THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 110: 110. SLEEP!

”You think it is a trap to capture him again?” kiuga said. It was not a question but a statement. He now held his pointing finger crooked and under his chin as if he was thinking hard.

”It’s not a perhaps question. Someone wants your teammate there, and he is going to have him for whatever reason,” Salka said without a doubt, and kiuga was now pacing.

”So we could be walking into a trap, and since they only want him, that puts squad 25 in a compromising position. We are basically walking with a target on our backs, and we are in danger of being collateral depending on how the orchestrator of all this wants,” kiuga said, and the other men nodded. He was truly a genius and well past his ears in analyzing situations.

”Yes. I expect nothing less from a Tinega.” Senraki praised again, and kiuga was truly worthy of all the praises he was getting.

”To add to this, we do not know the perpetrator, but he knows us, and we can assume he is watching all our moves, and even before we move, we are already at a disadvantage.” kiuga continued pacing up and down, and everyone could hear the wheels in his head turning as he went through every possible situation.

”salka you should vet this one to be on our team instead of Lotaga,” Matasi whispered enough for Lotaga to here and he glared at him.

”If you don’t stop talking ill take you out of the squad, and he can take both your places,” Salka whispered back, and the room fell silent again.

”Let me guess, they put you in a compromising position by overstretching squad sagiri during the attack, and this is supposed to sound like an honour for us, so you can’t refuse because then you will be labelled as the grand marshal who is standing on the way of a the success of a promising team?” kiuga said again and senraki sighed going back to his sit at the edge of his desk just beside the piles of papers he always sat behind.

”Seems I don’t have to explain further, as your squad member has said that is the situation. I did not want to send you out there blind sided when your life depends on this. If anyone wishes to pull out of the squad i will allow it, and it will not affect their final score or their reputation. I will personally put you in another squad temporarily till the exercise is over. So if anyone wants to pull its completely fine.” Senraki went silent, waiting for someone to step back. There was silence as senraki waited for movement, but even with their hearts beating in their ears, no one stepped forward. sagiri could perceive their nervousness and hear their hearts racing, and clearly, except for kaka who was now excited. He really loved to jump into danger.

”I will remain on the team and go with sagiri to ko’alsi” N’varu said, taking a knee. His left knee hit the floor, echoing in the silent room. His right hand rested on his heart, and his left hand lay on the floor. It was the stance of taking an oath. ”he is in my squad, and I will fight with him and for him till my last breath,” he swore the oath, and sagiri could perceive the sincerity and devotion leaking from him. Even so sagiri was not prepared for such loyalty. He had known that N’varu was loyal to him, but to swear to die for him was too much to hear. sagiri’s eyes widened at such loyalty, and he staggered back. He had seen such a display from kiuga for Kaka when he collapsed in the dining wing on his second day in Galka War Academy, and he had admired it and wished to have such. Yet now he had someone that loyal to him, and he did not know how to respond.

”I admire your courage, but that is a heavy oath to take for a squad mate,” Torena said, furrowing his eyebrows.

”He is not just a squadmate to me. He is like family to me,” N’varu said, lowering his head further, and half the room gasped. Or maybe it was just sagiri. family? N’varu saw him as family. He had always had his adoptive family, but hearing someone say that made his heart contract for the first time with a feeling he had never experienced, and though he had never cried in that moment, he could feel something inside him shed a tear of joy, perhaps his soul. sagiri was rendered speechless. He had never been one to talk too much, but for the first time in his life, he was speechless.

”Well, he is not like a brother to me, but I have my honour to uphold, even if running away won’t affect my score. I have my honour to uphold.” Kaka was the second to speak, and like always, he did not know how to sugarcoat his intentions. hell could freeze over if he ever said something as stupid as taking sagiri as family. sagiri could not imagine those words leaving Kaka’s mouth.

”well i have will go with sagiri too because he always has my back,” Ulekai said, taking the same position as nvaru even though whatever he had just said was not an oath.

”sagiri the blind had piqued my interest, and the perpetrator seems like a worthy rival to pull such a scheme, so I guess I’m going too,” kiuga said.

”Us Chimera clan will not be outdone in honour by the asakana clan, so I’m going,” Maita said, and he and Kaka glared at each other. Fuwuka even held a ghost of a smile.

”Of course, we Asakana are honorable, and chimera take after us. Isn’t it Fuwuka?” Salka said with a wide smile, and Fuwuka’s ghost of a smile disappeared, and he pretended not to have heard Salka. The two clans were rivals through and through.

”I will go wherever squad 25 goes,” Bukata said.

