Chapter 42: Chapter 42: FAMILIAR

“Don’t push yourself to do things if you can’t handle it.” That was the first thing Kaka said when he saw Sagiri.

“What he means is sit this one out, not to pull the team behind,” Kiuga added, coming over to Sagiri. “This time you have to teach me that move, I’m not accepting any excuses, Sagiri the deaf,” he said as the team moved to get into position. Sagiri sat down, trying to catch his breath, but all he wanted was to pass out and sleep. He had no strength to fight N’varu, so he sat leaning on him against him

“You can sleep, I won’t let anything happen to you,” N’varu said beside him, letting his sincere feeling leak. In this state, Sagiri could have slept in an enemy’s territory and not cared for the consequences. So he let himself pass out.

The game between Class B and E did not take long. Their plan to eliminate kaka had gone terribly wrong, and the Tamelku twins looked at Sagiri with hateful eyes. With Kaka in the game with the strength of three men, they did not stand a chance.

“Class B disqualified!” Miss Lakiya announced. It was now down to the best two. The cream of the crop.

“Class E and Class C take to the platform!” Miss Lakiya announced. Even so, N’varu did not move.

“I forfeit my spot,” N’varu announced, earning a few glares from his classmates. All this happened while Sagiri was passed out. He was completely passed out on N’varu’s shoulder.

When Sagiri opened his eyes, he was standing in a place he had never been to before. It was not dark like the last time, nor was he in any excruciating pain. No strings were holding him down. It was as if he had walked into the complete opposite of the last time. The only thing that they had was the endless silence. He was standing in a place of endless white. No matter how much he walked, he remained in the same place. He could move, but it was no different than the first time. He was going round in circles in an endless void of white.

He walked for a bit and realized it was futile. He sat down and refused to move. Just when he was sitting and had given up, he was swallowed and fell for a long time before he opened his eyes again. He had, however, been thrown into another white void. The only difference was that this one had a door. He walked towards the door, feeling disoriented. Just when he was about to open it, the door moved. He chased after the door, but the closer he got, the further it got. He got tired as time went by and slowed down. Then the void swallowed him again. He let himself go, and this time, when he woke up, he was back to reality.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor. His eyes took in the area around him. He was in the combat arena where they had been playing tag of war. The arena was cold and empty now, and he shot up into a sitting position.

“You missed dagger practice with instructor Bekuro, but don’t worry, I made sure he did not attend it too.” A voice said from a distance behind him. He turned around quickly. N’varu Neni was sitting in a meditative position on one of the raised platforms.

“What are you doing here?” Sagiri asked, stepping back. He did not even have the strength to defend himself. After the display with the arrow and bow, the power inside him was silent.

“You are the one who passed out on my shoulders.” N’varu Neni said in a flat voice. Sagiri stepped back when N’varu jumped down from the platform and walked towards him.

“What do you mean you made sure Instructor Bekuro did not go to the training ground? Did you kill him?” Sagiri asked wearily. N’varu laughed for a whole minute, looking at Sagiri as if he had grown another head.

“You think I’m strong enough to kill a senior instructor of Galka War Academy? You are more dumb than I thought, keeper.” N’varu answered.

“What did you do? And stop addressing me as keeper,” Sagiri said, taking another step back as N’varu approached.

“Nothing. I just caused a diversion. or did you want to get punished with more hours without sleep?”

“It’s none of your business!” Sagiri snapped. He still did not know what to do with N’varu. He did not know whether he was a foe or friend. The power inside him, powering the archive, had not called him an enemy, and it had never once lied to him before. Was it hesitation or cowardice on his part? He had been looking for evidence that he had ties to someone, yet when he made them all, what he wanted was to stay away from him.

“Whatever, kid. Keep lying to yourself. Your body passed out just like last time to use your life force to heal itself.” He started, and Sagiri moved his muscles around, and truthfully, the soreness from earlier was gone, and the burning pain in his chest was gone too. “It, however, will kill you if you keep putting your body through too much strain, causing the one inside you to heal you.”

“The one…?” Sagiri asked, feeling antsy.

“You can’t run away from the truth keeper. At least let me help you so you don’t turn into a puppet for him. He is neither good nor evil, but he might take advantage of you when you are weak and do things out of your control.” How did he know all that? Sagiri wondered. The archive inside of him had taken advantage of his tiredness and absorbed a whole book, causing him to lose control late. “I see you have already experienced it.”

“How do you know all that?” Sagiri asked, feeling even more on edge. He had lived his life waiting to find someone who knew the hidden part of him, and now that he had found him, he did not like it.

