"How far have you progressed?" Grandpa asked.
4 days passed since me and Tsuki started to try and gain over the horses' trust. There was no progress. Every day, the black horse would try to attack me while the grey horse didn't listen to any of Tsuki's commands. We realized soon enough that maybe they could only understand my family's language, but multiple, non-verbal communication attempts via directing the grey horse in a way that would make it walk or turn were unsuccessful.
My patience slowly ran out. I hated things I couldn't control nor influence, and the horses were just that. I blamed inexperience and my lack of knowledge for not being able to progress in any way. Not being taught anything about a new field of expertise made us struggle and risk possible outcomes where the horses would not trust us anymore.
I ignored grandpa, he wouldn't have helped me anyway. He understood that distracting me was unnecessary. He simply walked back to his house, carrying a basket filled with vegetables.
The black horse charged at me as soon as grandpa left. 'How is it that he has the horse's trust?' I wondered. I jumped over the horse, then again, I did it after that too. For the last 4 days, I jumped, dodged and evaded the horses charges and strikes. It was a good training method though, I had to admit.
Tsuki on the other hand was always slightly cautious of the black horse whenever she attempted to do anything with the grey one. She didn't need to struggle physically, just mentally. And even she admitted that she was growing more accustomed of potential danger, something that she would only do when we met people on our first long part of our journey. I hoped she would always be cautious, be ready for any threat that might not even be present at the moment.
I didn't tell grandpa and uncle the story about Tana, the first Princess. It was better, I didn't trust them fully at any point of our stay. And the pursuers we thought we had, never appeared. I still believed that they were carrying out and unorthodox way of pursuing their target. There was also the possibility that they were just gathering intel about us.
"Niam!" Tsuki attracted my attention.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Can we go and sit somewhere to discuss our situation?"
'I'm fucking sick of this damn horse, a bit more of his recklessness and I might just snap and kill the damn thing.'
"Yeah, we can do that." I responded.
Tsuki smiled softly as she tucked a strand of her behind her left ear. She then put down a basket and cleaned her hands.
We sat on a block of hay, the march-sky was mostly cloudy. The temperature was colder than usual, the planet's temperature sank naturally after the impact.
"What is it that you want to discuss?" I asked.
"Our way forward, can you explain again?"
"We will get these damn horses to listen to us first. Then, we will make our way to the northern border, anywhere that lets us pass without much difficulty. After we enter the Asian Empire, the real struggle begins. I doubt that the people there will act so honorable and helpful like the people here. And for the last part of our journey, we will have to sail across the sea to old Japan somehow. I'm not sure if the people out there are already sailing back and forth."
Tsuki nodded in understanding. Luckily, Tsuki was smart and found most of what I said reasonable. 'I wonder if I would've taken anyone else other than Tsuki with me on this journey.'
"What do we do in case of... let's say, an accident?"
"An accident of what kind?"
"What if we get seperated? Or one of us gets injured badly or even killed?"
"I promised you I would not let you get harmed so easily, but just in case that happens, I will do anything I can to keep you alive and well. And in case one of us dies, let's assume I do, take my blades and go to the nearest place of safety. If I die here in the Arabic Empire, I would recommend you stick around here, join the army maybe, find Omar, tell him our story and about your ability. He will make sure you're taken care of. If I die while we're in the Asian Empire, do what you must to survive, do anything. Become someone that will reach their destination no matter what, that's the only thing I could recommend."
"Should I inform your grandpa of your passing if you die in this Land? And should I try to find members of Clan Henka if you die in the Asian Empire? Maybe give them your swords?"
"You can do that. But only look for them if you have my Katana. The blade can be in any condition, only the steel-handle must survive." I paused. "What about you? Is there anything you would want me to do after you possibly die? Someone I could try and find perhaps?"
Tsuki sighed. She was clearly sad and scared. Her usual, shining-grey eyes looked like the moon that shone through a thin cloud.
"I-... Want to be buried next to somebody. I don't want to be alone. And as for a person you could find... there is no one. My extended family died in the 3rd World War. My parents after the impact, and as for Kaito..."
Tsuki became anxious. She was still grieving after her family. She didn't tell me much about them. 'Who might Kaito be?'
"Kaito?"
"My... younger brother." She revealed.
'Brother, huh?'
"Is he... my condolences."
"I don't know! We were on the bridge to the Asian Empire, but suddenly, the bridge collapsed and he fell into the lake. All was hazy until I came to next to a girl you later came to know as Melina. After I became a Bearer, I tried my hardest to use my Salan ability, but it has limitations too. I don't know for sure, but if he is still alive, I don't want... I want him to be on a side that you see as most just." Tsuki went into a fit of regret, frustration and anger.
'I killed the person who took care of her. Why is she even with me? Hmm, way more unpredictable than I thought. She even thinks I'm someone her brother shouldn't be with.'
I acknowledged her request.
"What was his name again? Your brother's, I mean."
"Name? Wait! Name!?"
"What?" I asked surprised.
"We haven't given the horses names."
That was the moment were I felt the most stupid in my entire life. My mind was clouded by survival, anger and suspicion. 'Has my mind forgotten normality?' I wondered.
"Well, let's go and come up with a name."
***
*Neigh!*
'This should be quite fitting.'
"Don't think that your name will be something you can be proud of, Ganko"
The black horse looked into my eyes. Of course it wasn't aware what the name meant, but it felt that something had changed. The black horse was much calmer than before, it didn't charge at me after I named it.
"Looks like it worked. Will you let me ride on you now?"
Just as I was about to climb on it, he jumped and kicked in all directions. It rebelled against the idea to of being controlled. Its stamina near limitless. I used Supreme-Control and never lost my grip on the horse's back. This act of rebellion lasted almost 3 hours until Ganko finally decided to calm down. And instead of just accepting defeat, it laid down, resisting the inevitable outcome of being ridden on.