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 are locked on their prey. There were thirty six boys and twenty four girls. Without Sagiri the number of boys was cut to thirty five. Then hunters had to take down at least two prey. I could do well to avoid Kaka. I wasn't scared of him but still I'd hate to be on his bad side. My eyes were trained on the shorter boys, Tisiki Ochago.
After the second of hesitation and delay I released the ball to the other end with all my might. 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 queen'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 I had to throw the ball as hard as possible to reduce the time from one uki to another.
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 she 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 the queen's hand the hunters chased the prey and the only safe place for those who didn't make it to uki was in the center where if my ball or the queen's ball touched you, you were disqualified. The queen passed the ball to me after the hunters took down the prey that weren't at the Ukis nor at the cage
(Cage-between me and the Lua/ just between the two who wielded the ball at the centre)
I was feeling bold and with my two shields behind me. I was totally indestructible. For someone who hated to exercise I loved to win. I jumped in the air so as not to miss the ball from the queen which was slightly off. I surprised myself with that move and when I was sure I had grasped the ball. I let myself fall. That graceful warrior landing never happened though because pain soon shot up my ankle. I yelped as I landed awkwardly, almost falling forward but my shield steadied me.
I whispered a thank you allowing myself a moment to soak up the pain before focusing my mind on the game. I wasn't going to be a burden to my team and so with all the strength I could master I let the ball fly to the other end but not at the queen but at the weakest link Tisiki, he hadn't made it to safety and he was a foot away from the Uki when my ball landed. I hit him square in the head eliminating him. But my 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 me like I had committed the worst crimes of all.
"Galaka!" He bellowed his lips pulled behind his teeth in a snarl. His voice shook the whole court. His eyes landed on me in a melting glare. I shuddered in fear but the shy girl beside me looked as if she was admiring kaka beneath the fear. She was from the north and I guessed they loved the display of such bruteness. The women of the north were mostly docile and shy compared to their men who were brute beasts.
(Galaka- 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 was brutal for picking a curse word so close to my home. I was going to achieve womanhood in a month and get my tribal mark. I was supposed to get my initiation right when I reached sixteen but since my parents were busy I had to wait a year. I won't get offended for being called half a woman then, just you wait Kaka. I pouted in my head but trembled in fear on the outside and avoided meeting his gaze.
"Kaka! Watch your language or I'll disqualify you!" Miss Lakiya called him out, adding salt to the injury. Did she want me dead or something? Leave it to Miss Lakiya to call anyone to order.
The prey was now down to twenty four and the hunters down to twenty three. That's because Kaka had eliminated one illegally.Kaka sneered in disgust at the mere weakness of his fellow men falling for a woman. Our number was going to drop when the ball landed in my hands next. It could mark the fourth time of passing and any hunter who hadn't eliminated a prey was eliminated. Much to Kaka's delight the number of hunters was reduced to eleven plus me, a cripple. I put all my weight on my right foot but I wasn't some damsel who could give my injured leg priority over my team.
The queen released the ball again and in the wrong trajectory. I tried to jump on one foot but it was too far that not even one of my shields could catch it. Something moved in a plur 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.
There was a moment of silence as the tables turned for a moment. Everyone knew the amount of power kaka wilded 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. I was not a seer but I hundred percent without a doubt knew the ball was going to land on me. I turned my eyes to sneak a look in Kaka's direction and he was looking at me with an evil glimmer in his narrowed eyes.
Everyone held their breath and I could even hear Tale whisper a prayer for me. Can't he just let it go? I'm just a new girl. Kaka however didn't give two cares as to who I was. I could have been an adorable infant and he could have still excited his revenge. If his mother wasn't a woman I could have thought he hated all women at that moment because of what he did next. Kaka jumped two good feet in the air like a trained warrior which I knew he was because every northern tribe had to teach their young men the art of war, to know that they were warriors and protectors of the tribes. That tradition hadn't died down yet.
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 fit 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 me 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. I screamed helplessly curling my body on instinct to cover my most vital organs from the expected impact. Everyone else squealed as they watched in horror as the ball flew towards me. At that moment I wished I had a shell like a turtle or perhaps a good Samaritan could jump in front of me and save me.
I have never been lucky and wasn't lucky at that moment. The ball was too fast for anyone to block anyway. My heartbreak escalated as adrenaline pumped in every cell of my being for that split second before it landed.
Thud!!
Silence!!
I screamed. No matter how much I curled to reduce the impact I couldn't escape the pain that tore through me when the ball landed right above my hipbone on my left leg. That wasn't the most painful part but in my moment of trying to escape the ball I put too much weight on my left foot making my already twisted ankle feel like I stepped on a hot nail.
I 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.
I barely heard Miss Lakiya yell a disqualification to Kaka before she ordered two disqualified ladies to help me get off the field. My leg was on fire and I thought my hip was going to fall off. I hopped on one leg as they helped hold me up on both sides of my shoulders.
"The game continues!" Miss Lakiya yelled again. I wished to stay and see the boys lose but I was in too much suffering. I needed to get a painkiller from the nurse or I was going to meet my creator. That was how much pain I was in. What if Kaka had broken some internal organ?
I tried to hop on the first step of the indoor court but my whole body sprung with pain and if the two ladies weren't holding me up I could have crumpled to the floor. A tear escaped my eye and I cursed Kaka until his second generation or just him. I wasn't going to stoop to his level of cruelty and ruin his maybe evil babie's lives.
"I help" a deep voice said from above us in a strange ascent and the girls beside froze. I looked up from my weird, half-standing half-leaning posture and a gasp left my lips.