”Same,” Zazarie said. He and Bukata were the ones to take the news that he had been stabbed, and since that time, they had grown closer as if they did not want to see him get stabbed again. The two had been traumatized for a while, especially since the responsibility of getting help had been given to them, and if he had died, perhaps If he had died they could have blamed themselves for not getting help sooner.

”I will go too,” Zoliath said, and Banga just bowed and signaled in agreement. He did not speak at all unless it was completely necessary, like when he had to distribute how the oru seals were made.

”You boys are brave,” Yavaga said, nodding in approval.

”This might cost you your life, or you might encounter an opponent stronger than you, and you will have to work smart or be in danger. This is not a game. Are you all sure you want to do this?” Fuwuka asked, and N’varu and Ulekai finally rose, and the nine answered in unison, backs stiff.

”Yes, captain, no comrade shall be left behind,” they recited one of the squad mottos. They all answered in unison.

”The person was the one who pushed my admission to Galka War Academy,” sagiri admitted. After hearing how his team was ready to put their lives in danger for him in different versions, he owed them at least to know who they were facing.

Everyone turned to him, and he sighed.

”What do you mean they pushed your admission to this academy?” It was Torena who asked.

”my step parents never wanted me to join a school. They came for me when I was twelve, but retreated. They came again, a few weeks before they personally brought me to the examination council, and then you brought me here. Even entering the saffocation chamber was his choice,” sagiri said, feeling lighter than he had in months, keeping the information to himself. If the boys were willing to die for him, then they at least deserved to know the opponent they were facing was ruthless.

”Why did you not tell me that?” Senraki said, standing to full height. It seemed the news was news to his ears, and he did not like it.

”No wonder you were so unfit,” Kaka said as if finally getting an answer to a question he had been keeping him awake at night.

”I did not know who to trust, nor do I now. I don’t want any squad 25 to die because of me. I will go alone since he wants me. we are prone to meet someday,” sagiri said, taking a step forward. He did not want any more people to die before his benefactor got to him. Naga’s brother and another had died because of him. it was enough deaths. At least meeting the person could tell him who he was, since the benefactor seemed to know.

”I love how you want to self-sacrifice, but this is not your decision to make, recruit,” Matasi said.

”It’s cadet,” Lotaga whispered, but Matasi ignored him.

”And what do you plan to do when you meet him?” Fuwuka asked, and sagiri did not have to think about that.

”Kill him,” sagiri said, his voice dangerously low, and everyone felt the intent behind it.

”I admit you have grown strong, and you might be unstoppable with this weapon, but you of all people should not underestimate a man who put you in the suffocation chamber,” Salka said calmly, pulling sagiri shadow blades handle from one of his weapon straps.

”Give back nokai. That is the last thing I have from my clan and family,” sagiri said lavitating towards Salka on instinct at the sight of Nokai. He could already feel the weapon’s pull towards him now.

”The weapon has a name? what is your clan?” it was Kolu asking with curiosity oozing off pf him. ”I know all the powerful weapons and their names. I have never heard one with that name. Who gave it this name?”

”Nokai is not just a weapon. It’s the legacy of my clan. it belongs to me,” sagiri said, getting agitated being close to the weapon. The air sizzled, and everyone in the room could see he was agitated as he moved towards Salka.

”sagiri calm down,” nvaru warned, moving to follow him, but Salka signaled for him to stay put.

”Are you going to fight your captain for it?” Salka asked, not at all fazed by Sagiri. The truth was that sagiri was ready to fight for it. Tension rose in the room.

”Come on salsal dont tease the boy. just give him the blades,” Senraki said, and Salka cocked his head to the side to look at Senraki as if they were exchanging a silent message before. Salka sighed and threw the weapon to sagiri.

The archive hummed with calmness the moment Nokai touched his arms.

”Nokai,” sagiri called the blade by its name, and right in front of everyone, the blades snapped out, reflecting the light in the room as if responding to its name. sagiri looked at it with admiration before, and he felt his heart race with joy. he caressed the handle with adoration for a moment, and no one interrupted.

Just then, he remembered what Lotaga had told him. If he wanted Salka to let him have the weapon. He had never known how Nokai retracted its blades, but he needed to show everyone in that moment that he could control it. He suddenly knew the word to make Nokai retracted as if he had said it a thousand times.

”Sleep!” sagiri commanded.

The command echoed in the room, and right as everyone watched, the two blades that were somehow always longer than the handle disappeared into the handle.

sagiri himself could not believe what he had done, and so he did it again.

”Nokai?” he called, and the blades snapped out again, this time with even more force, and the air around where they touched sizzled.

”Sleep!” he commanded after a moment, and the blades snapped back and disappeared.

”What the hell?!” Kolu cursed, standing to his feet.