hands before landing on the floor.

He groaned as he slowly peeled his body off the floor before looking at Ice, who was standing where he had been seated. He was angry. "Ice! What the hell!?"

Ice crossed his arms as he just looked at him. "Lesson one isn't just for the battlefield. After all, a fight, something flying towards you, or a fist is sent in your direction can happen at any moment anywhere."

"It honestly feels more like a reason to beat me." Jonathan spoke with a lot of snark in his voice as he held his side, gritting his teeth together slightly while trying to ignore the pain and acting as if he shrugged it off. He didn't want to seem weak. Ice rolled his eyes as Jonathan continued. "For a safe house. It really isn't safe when the person that you're sharing it with is trying to kill you."

He simply smirked at Jonathan's comment. "If I really wanted to kill you. You would have already been dead. This is simply some tough love." He said as he leaned against a wall watching his student get up.

"Yeah, 'tough love,' more like sadistic mentoring." He said under his breath as he stood on his feet shakily. Ice heard it but wasn't fazed as he simply shrugged before winking. "Whatever makes you sleep at night, pal. I'm just trying to make sure you learn the hard way; that way you're prepared when you face an evil genius again."

Ice cracked his knuckles before clenching his fists before going into a fighting stance again with a grin. "Let's continue, shall we?" He disappeared once again.

Jonathan's eyes widened as he hadn't even recovered yet from the first spar. The fist coming towards him as he could only yell out in that split second. "Wait—N—!"

He was wrapped in bandages by the end of the week.