Kallias ran his fihrough the rings of water. The disruption did no damage to the shape, returning to the inal form after he finished. A sier sphere pulled away from the ring, the same size as previously used. “I’m thinking it’s time to increase the stakes.” Grinning, Kallias uhe orb at Saki.

  The water suddenly disappeared from Saki’s sight. “What?!” Her eyes widened in surprise, but didn’t have a ce for any more of a rea. Something heavy and sharp hit her shoulder knog her babsp; The force caught her off guard and nearly put her to the ground. Only a brag leg, from preparing to run, mao save her.

  After the impact, Saki clutched her arm to her shoulder. ‘It hurts…It hurts!’ It surprised her. All of the beatings she took from the water before numbed her, but her shoulder still hurt. Saki pulled her hand away to look at her shoulder. Something red distracted her before she examined her shoulder. ‘Blood…on my hand?’ It wasn’t a lot of blood, but it was clearly from her shoulder. Another round of shock hit Saki as she realized the significe of the blood.

  Her eyes panned back to her body. The tan vas of the tunic darkened around a crimson hole in her shoulder. Saki brushed her fingers over the wound. Stings from the open flesh bit through her body. It was shallow still, but Kallias wounded her with a siabsp; ‘Dammit…’

  Several more beads of water formed up in front of Kallias. “I hope you’ll show me something more iing now.” Disappearing from sight almost immediately, the water sped towards Saki before she could respond. Kallias looked only slightly pleased by the se of Saki colpsed to one knee.

  Grindieeth through the pain bolting up through her leg, Saki fought to keep everything in trol. The whole fight was her pabsp; She couldn’t get started. ‘I feel like a helpless child again, uo do anything, but fil around.’ Saki closed her eyes. Her mind pushed back the pain in her legs. It couldn’t stop her. She forced herself to stand. ‘I’ll keep getting back up, like always!’

  Chapter 181 – Guardian’s Stand

  Hushed whispers echoed through the rge dojo. Young children filled the front half of the room. They all obediently sat on the floor. The instructathered them all together before their lessons began. He had a young girl following behind him. “Listen up! We have a udent starting today. She is new so I expect all of you to help her!”

  “Yes, master!”

  The middle-aged man turned around and pushed the girl up in front of everyone. “Introduce yourself.”

  Before the sea of eyes and myriad of expressions, the girl hesitated opening her mouth. No words were needed for her to see them. They already passed judgment on her. Her words wouldn’t reach them any longer. She wao run away.

  A strong wind blew in from the open doorway. It pulled at her hair and an instinctive hand came up to draw it back out of her face, however she lear was unnecessary. Her hair fell bato pbsp; It sent images through her mind digging up emotions. She stifled it all and straightened up her babsp; “Saki Furukawa. Please take care of me.”

  Murmurs broke out from the crowd of children. Ma watg to see what she would do. They looked a little curious and a little disgusted.

  “What’s with her face?”

  “She doesn’t look Japanese.”

  “So she wants to py pretend?”

  The instructor stepped forward. His mere presence was enough to get the children quiet. “Start doing the warm up exercises!” He motio one of the older kids to help direct the group. Ohey begaurned back to Saki. “Find a spot and join in. Everyone learns through doing rather thaure.”

  “Yes, master!” Saki scurried off around the block of children searg for an opening. She thought she had found one, but it suddenly filled up as one kid shifted. It made her push on. Several more openings disappeared for Saki in simir fashion. Eventually, she gave up and stood behind everyone. She watched them and followed their as.

  The couple of hours progressed in like fashion for Saki through all of the lessons. When her father came to pick her up some of the kids still stood around. They all watched her w how she might react.

  “How did it go, Saki?” asked her father, kneeling down as she approached.

  Saki ran up to him. He gave her a light pat on her head. “It was a lot of fun, dad!” she answered with a cheerful expression. “I want to e back!”

  “It wasn’t too hard for you?”

  She shook her head at him. Sweat dripped down her face, but she only gave him a smile. “Yuki showed me some of the things he knows from his csses! So it wasn’t hard!”

  Her father’s face was difficult to read, but gave her a pleasant grin. “I’m gd to hear that. I’ll talk to your mother and bring you back again.”

  “Thank you so much!” Saki added a little bouo show her excitement.

  He chuckled a little at his daughter’s enthusiasm. “Why don’t you go get your things? I’ll wait for you.”

  “I’ll be right back, dad!” She o him and ran back across the dojo to collect her bag. Her voice was loud enough that the kids staring from a distance heard her. Saki gnced over at them, cheg out their plicated expressions. She quickly gathered up her things and started babsp; They remained silent the eime. While walking back, Saki paused for a sed to meet their gazes. Her eyes narrowed sharply as though speaking for her. They all uood clearly, but remained quiet.

