THE LAST KEEPER

”Move!” Matasi announced, and there was a long pause before the squad moved. Of course the had to hold their defensive position until the junior instructors attacked. kiuga was the one to come up with the strategy. The man hated working as much as possible, so no wasted movements were allowed in his plan. Squad 25 was the only team with such a formation because they had sagiri and so it was kiuga who had come up with the formation.

As soon as the instructors moved, so did sagiri’s mouth.

”1, two coming for you, 7 offer support,” sagiri said, and Ulekai moved closer to Kaka so he could help.

”2, 3, and 4. One airborne, another coming centre. 5’8, 10, you have moved far forward from the formation.” Members of squad 25 moved fast, barely after his words left his mouth. Team N’varu was holding up well. Nvaru’s was good in sensory too, but of course not as good as sagiri. Everyone was, and Sagiri only had to step in when there was a need. The team worked well at the start, but halfway through sagiri could tell that the junior instructors were holding back as if they were leading them by the nose. he pushed his senses outward again, though it could take a toll on him, and just then, he could feel them. Six more appearances. They were standing beside Salka and senraki in the raised platform.

Just when he perceived them, one released a blade from above coming for him. he had only two options. to alert his teammates, which could make them panic or just defend the blade on their own while still keeping tabs on his teammates. Just when the dagger got released, as if receiving a signal, the junior instructors started going harder. It seemed that someone had planned to orchestrate an ambush while they were deeply engaged in the battle. The someone and the agenda did not seem like it was to test the whole team, but sagiri in case something out of the ordinary happened while they were in the middle of battle.

The blade whooshed through the air, coming straight for sagiri and he was sure others could hear it too, but now the junior instructors were going twice as hard, and he knew that they were pinned down, and a sudden call for help would cause the whole team to go into a frenzy and lose it, which would in turn be detrimental.

”2, six unaccounted incoming, might need a change of plan,” he said loud enough. Even though he could not hear his own voice because he was wearing the oru seals, he knew kiuga heard him. However, he needed to take them off quickly, and with the blade incoming, he needed to make haste.

His right hand shot out and caught the blade just when it was about to go between his eyebrows. With his left hand, he pulled out his left seal and barely had time to put it away before another blade was launched at him.

”6 is under attack, don’t break formation, don’t pull in all out,” kiuga said, and everyone tensed, but if anything, they were now fighting harder than ever. sagiri knew that if he just fended off the attack by swatting the blade, it might land in the back of one of his friends, and so he could just stop the second blade with his left hand before it could get itself embedded in his heart. It was as if they were trying to kill him or put him in a position where he would not be able to help his squad. Everyone around gasped, and sagiri knew every member of Squad 25 could hear. After all, it was only their eyes that were covered.

sagiri had just managed to catch the two blades launched at him, but before he could do anything else, two more were launched his way. At this rate, he would not have time to help his team and block his attacks at the same time. yes squad 25 had perfected the formation so much so that it did not have a loophole when against the set number of instructors, but it seemed that Salka and Senraki wanted to taste him. he was used to having his teammates watch his back, and he was just watching all their backs and fronts.

It was as if someone was asking him, what if your teammates were so pinned down they could not defend you, and you were required to fight as well. he needed to defend himself while he still watched his team’s back, especially if they could not see where the attack was coming from and it was aimed at him.

sagiri turned around swiftly and sank low on one knee before catching the first blade and pulling even further back.

”zoliath i need you to get a boost,” sagiri yelled, and Zoliath moved back, breaking the triangle. He got on his knees quickly as three blades came for sagiri. sagiri jumped on Zoliath’s shoulder, using it as a pivot. He tapped his foot on his shoulder and used the momentum to propel himself in the air a few feet. His right foot hit the first blade’s handle and sent if flighing. the caughte the second blade barely and missed the third by a whisper. He twisted his body to escape the blade, but it ate his skin.

sagiri hissed. damn it, they were not holding back.

”1, two blades coming at you from above.” sagiri managed not to break his sensory radius even as the pain caused him to almost break concentration.

