THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: THE GAME II

”Let the game begin!” The air cackled with tension to the point of bursting into flames at the announcement. A moment of silence passed and nobody moved. Every hunter’s eyes locked on their prey. The most menacing of all is Kaka Asakana of the Asakana clan of the North. He is built like a tank and his two tribal braids are tied in a kahu shell at the ends falling down to his upper back. Everyone knew his tribe was the most brutal of all in the north and they hoped not to be tackled by him. There were a total of 249 boys spread out in the large arena, there used to be 250 boys but something happened to one thus the vacancy for sagiri. He is the former holder of room 246 that now belongs to sagiri. With Sagiri the number of boys was now back to 250 but he was not required to play this game and just watch. More so after his breakdown earlier there was no chance he could join. The hunters down to 99 and prey a staggering 150. The hunters had to take down at least two prey. Kaka was on the hunters team and just his presence almost made the prey’s number shrink. Tisiki Ochago of the central plain and the best war equipment innovator and Aayu Asari the 4E class representative and from the upper north are the wardens. They stand on two sides of the arena forming a triangle with two Ukis behind them. All the prey team stand at the starting Uki looking as tense as possible.

(Uki- Corner.)

After a second of hesitation and delay Tisiki released the ball to the other end to Asari with all his strength. Hell broke loose as the game of Takido officially began.

(Takido- a game children play but made more intense by added rules and awards when it was incorporated into the system. It is called Akido outside of the curriculum)

The small round mass moved at a speed visible to the naked eye. According to the rules of the game a prey could only move when the ball was in the air. By the time the ball landed on the warden’s hands they had to be in their Ukis which served as shelter. Anyone slow enough to not be in a shelter was easy prey and could be tapped out. Meaning they had been disqualified. Anyone who didn’t change Ukis after the ball was passed four times was also disqualified. Any hunter without a prey after four passes was also disqualified. That only meant that Tisiki and Asari had to throw the ball as hard as possible to reduce the time from one Uki to another.

Kaka and Kiuga were strategically positioned beside the Ukis to tackle anyone who hadn’t made it when the ball landed. At the speed in which the ball was thrown however it required so much speed for one to make it before the ball touched the other side. A warden could also use the ball to eliminate prey but if he misses then it could backfire. The prey were still fourth years and trained for three years so it wasn’t going to be easy. They moved so fast between the Uki and most made it before the ball landed. They were basically flying, not even touching the ground. Sagiri was impressed, he had a long way to go before he could move like that. If he was in the game then he could have been eliminated on the first try. Those unlucky enough not to have made it before the ball landed and to avoid the hunters to save themselves however did not stand a chance. Kaka sprang his movements so quickly for the eye. He tackled two guys at the same time smashing them to the ground with too much force that the ground shook.

He moved almost as fast as captain salka and to think he was only a fourth year cadet it was truly scary. All the guys in the arena had trained for the same number of years but the difference in strength was just too wide. The bami tribe and more so the asakana clan were beasts of battle. Maybe that is why they had hated captain salka on his journey to galka and wanted to kill him. The man was a whole battalion by himself now imagining two or three of them in the battlefield at the same time it could just be futile to try and win.

”Remember the class is to show you how to work in teams and how to lead one.” Miss Lakiya announced after seeing the brutal display of power from Kaka. Asari released the ball with all his strength too. He had caught the ball mid air and he spun, twisting his hand back to add momentum before he released it again. Almost too quickly not giving the prey the chance to catch their breath. The two wardens were protected by two each side to catch the ball if it flew outside of their reach but it was completely unnecessary seeing how good they were at catching the ball. It appeared as if it wasn’t the first time Miss Lakiya had made them play. Kaka was a whole battalion in himself and after six passes he had eliminated twenty by himself and Kiuga was having too much and eliminated ten. Some hunters were too slow to move before kaka Kiuga and other good ones which forced them to get eliminated. They did not have any team work at all. Some prey were too scared to move fearing to be body slammed by kaka and the game was moving too quickly. Twenty hunters and seven prey remained and when Tisiki released the ball again using all his might making sure it only stayed for a few seconds in the air the seven were eliminated at once. The last being N’varu Neni. He made it to the Uki but one was too few against twenty of so he forfeited.

”No teamwork at all.” instructor Lakiya started, ”Now exchange roles, the hunter is prey and vice versa. Get in position!” she announced and the two teams took position most willing to revenge.

