THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 108: 108. DISTRESS

”Because, recruit, you went crazy with it. The dance you performed might have been beautiful, but you went crazy on the instructors before that, just like you did with the muddy water scorpion. I might not know what secret art of your clan you use that the weapon only responds to you, but I know when a person doesn’t have control over their weapon.”

Sagiri could not stop thinking about Salka’s words even as he walked back to the fourth-year pentagon. Everyone was already up, and he should have gone to team training, but losing and parting with Nokai felt as if she lost a limb. He had never undergone or felt heartbroken, but he was sure what he was feeling at that moment was what heartbreak was. sagiri did not care if he could get punished for missing morning meditation and morning squad patrol before breakfast. He did not even feel hungry, and he did not even want to eat.

Nokai was the last piece his clan and family left him. It felt as if someone had ripped out his heart and stabbed it with a knife. He had never experienced such a feeling, so much so that he wanted to throw up. He felt defeated and did not know how to prove to Salka that he could not hurt anyone with the weapon. Was he sure that he could not hurt anyone at any point in the future by accident anyway? He believed that Salka would return his weapon one day, but the problem was that he did not want to part with Nokai at all. Not even for a minute.

He sat at the very edge of the top of the pentagon behind the arena and looked at the terrain below. The landscape looked so peaceful in the darkness of the morning, a sharp contrast to the storm raging in his heart. silence stretched far and wide, and his mind wandered. He could still feel the sand of the forest under his feet and remember the feeling of dancing with the sand as if he had actually been there. as if he was born to be there.

”Are you going to kill yourself or something? I can tell you that that is the worst way to die,” a voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he jumped and almost went tumbling. It was lotaga. Sagiri did not always bother to salute Lotaga because the man never cared for that, and every time he saluted him, he could tell him to loosen up.

”You know Salka isn’t going to give you that weapon unless you prove to him no one would be in unnecessary danger when you use it.” sagiri did not answer to that and instead got even more depressed.

”self pity wont help you get it back. Salka is not doing it to punish you, he cares about all cadets’ safety.” Lotaga continued, but at the moment sagiri only felt empty from losing the one thing that held history to his past.

”How can I show him I can handle it when I don’t have it anymore? besides we are leaving soon for field work,” sagiri said, and Lotaga looked to be in thought before he finally spoke.

”Being outside the academy might increase your chances of getting it. Don’t you think?” Lotaga said, and sagiri could not get what he was saying. How would it increase his chances when they were about to leave the academy for a month?

”What do you mean?” sagiri asked, his curiosity piqued. Maybe Kiuga could have understood, but he was not good at the game of guessing.

”I have to go before I’m put in those dens again by that monster Salka because I’m not supposed to be her,” Lotaga said, shuddering and shuddering at the mention of kennels. ”think cadet, think,” Lotaga said, literally hoping it away, and his words left sagiri more confused than he had been at the start.

How do I get Nokai back? was all sagiri could think about as he watched morning finally break. he was still not in the mood to eat, so he stayed above the pentagon till it was time for assembly. Only then did he make a move to leave.

Soon, it was assembly time, and sagiri finally left the arena on top of the fourth-year pentagon. He had still not found the answer to how to convince Salka to give him back Nokai. They were about to be assigned field work placements where they would be for a month or more, but one thing was for sure. When they came back, the final high school exams were to be held. He needed to get back nokai before then or sooner. He knew something would happen during the final exam. There was no doubt about it. His benefactor must have sent him to galka war academy for a reason, and he was the reason that could be accomplished on the final exam.

Sagiri could not hear what was being said by the instructors until it was time to leave. Of course, the fourth-year cadets were asked to remain behind since they had to prepare to leave. Each team is still accompanied by a senior instructor or above rank. They had always been accompanied by senior instructor Bekuro during their patrols for the best three months on days they had patrol exercises. Would he be the one accompanying them again? sagiri did not care for that. He just wanted Nokai to accompany him.

He had not spoken to his teammates as he stood at the far end, but after the three lower years filtered out, he could feel all eyes on him. Every cadet was looking at him hard, and they were not even trying to hide it. He dared to turn around, and indeed, all eyes were on him. They all now looked at him the way Banga did. They could not understand how he did some of the things he did. It was as if they looked at him hard enough, they would suddenly figure out the formula.

In the commotion as the lower years’ footsteps faded, he could hear the whispers.

”What was that dance? I have never seen anything like it.”

”I have never seen such a dance. it was beautiful but foreign,” another said.

”he doesn’t have a clan or tribe i hear, because he was abandoned at birth. He must be from a lost clan,” another speculated.

”Perhaps that was a secret dance of his clan. It must have taken him years to learn it,” another said, referring to the difficulty of the dance and how the sand made it look like the dancer was floating. years? He had learned it in minutes if not seconds. It was as if he was born with the dance, and he did not need to learn it. The dance completely belonged to him, and its rhythm lay in his veins just like his blood.

”Gather around,” a voice suddenly cut through the commotion. It was Senraki, and he had walked to the stage looking a bit more deshelled than usual. Even his purple sash was slightly crooked. Everyone fell into a respectful stance and saluted him. The grand marshal had not even cared to let anyone announce his arrival.

”Grand marshal!” the cadets saluted him in unison.

”I might have some slightly good news and slightly bad news, boys.” Senraki started, and everyone shifted uneasily. His eyes regarded everyone for a long moment before he spoke again.” You all were supposed to leave for your field work tomorrow, but there had been a change of plans, and you all have to live today with the senior instructor in charge of you.” Senraki started, and instead of the boys looking distressed, there was cheering. The boys had stayed within the walls of the academy, and being told to leave sooner was extremely good news.

”All the 25 squads have been allocated a new instructor to go with you, and all cadets should gather with the senior instructor with their squad tag. They will be the ones to show you where you have been allocated, and they will drop you there as well. You have been allocated to the north, and you have trained hard for this moment. Some of you will get to your stations in a week or in just a few days, depending on your speed. You are to listen to the senior instructor in charge of your individual squads. cadets re not allowed to take on dangerous adventures by themselves,” he said, the blast statement looking at Sagiri and Kaka.

”Cadets are not allowed to die on this mission. you of course, are not being assigned to a battle front, but no situation is to be underestimated, and even small situations sometimes can escalate into bigger ones. Anyone who disobeys their instructors in charge more than two times will be pulled out of the field and return to the academy to wait for others. Anyone who behaves inappropriately out in the wild and disgraces the grand marshal and the academy will also be pulled out and brought back. You might be under a bone instructor, but you will be watched by my secret teams at all times. The senior instructors assigned to you will tell you all the rules and regulations too, till you know them by heart,” Senraki said before signaling for the cadets to move to where their tags were being held up.