  Kallias summoned up even more of the water balls. He let them dance around in his palm, six in total. They orbited his palm ner than a marble. ‘A real sense of danger should bring out something new from her. It’s not going to be fun if there’s no real risk for myself.’ His free hand hovered over the orbs of water. Waiting out a few seds, Kallias gnced back up at Saki, still pulling herself back together. “Show me something new!” A flick from his finger uhe first sphere.

  Still groggy from the st attack, Saki barely caught sight of the ining attabsp; It moved too quickly still, her eyes saw nothing. Her body felt everything. The st struck her forehead, knog her off her feet. Saki fell ba the water with blood pooling in her wounds. It all caught her off guard. ‘I ’t see it…’

  ‘I ’t see it…he’s too fast for me,’ thought Saki, as she id on the floor of the dojo. After a month, the instructor let her begin participating in the sparring matches with the other kids. She insisted on going sooner, but he held her back.

  “She was stupid volunteering to fight him.”

  “That should knock that smile off her face.”

  Saki stared up at the wood ceiling briefly. She knew how it was going to eer thahers. ‘Is this how he feels? Is this what it’s like for him?’ It was important to her to know. She o uand him if she was going to protect herself.

  Once she felt tent with her answer, Saki pushed herself up from the floor. She tugged on her robes. The boy across from her waited on her. Nodding to him, she returo her stand prepared to accept his advance.

  “She lost again.”

  “It’s poio keep challenging him.”

  “She’s just some stupid wahinking she’s Japanese.”

  Saki tio challehe boy at every sparring matbsp; He beat her every time and like the rest of the kids, he took enjoyment in knog her down. However, he never spoke to her during the eime in css. The boy simply kept accepting as though it was his job out of everyoo show Saki her pce.

  “There she goes again.”

  “She never learns.”

  “A girl will never beat a boy.”

  Saki stood up again. She brushed off the fall she took as nothing. The look in her eye remained unged. She immediately went bato her stance demandiabsp; Her defiant look that never ged kept him ing babsp; He kept trying to knock it out of her. They all did, but it never disappeared.

  “Hey, Saki!” her father greeted, as he did with every end of css, “How was today?”

  Wiping sweat off with a towel around her neck, Saki, age eleven, beamed with a wide grin. “It was great! I’m definitely gettier!”

  “Gd to hear it! Just don’t g to challenge Yuki,” he teased.

  The expression on Saki ged for the briefest of moments before returning to her smile. “Don’t worry, dad! I wouldn’t do that! I’ll go get my stuff! Wait here!”

  Time passed in the css for Saki. She id on the floor once more staring at the same ceiling. It always looked the same to her. It was so very tall and always out of reabsp; Reach didn’t matter to her. Saki drew herself back up. The fall barely even fazed her anymore. She lost t of the times he threw or knocked her down. It was never about the t. ‘I won’t stop! He ’t stop me! None of you will stop me!’ Saki returo her stance waiting for the boy once more.

  “She should just give up.”

  The boy accepted her wish a on the offensive. They danced around each other. He tried frab, but she deflected him. Their fight sted lohan in the past. The boy saw how much Saki improved, but he still had the advantage. He was older, taller. It might have been a minute, but Saki was ba the flain.

  “It’s already been a year.”

  “She’ll never beat him.”

  “Look, she’s getting back up again.”

  “She never learns.”

  Saki dragged herself out of the water. Every part of her body felt drowned. Water g to her like a thick film unwilling to free itself. She didn’t care about the water. None of it mattered to her. She only o stop him. Saki dropped her foot down heavily. The impact kicked up water splitting the area around her. “Your water isn’t enough to keep me down!” Her body entered a familiar stanbsp; She lifted her arms up waiting to receive him.

  The stant unyielding look in Saki’s eyes bothered Kallias. ‘She hasn’t ged. Even now she’s got no sense of danger. There must be more she’s holding back, but I need something more to draw it out.’ His finger ran through the water and pulled out a droplet. It shaped and hardened for him quickly, but it had a pointed edge rather than being a perfect sphere. “Let’s test that will of yours!”

  Kallias released the water from his hold. A meter away from him a shockwave exploded from the soni as it surpassed the speed of the sound. It disappeared in the moment ripping echoes through the air, but it was already deyed. The water had long reached its target as the sound found it to their ears.

  It wasn’t until after Saki felt the shockwave from the water that she knew something was wrong. A sed ter, she felt a tearing through her abdomen. Thin trails of blood erupted from the front and back of Saki. Her eyes widened in shock realizing the pain in her body. Saki colpsed into the water, her eyes still wide with surprise and her mouth agape. Blood drained out of her quickly. Nothing remained in Saki’s eyes.