“Is it not clear to you yet, keeper? I only live my life to protect you, and if I fail, I am as good as dead.” He said as if it were a promise, and he was willing to follow it to death. He then pulled the zipper in the middle of his chest, exposing his stomach. markings that his archive could not decipher were written across the chest. “Do you know what these are?” he asked, and Sagiri shook his head. He zipped his combat suit back on before he turned around to face the exit of the arena.

“You will come to know. It is almost time for supper. You should not miss it. Your body needs it.” He finished his voice going cold, and he disappeared through the exit, leaving Sagiri with more questions than the first time. Now he had added another thing to his list of things to find out. He had to find out the meaning behind N’varu Neni’s tattoo. For the first time, he had perceived an emotion from him apart from nostalgia. It was sadness and pain. He was hiding deep pain behind him, and Sagiri was weirdly very familiar with his sadness and pain.

He was still in a daze when he walked into the dining wing. He had barely made it through the door when Kiuga snatched him, forcing him to walk in line in front of him.

“I see that N’varu is finally done babysitting you.” He started in Sagiri’s ear. Sagiri was used to his lack of restraint, and he just went with the flow. The guy was bold enough to bother Kaka Asakana every day. He did not stand a chance. “He almost bit my finger off when I tried to check if you were dead with how unresponsive you looked. He did not even let Miss Lakiya move close to you. He was that protective of you the other time you fainted. He even stayed with you overnight, refusing to heed any instructor’s commands to leave you to the healing team. He got punished in the suspension chamber for half a day for that.”

He what?” Sagiri asked, taken aback at the new piece of information. Why could N’varu go through all that for him? That could not make sense if he wanted to kill him.

“He did not tell you? That N’varu is as tight-mouthed as they come. Did you guys know each other before coming to Galka War Academy?” Kiuga asked curiously. “The way he goes hard for you is the same way Kaka would die for me…” He barely finished before a blow landed on top of his head.

“Stop daydreaming.” Kaka groaned. He had been walking in front of them the whole time. It was controlled, but it was a heavy blow. Kiuga, however, seemed to have received thousands of those, and he ignored it and started talking while he struggled to breathe.

“So Sagiri the blind, do you and N’varu know each other?” Sagiri could not understand why the guy mixed deaf and blind, but he let it go anyway. Sagiri thought about the question long and hard. He did not know N’varu before Galka, yet he always felt a sense of familiarity when he was close to him.

“We are familiar,” Sagiri said, trying to find the word to put on the feeling.

“I knew it. That guy looked like a lion protecting his cubs from prey when i tried to check your pulse…”

“Next!” the server announced.

“Seven servings,” Kiuga said, going to receive his food, but waited for him.

“Three servings.” Sagiri said next but realized Kaka was standing beside Kiuga, “… and a half,” he added the last part carefully, and Kaka muttered something under his breath. The guy was carrying twenty servings, and if he wasn’t full, he could go back for more.

At the table, it was even worse because members from team 25 were gathered again. This time, even Zazarie and Bukata were in attendance. Even Kaka looked curious, and Sagiri could almost smell the question they wanted.

“Why did you not tell us you are good at archery?” It was Ulekai, and he held an accusing tone. He was the first to speak, and he was pouting.

“Because I am not,” Sagiri said, and scoffs filled the table. “… I just saw my stepfather practice, and I picked it up, but I am not good at it.” He finished, but with the destroyed bullseye and the mark on the wall of the arena where the arrow went in, begged to differ. He must have been too deep I the memory, the power inside him fueled the speed and accuracy of the arrow,”

“You know you do not have to hide how good you are?” Kiuga said. “It’s been a while since someone bit me in archery,” he bragged, and Kaka shot him a glare. He was clearly egging him on because Kaka was the best in weaponry. Mention any weapon, and he is good at it.

“Teach me,” Zazarie said. it was the first time he had had him speak. The guy was big with an always disinterested look. He was among those who did not forfeit the game, but it was not personal.

“He can’t.” A voice joined the table. “Sagiri has suffered from an illness since he was young, which has reduced his stamina greatly. As you saw that day and today, whenever he uses too much strength or concentration, he collapses,” he continued the lie without missing a beat. It was not completely a lie, however, but it was enough to convince the others. Besides, they had witnessed it twice, and there was no denying it.

“Why did you not say that too?” Kiuga asked as if Sagiri had betrayed him.

“I wanted a fresh start,” Sagiri said in the Korun tongue, making sure he didn’t sound perfect just yet. It was the first time he had spoken the Korun dialect and not the Tagayia language. What he said, however, was partly true. He did not want to live a life as the weird kid people avoided back in his village. He wanted a fresh start to be able to make a friend or two and even one day get to join in the festivities.

“What a waste of good skills on a weak body,” Kaka said, standing on his feet. “Three and a half servings and your attempt at korun are both shameful,” Kaka said, voice full of irritation, before he walked away from the table.

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