My legs were jelly as I stood up. Hoots and cheers rang across the air and everyone swept their eyes across the arena to find me. My cheeks grew hot and sweat ran down my fingers. I stumbled across the aisle. Wishes of good luck broke through the noise as I passed by.

Perhaps it was the tension growing in my belly or the assault of my hearing, but the atmosphere was stifling. Every step I took down the stairs was one that threatened to push me back. By the time I reached the field, I could barely stand. Though I knew there were only a hundred or so spectators, a million eyes seemed to watch my every move.

The Minister gave me a nod from the other side of the terrain. He turned back to the raffle machine. The crowd fell silent, a hundred breaths held at once. Minister Banji tugged the lever. The papers inside the contraption began to spin, with clickety-clicks and vibrations I could only hear now that I was closer.

Get it together. I took a deep breath, willing myself to not drop down in a faint. You can do this. I had to clear my head. I had to figure out the best way to get to the next round, besides simply winning that is. Think, think! Alright, Swordsman Natsumi mentioned they’ll score us on readiness to engage, ingenuity and tenacity. I didn’t know how literal she was, but it was something. So as long as I attacked first, did some quick thinking and pushed on despite any injuries, I should be fine.

My hands clenched into a fist. I could do this.

The raffle machine stopped spinning and let out a piece of paper.

‘Akira Sagakuru,’ The Minister cried out. The crowd burst into cheers, whistles and hoots joining the fray.

I forced myself to stare at the ground. The moment I looked up, at all the people who’d stare down at me, I might puke. No, I’d rather see my opponent when she reached the field.

A clack-clack of boots came down the stairs I’d taken. I shifted around, leaving enough space between me and the other fighter. She waved at the crowd, a smirk decorating her pointed features. Bright red hair framed her face like flames. A splattering of freckles covered her pale complexion, all the way from her nose to her shoulders, even her forearms. Everything she wore, including her leather armour and boots, were black.

Akira winked at me, and I nodded in response. While she looked tough, that might just boost my tenacity scores.

Minister Banji walked back to his seat. ‘Remember, you must not aim to kill or maim. While injuries are expected, anything permanent will result in a loss of at least twenty points.’ He fixed his eyes on the two of us in tandem. ‘Killing of course, will disqualify you, and subject you to a hearing and possible arrest. Any destruction of property will cut down your points by ten per damaged item.’ He pointed at a few swordsmen in the crowds. ‘While we've enlisted protection for the bystanders, any attacks that go over the field will result in disqualification.’ He nodded at the two of us. ‘Any move that would result in a win in a real battle is a win here.’

We nodded at the rules and faced each other, waiting for the signal to start. I drew out my staves, their sleek wood glinting in the sunlight. Akira took out what looked like several blades in both hands before flipping them open. War fans! Kei’d shown me a few in his mum’s shop.

My heart beat against my chest. Calm down! This was no time for nerves.

Minister Banji clapped his hands. ‘You may begin!’

With a spark of inner spirit, I leapt. Akira crouched low as I brought down a staff, using one of her fans to deflect the blow. Flipping beside her. I aimed the other staff at her torso. But before it could go far, her fan swatted it away. I stayed rooted to my spot, forcing her to react to my strikes. She was fast. But not as fast as Kei.

Sometimes I managed to graze her. Her defence was impeccable, but a single opening was all I needed. Yet when my lungs began to sear, I figured out the folly of my plan.

I was tiring myself out.

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That was probably her plan too. As my attacks grew slower, a smirk grew on her face. This is bad. I had to get away. Maybe I could figure another strategy before I ran out of stamina.

A burst of inner spirit propelled me away from her.

Before I could get steady on my feet, Akira advanced. Spinning her fans, she ran toward me. In a fraction of a second, the sharp blades were within a foot of my body. I somersaulted, above her, then behind her. My breath came out in pants. Damn it. So much for conserving energy.

She didn’t let me catch a breath. Like a fireball, Akira came at me nonstop, forcing me to jump over her as soon as I’d landed somewhere. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on. Every time I leapt, my inner spirit came in slower bursts.