No rules forbade violence and the game had barely started but Kaka in his haste to move fast he made sure to throw one hunter so far he landed with a thud sliding on the sliding surface. He didn’t care as he flew so fast and he arrived at his Uki before the ball could land. He was a beast. After the ball touched one of the wardens’ hands the hunters chased the prey and the only safe place for those who didn’t make it to Uki was in the cage where if the ball touched you, you were disqualified. But with the number of hunters this time being staggeringly more than the prey that was not an option. That only worked when the number of players was few

(Cage-just between the two who wielded the ball at the Centre)

The warden of the hunters team released the ball again but not to the other wardens this time, instead he propelled in the air as if to throw a fake pass and when the prey made a move he released it aiming for them just like aiming at a target in the dark. Since they were men he could be lucky. That was a bold move. The ball hit one of the class 4D prey square in the head eliminating him. But his aim must have been lethal because the ball bounced off and hit the one and only Kaka Asakana. He was already at the safety of the Uki but that didn’t stop him from looking at him like he had committed the worst crimes of all.

”Thlaka!” He bellowed his lips pulled behind his teeth in a snarl. His voice shook the whole court. His eyes landed on the warden in a melting glare. He shuddered in fear and sagiri could smell fear coming from the arena. Some from the warden and some from his team.

(Thlaka- a curse word in the north especially also it sounds like kalaka which is a woman who hasn’t achieved womanhood in the east.)

”Kaka! Watch your language or I’ll disqualify you!” Miss Lakiya called him out, adding salt to the injury. Did she want him to kill someone or something? Leave it to Miss Lakiya to call anyone to order.

The other released the ball again and in the other direction and Kaka moved to the other Uki which put him in the Uki closest to the warden who had hit him. He did move when again even when he released the ball to the other maybe the warden didn’t notice but sagiri saw kaka sink so low in his stance when the ball was released again. he tried to jump high to catch it like always but he was really bad at environment awareness, in that moment when the ball almost touched his palm something moved in a blur catching the ball midair. It was of course Kaka Asakana. The rule of the game is, the ball is a weapon to eliminate prey but if the hunters threw the ball outside the center without an aim of elimination and it landed in the prey’s hands. Well, the prey who caught it could use it to eliminate one hunter and it could give him an additional life. The move was risky because if you missed the ball or it hit you, you were disqualified. But leave it to Kaka to defy the odds. The ball wasn’t off but he had exploited his physical prowess to cover so much distance in one long calculated leap to catch the ball. Only sagiri and kiuga had seen him prepare for the execution and it was immaculate.

There was a moment of silence as the tables turned for a moment. Everyone knew the amount of power Kaka wielded and even if the ball was the size of a fist, he was going to make sure to make it hurt as much as possible. None of the students had the power to predict the future but they all hundred percent without a doubt knew the ball was going to land on the warden who had hit him accidentally. That is how unforgiving kaka was and sagiri wondered what he was going to do to him after the punishment he received during lunch hour and more so he had distracted his meal. He could only brace himself and wait or pay with something.

Everyone held their breath and sagiri could even hear the synchronized heartbeats. Kaka jumped two good feet in the air like a trained warrior which everyone knew he was because every northern tribe had to teach their young men the art of war since they were old enough to walk, to know that they were warriors and protectors of the tribes. That tradition hadn’t died down yet.

Kaka moved to the Centre of the cage, not too far but not too close to allow him to execute what he planned. He sank low and jumped fast and high. His sculpted built and swift body floated in the air for a second before he spun around in a good 270 degrees. He stretched his right hand as far back as it could go while his two feet curled backwards to add momentum to his throw. His every move was calculated for perfect execution and annihilation. Just when he was about to land his head turned at an angle to look at the before he swung and released the ball.

The ball made a tearing sound through the air as it tore through every particle of dust and air as it moved in a supersonic speed towards me. Everyone gasped as they watched in horror as the ball flew towards the warden who had curled his body in a defensive position to reduce the impact. Nothing could have stopped that ball at the speed it had been released. The ball was too fast for anyone to block anyway. A mini moment passed before the sound came.

Thud!!

Silence!!

The boy fell to the ground and wailed in pain. Kaka was so cruel. There was no rule in how much force one could use and he had exploited that to his fullest. Even in his defensive position data had aimed for his acupoint and with military precision bringing him to the ground.

”Kaka disqualified!” Instructor Lakiya announced and more silence fell in the room. ”Not for how you play or for injuring your classmate but for the reason you did it. It was personal.” Kaka glared at her before he walked out of the arena. Not even a woman was excluded from her glare.

”The game continues!” Miss Lakiya yelled again, not missing a heartbeat.