Shadow Thief

21 - A Shoulder to Lean On

I showed the guard my badge and, of course, he had to do a double take. Levi waved goodbye as he went out into the arena where they took him to pick out his weapon.

I, on the other hand, headed back to the seats. I plumped down next to Theo and watched the people down below rearrange the field. Nothing big, they just put the rocks in different places so no one had the chance of memorizing the field before the fight.

"So," Theo said, I turned to see him looking at me, "how do you think Levi's going to do?"

I looked back at the arena to see Levi marching over to his place of the war left side of the arena, by the chain link fence. In his hands, he held the staff he usually used during practice.

"He'll be fine," I replied. "Actually, he might be a bit shocked to notice that he's much better than the rest. Well, probably. I haven't fought the other teams, so I'm not to sure about it. Why am I having such a hard time saying this? All of you are way better than when we first fought."

"Really?" Mercy said from the row of seats above us. "I haven't noticed."

Bryce spoke up from besides her, this time. "Yeah, you keep kicking our asses whenever we fight."

"And we still fight just as long against each other," Mila added.

"That's because you're growing together," I answered. "And I just keep fighting more seriously every time I go up against you, so of course you wouldn't notice any difference. But-look, has Levi fought this guy before?"

I motioned to the guy at the opposite side of the ring. He held a single thin sword in his left hand. Swords seemed to be a popular choice to all of the trainees.

"Yeah," Mila answered, "they fought each other durning the final examine last year. It's the test we take to get into this place."

I nodded. "When he comes back, try asking him if there are any differences compared to last year."

The whistle sounded as the fight started. Knowing that he was the type of person to go into immediate offense, he was alreay joggin towards the other side of the arena. He stuck to the rocks, like I'd told him just as he went out into the field. He ran in a zigzag pattern.

Sword Guy was on offense too, searching for Levi, though he wasn't as well trained in field work. I'd specifically taught Levi that it's best to stay covered. Glad to see my teachings weren't completely wasted.

Levi found Sword Guy first. He went straight into attack mode. Approaching silently from behind, he thrust his staff into the others back, landing a direct blow to his lower back, right below the ribs, to the left of the spine.

Having been on the other end of that blow, though from a bullet and a dagger instead, I knew it really hurt. Don't worry, those weren't in the same days. They both hurt just as much. Strangely enough, however, they were in the exact same spot.  

Back to the fight, Sword Guy went running, using his free right hand to hold onto the spot of the hit. Yeah, that'd defiantly leave a mark. Levi, on the other hand, was chasing after him, a grin spread across him face. Like an animal on the hunt, I thought, feeling my own Cheshire smile spreading.

When Sword Guy knew that running was pointless, he turned to face Levi. His attack plan was smart, really. He stopped at a random time, spinning around with his sword drawn and pointed at Levi. Levi, however, reacted fast. His staff came up to protect his head from any injury. At the same time, he pushed out, moving Sword Guy away.

While Sword Guy was catching his balance, Levi's body had already adjusted for the next attack. He ran up to the guy, all while pulling his staff from behind him, like a javelin, and spearing him in the gut. With a grunt, Sword Guy hit the ground. He was down for the count.