Think. Think!

As I jumped over her once more, an idea sparked in my head. Her back’s uncovered. Mid jump, I brought down my staff between her shoulder blades. But she spun around, blade deflecting my attack. Damn her reflexes.

Then perhaps, I needed a decoy. Hope this idea works.

Working between jumps, I lugged out my hoop of wires and slung it around my right hand. Now was the tricky part. With as much inner spirit as I could let out, scraping at the bottom of my reserves, I leapt far away from Akira. I landed beside a pond at one end of the field. As she ran toward me, her fans in a deadly spin, I tied a knot around the notched part of one of my staves. Just as I pulled the wire tight, the blades were upon me. The remainder of my inner spirit burst within my toes. But before I could jump, a fan came at my torso. I deflected it with my left hand.

In a flash of searing red, the other slashed through my arm. Before she could get far, I leapt away.

My arm shook as hot blood fell on the grass. Sharp pain radiated up my forearm, all the way to my shoulder. I clenched my teeth. It’ll all be over soon! Remember, tenacity. The fireball flew toward me again, but this time I stood in a balanced stance. My heart beat loud in my ears. Now or never.

I threw my staff over her head, then pulled the wire.

Whether it was because she was focused on me or because she thought I’d missed the staff throw, but she couldn’t move away in time. I was counting on that. After all, if that trick worked for Kei, it could work for me. A dull crunch came from her legs, and she fell to the floor.

Dropping the other staff, I pulled out a dagger with my good hand and held it against her throat. Akira scowled.

‘Tahro Akagi wins!’ Minister Banji’s voice rang out. The crowd burst into cheers even louder than before.

Relief washed over me like a waterfall. I did it! Sheathing my dagger, I grasped the wound on my other arm tight. Blood stuck against my fingers and pain shot up to my neck, pulsating stronger every second as my adrenaline decreased. Medics rushed into the field, one helping Akira up and the other wrenching my arm away. I yelped as she cleaned the wound. She bandaged it, then shoved a few pills into my other hand. After some more poking and prodding, with whispered instructions to apply antiseptic and check for infections, they left us.

The judges discussed among themselves for a few more seconds, then raised their scoreboards, first for me, then for Akira. The Minister dished out the most points, giving both of us a ten. Swordsman Natsumi was harder to please, giving me a seven and Akira a six. In total I scored fifty-one points, including the ten for winning, and Akira received forty. I hope that’d be enough to put me in the top thirty-six.

‘Good match, kid,’ said Akira as we trudged up the stairs. Now that we were close up and weren’t trying to hurt each other, I noticed she was an inch or two taller than me and maybe a year older. She reached out a gloved hand. ‘Sorry about your arm.’

‘Don’t fret, it happens.’ And hurts like hell. I smiled and shook her hand with my non-injured one. ‘It was a great match.’

A few more steps and several congratulations later, I was back in my seat. Ahio whispered to me all the juicy details, how everyone thought I was going to bleed to death and that I’d clearly lost my marbles when I threw my staff up. Despite how long it had seemed down there, he said we’d only fought for six minutes. I chuckled at his commentary.

By the time it was eight at night, whether from exhaustion, the pills or both, I was knackered. Besides two fifteen minute breaks, the matches lasted the whole day. Each one only took five to ten minutes, but choosing the contestants and scoring the fights stretched out the time. A few matches got cut short when ranged weapons flew at the audience, disqualifying whoever threw them. Someone damaged the stairs and lost ten points for that. And the last fight was to end a tie between a kid who got thirty-sixth place and another who was in thirty-seventh.

Kei’s match was one of the shortest, with his boomerang trick taking out his opponent seconds after they began. Kaede’s lasted for seven minutes. She used moves I’d never seen before, linking up her hook swords to have a longer range. Kei scored fifty-nine points, getting second place on the list, and Kaede got fifty-two, coming in at twenty-eighth. I was right behind her at twenty-ninth.

Despite all the excitement and victories I’d had today, the moment I dropped on my bed to a blissful sleep was the highlight.