A week later…
Missio and Dante walked through Verona. After a few minutes, they stepped into a park. Their feet pressed against the pavement as they strolled through the tranquil park. They halted near a slope. Dante sat down, placing his hands behind himself. Missio sat down as well, looking towards the serene sky. The chirps of the birds, the barks of the dogs and rustling of the leaves fell upon their ears.
Missio pressed his music box, changing the song. Dante placed his hand on his little brother's shoulder and opened his mouth.
"Missio, you've gotten better at using your senses."
Missio tilted his head, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
"Thanks…"
Dante patted Missio with a smile.
"So, now, let's move onto regulating your senses."
"Regulating?" Missio blurted.
"Y'know, like… choosing which senses are more heightened than the rest." Dante explained. "Like in your phone, there are options for notification audio, media audio and call audio. Think that those are just your senses. Do you want to not smell something but hear another thing? It's like that."
Missio's mouth dropped slightly. "Yeah… I understand."
"Try it then." Dante urged.
Missio nodded. He gazed ahead. He exhaled heavily. The next second, he drew a deep breath. He shut his eyes and felt his surroundings. The music from his music box blasted in his ear, stopping him from hearing anything. He frowned slightly and tapped his headphones. Transitioning to full transparency, he focused once more. His lips parted. He focused on his hearing. Suddenly, his hearing sharply increased.
His ears caught the sound of everything within his vicinity. He felt a sharp pain in his ears. His eyes flew open. His focus broke as he caught his breath. He clutched his chest, his heart throbbing against his chest. Cold sweat rolled down his face, his PTSD almost triggering from his fear of pain. Dante's heart stopped for a moment.
"You Okay?"
Missio touched his chest. "Yeah… it was just a bit more than I expected."
Dante heaved a sigh of relief. "Alright… lay down and continue. Don't push yourself too hard."
Missio followed his brother's instructions. He lay flat against the slope. He closed his eyes and drew a sharp breath. Focusing on his senses, he controlled his hearing. His hearing sharply increased. He shut down his smell. The receptors in his nose stopped sending signals to his brain. His brows furrowed as he tried to maintain this state. After a few minutes, his body relaxed. He filtered out the unnecessary noise in his surroundings, allowing him to hear what he chose.
He shifted his senses. His hearing cut off and his smell sharply increased. He took a deep breath, smelling all the nice and disgusting smells in the city. He coughed from all the sensations. The next second, his eyes flew open. He poured all his focus into them. His vision was boosted. He lowered his head, seeing the details of numerous objects. He raised his hand, gazing at his own finger print.
'Damn…'
He blinked in amazement. He rested his hand on the ground. After an hour or so, Dante fell asleep next to him with his hands behind his back. As Missio continued his regulation training, his phone vibrated. A sharp buzz sounded from his mobile device as he snapped out of his focus. He pulled his phone out of pocket, flipping it upright. He glanced at Henry's phone flashing on the screen.
"Henry…?" He mumbled under his breath.
He sat straight and picked up the call. Dante remained asleep as Henry's voice came through the mobile device.
"Hello? Missio?"
"Yeah, Henry. What's up?" Missio responded.
"Oh, where are you right now?"
"Verona." Missio stated. "I'm training in a park right now."
"Krishna did tell me about some road trip you were going on with your brother… I guess that was true."
"You didn't believe him?"
"More than half the things he says are bullshit." Henry shrugged.
Missio chuckled slightly. "Yeah… True…."
"Anyways, I need to ask you something."
"What do you need?"
"So, Y'know how the Lieutenant general position is empty right now, right?" Henry said.
"Yeah…" Missio raised a brow. "Are you trying to get it?"
"Yes. I need some tips."
Missio scratched his nape. "Alright… Yeah, I can give you some tips."
"First, how do you become the Lieutenant General?" Henry questioned.
Missio rubbed his chin. "They'll announce it first. Then, you have to participate in the selection by filling out a form with all your government certified information. You have to give that form to the General."
"Hm… is giving it to the General a test?"
"Kinda." Missio stated. "They wanna filter out the ones with lower confidence but nobody really gets eliminated in this stage. Plus, it's also to not leak anyone's private information."
"I see… then, what kind of tests do you have to go through?"
"A theoretical – a critical thinking one and a practical." Missio raised an arm. "The theoretical is just a normal exam with questions based from the criminal justice master's exam."
"What's the critical thinking exam…?"
"No – it's an oral test which tests your creative and critical thinking. They give you a hypothetical situation and you have ten seconds to think of and give a solution to a situation."
"Mm…Okay." Henry nodded
Missio stretched his limbs, groaning a little.
"The practical is just a gun handling test. It tests how well you can shoot with different guns and different targets."
"That one seems the easiest." Henry commented.
"It is but don't be tricked. They don't tell you what gun or target they're gonna give."
"I won't be tricked. Who do you think I am?"
"I know but a little tip for you." Missio smiled slightly. "The critical thinking test is based on past missions. So, do your research."
"Aye – Aye, Captain." Henry chuckled. "I'll see you later. "
"See you soon." Missio replied.
Henry cut the call. Missio sighed, pulling his phone away from his ear. He stared at the 'call ended' screen. A smile tugged at his lips. He swiped it off, tucking the phone back in his pocket.
'Good luck, Henry…'
He wished his friend luck in his endeavor to become the Lieutenant General of the Black ops Division of the REOC. He inhaled deeply, gazing at the blazing sun. He blinked, lowering his head. He slid forward and lay on the grassy slope once more. Dante's slumber continued as his little brother returned to his training.