”2 the six are coming from all sides,” sagiri said as he landed and released the blades from his hands, letting them clatter to the floor in a thud. His hand reached into his pocket on instict and he pulled out his blade. It was already humming responding to his distress, and the blades snapped out with a violent snap when he wielded them. Even with his eyes covered, he could almost taste the dangerous glint. Such a treacherous weapon. Refusing to show its blades, but now in front of everyone, it was excited.

leech blade. only using me for attention. sagiri thought

It was the first time the cadets watching were seeing it. gasps filled the place, but four more blades were released from above. It was as if Salka was determined to push him to the corner. The six who had been beside him must have come down when the assault on him started, and now they were closing in on squad 25. Even squad 25 had never seen him use the blade.

But just at the same time, Salka released three more blades. Squad 25 was on the verge of disarray, and it was kiuga holding it together as sagiri was left barely any breath.

”6, don’t get too excited and take our heads off,” kiuga said, managing to laugh even as the situation grew tense. The instructors were more skilled than they were, and they were not blindfolded. ”Kaka i think it’s time you got excited,” kiuga said, and Kaka snickered. He was managing to hold back the two junior instructors without even the help of banga and ulekai.

The three incoming blades this time met Sagiri’s break in crushing contact, and they were shattered into pieces, but Sagiri made sure to send them flying in a direction where he could not end up stabbing his teammates. more gasps as he whipped the blade around violently. It felt easier to use than any other weapon, just like when he used it to kill the muddy river scorpion, and he was getting excited.

”The six finally made contact, and it was now twelve against nine. The instructors were holding back except those going against kaka but somehow the squad was now pinned down.

”Stop protecting me. Zoliath, give me a boost,” sagiri yelled, excitement of some sort filling his lungs. Whenever he used the blade, it was as if he could finally taste battle, and he loved it. Zoliath barely managed to move back, squatted, and went back to battle. That was all sagiri needed. He was feeling light as he launched himself in the air and landed in front of N’varus team. His blade connected with that of two instructors, and as if he had grown a new pair of wings, he went berserk.

He pushed the instructors back, and with his blade, they were soon pushed on the defensive. He could feel the archive hum, and his veins started getting buzzed with the power of the archive.

”he is fast,” one instructor said, and as if feeling the shift, team 25 peeled back their blindfolds. They had never seen the blade he was wielding except for nvaru who had seen it once when he was in his private art arena. One of the two times it came to life before it retracted, he had never seen it use it to kill.

”Put your blindfolds back. We don’t break formation.” kiuga managed to keep a level head and saved squad 25 from another lecture. The team always listened to kiuga and they got back their blind folds and resorted to fighting even though now they had clearly lost some advantage.

It was sagiri against four with his blindfold on. The fight with the other instructors continued. The four were barely holding the blindfolded boy back, and Kaka was now fighting three by himself, leaving banga and ulekai to hold back one while the other two teams of three were holding back each other.

The fight had just gotten interesting, and sagiri could feel different emotions crashing into him, and it made him more excited. He spun the double blades in the air, and the air around them cackled. The instructor had gotten into formation of two, and they were not holding back anymore.

”What are those blades?” Sagiri could hear one of the wonders. sagiri with the blade was no further in prowess than Bekuro with the daggers. It was as if the weapon was made for him and him alone, and suddenly, echoes of images flashed in his and he suddenly fell to his knees. They were not so intense at first, and he continued to hold his own, but they intensified a second later. It was as if a hammer was splitting his head behind his eyes, and he lost his footing suddenly.

It had been a while since he got the memories and images of places he had never been to, and this one was more intense than anything. he staggered back, avoiding two attacks from the instructors who had been pushed and forgotten for a mere second.

”Stop,” Matasi said after seeing sagiri stagger back. sagiri groaned loudly, letting his blade fall out of his hands. The blade, now out of his hands, snapped its blades back. Squad 25 pulled their blindfolds away, and Nvaru was by his side.

”What is it?” he asked in a low voice, but with the current tension, everyone could hear. sagiri could not answer and instead fell back down and groaned again.

”Don’t fight it. The more you fight it, the more you will get hurt.” N’varu mattered lowly, and sagiri wailed.

”What happened?” sagiri had somehow jumped down, and Senraki was beside him.

”We have not harmed him. He just fell,” one instructor said, and Salka inhaled sharply.

sagiri followed Nvaru’s instructions amidst the chaos, and he forced his mind into meditative slumber. He needed to relax so that his mind would not fight with the broken images in his memory.