The Unblessed

Chapter 4

Iwaizumi's POV
"Okay. Let's keep going." I said as everyone was waking up. I let them wake up before we continued towards Grindon. I'm not sure what to do with Oikawa once we get there. We need to liberate the city from the threshold, and we have to do it with haste. If we linger too long, the power of the glyphs will begin to fade quickly, and we will not be able to get them back. So, Akaashi will need to be careful of how he uses his magic.

I believed Akaashi was the key to our mission success. He is a red mage which is very rare. Very few Blessed are given red glyphs with the power to stop and move time. Though it may be only for a short time, it was still useful. Every city, town, or village we have and will visit that is surrounded by thresholds, Akaashi has been the key. He drains all his magic, but it's always enough time for us to do what we need. Hopefully he will hold up today as well.

Bokuto's POV
I was a bit worried about how Akaashi was doing. He was the only red mage we had, so his role was important. But he still looked tired from the last city we had liberated. It really took a lot out of him to freeze time. And he needed more than just two nights to fully recover...

"Bokuto? Are you alright?" Akaashi asked with a small smile. I looked over at him startled before nodding.

"Oh. I'm fine! How are you doing Akaashi...??"

"Please don't worry about me Bokuto. I'm okay,"

"Well, don't push yourself too hard...! If you're too tired, then we'll just tell Iwaizumi."

"Really, I'm fine Bokuto." He said with a gentle hum. I just gave in, but I still couldn't help but worry. The Liberation knew that Akaashi and I were together. We were together before we even joined. So it made me worry when he exhausted himself like this, even if it was for a good cause.

It was soon that we got to Grindon. Iwaizumi ordered Oikawa to stay out of the way as we crossed the threshold barrier. The effects of the threshold's glyph sucking magic was always immediate. And it was awful. So. Guess it was important we hurry up.

"Okay. Akaashi. Are you ready?" Iwaizumi asked when we saw the guards standing by the sphere that was harvesting people's glyph magic.

"Yes."

"Good. Sakusa. Stay with him." Iwaizumi said. Sakusa nodded in understanding as the rest of us, aside from Oikawa, headed onward. The soldiers saw us and ran forward. I heard a small gust of wind before the soldiers froze in their places. I glanced back at Akaashi who was focusing with Sakusa trying to keep Akaashi's strength up.

"Bokuto, snap out of it!" Kuroo said. I returned my attention to what we had to do and joined the others as they took the opportunity to get rid of the frozen guards. Once they were down, we focused on and destroyed the glass sphere.

It shattered and the glyph magic spread out. Time resumed again and the soldiers on the ground who weren't dead groaned in pain. Iwaizumi started talking, but I ignored him and ran over to Akaashi who ended up collapsing.

"Akaashi...!"

"He's okay. He's just weakened." Sakusa said while looking at me. I nodded and picked  Akaashi up as we all walked back over to the group.

"Iwaizumi. We need to find a place for him to rest now."

"No. We press on. There's endless cities that are in the same situation and the longer we leave them, the harder they become." Iwaizumi said. I frowned, looking down quietly at Akaashi when Oikawa suddenly spoke up.

"Let him rest."

"What?"

"Look, he literally passed out from being worked so hard. If we get to the next place before he's well, you could get him killed!"

"Who are you to tell me what we are doing."

"Don't you care about your men here?"

"Of course I do."

"Then let Akaashi rest. Even Sakusa's magic isn't going to help him much like this." Oikawa argued. Iwaizumi sighed and gave in. He told me and Oikawa to go find the nearest inn while the rest of them went to check on the people.

Oikawa and I headed off. Oikawa stayed pretty quiet until I took in a small breath and glanced at him while we walked.

"Hey. Thank you."

"Sure. Is he going to be okay?"

"Sakusa said he should be okay. Just drained out and tired. This happens each time. And. He always recovers..." I said, sounding almost like I was trying to convince myself. It was true that Akaashi has recovered each time thus far. But I'm afraid he'll get pushed too far one time and he won't wake up.

"Well. I'm sure that Sakusa knows what he's talking about." Oikawa assured as we found the inn. When we walked in, the people recognized us and thanked us for helping and offered us a free room. The good thing about being in the Liberation is that we get free stuff. Not that that's what it was about.

When we got to the room, I laid Akaashi down while Oikawa said he was going to go on a walk. I nodded and stayed in the room with Akaashi for a few hours until everyone returned.

"Iwaizumi. Can I talk to you?" I asked quietly, Iwaizumi following me out of the room while the others rested.

"What is it?"

"Thanks for letting us stay a while. I think you should ease up on Oikawa."

"Excuse me?"

"He may not be so great in battle or whatever. But he seems like a decent guy. So, try not to chase him off so fast. Besides. We need him."

"Whatever. Get some rest. Depending on Akaashi's condition in the morning, we leave as soon as possible." He said and walked off. I watched him go before shaking my head. I was quite thankful for Oikawa here. He was helping save Akaashi's life. So as far as I'm concerned, I'll use mine to protect him. He's one of us.