*Niam Henka*
"It is time, Tsuki." I informed.
Tsuki came out of her room. She looked like she usually did when deprived of sleep. But she had gotten used to being sleep deprived even more so than I was.
„Are the bags ready?"
„Yes."
„I hope you really tamed Ganko as you said you did. I have a hard time understanding how that stubborn horse would listen to anyone. You saw what I did, didn't you?"
„I wonder too. Maybe we were destined to ride on the other's horse."
„Maybe." I responded, handing the black dagger to Tsuki.
„You remember the daggers' meaning, right?" I asked.
„I do. Here."
Tsuki gave me the dagger that was linked to the grey horse, Gin's life. Once I held the grey dagger, I noticed how it weighed more than the black one. I preferred heavier weapons, something I took a liking to after the impact as I was able to alter how much earth's gravity affected the objects I used Supreme-Control on.
We needed to be fast, we couldn't risk encountering my uncle or my grandpa. I knew what my uncle's Salan ability was, but my grandpa remained a mystery.
***
„Here you go, Ganko." Tsuki approached Ganko.
The horse's attitude changed, it actually let Tsuki mount it.
„It's up to you, Gin. Don't let our plan fail because of you. I'll kill you if I you disobey." I threatened.
"Niam, you do know that you just threatened a horse?"
"I'm just..." I didn't finish the excuse I would've given.
I mounted Gin, and surprisingly, there were no complications. Gin behaved well, I was able to guide him with the reins.
The other horses in the stables grew uneasy, they felt that something was wrong. Soon, all the horses started kicking the walls and neighing loudly. We realized that it wouldn't take long for someone inside the house to notice.
We rode away.
Not even a minute later, we both felt Mana near the farm spread out in the ground. It was my uncle, he had woken up and had come to check the stables, only to find that Ganko and Gin were missing.
We had never ridden a horse before, only tried to. And now that we were doing it, we made a few mistakes. Tsuki would get caught off-guard by Ganko strength, and that led to her accelerating or decelerating in an instant. I was the one who had no problems at all, I even used Supreme-Control to make myself 'lighter'.
"Straight north?" Tsuki asked.
"Straight north."
Our time spent riding was free of any kind of conversation, we both had a lot to think about. For me, it was the family I may have in old Japan. 'I hope my mom's side didn't suffer so many losses, I need them to be mentally healthy. I wonder how many relatives I have on my mom's side.'
We passed a few villages and cities. Everytime we did, we risked getting caught riding horses we had no license for. 'How did they manage to create licences for horses so fast anyway?' I wondered.
When the night approached, I found ourselves a good place to stay. A tall, grass field that featured a few trees every few meters. We settled down under the tree at the highest point of the field. The horses began to eat grass while Tsuki stretched herself.
"It looks so beautiful, doesn't it?" Tsuki asked.
I looked into the distance. The blood-orange sunset color radiated itself on the grass field. The wind that blew in our direction made it seem like the sun was not that distant at all.
I always wondered how people that spent the majority of their time together would always have something to talk about. Me and Omar for example, we spent a lot of time together, be it in school or in our freetime. We would always have something to talk about. But with Tsuki, who I was with for a couple of weeks, the conversations were more about survival and daily living. The relationship we had was very special. Starting as enemies, then going over to be companions who saved each other's lives. I considered Tsuki as a Bearer with dangerous potential, her Salan ability being the reason. I had 2 goals at that point. One was getting to old Japan and living there until it became inevitable for me to join the Asian army. And the other reason, getting revenge on my brother.
These 2 goals were too distant to reach in a short amount of time. They were the end of an unlit, uncertain and unpromised path I had to walk on. I wasn't promised anything. Not my life, not my strength and not my goals. I knew for a fact that death was present at any time, but death was the thing I faced since the impact. Tsuki could see death. She could even see life. She could know if my path ended in death or continued towards the goals I had. I wouldn't let go of something that valuable.
In order to keep Tsuki by my side, I had to be strong enough to face anyone. Me losing her, meant that my life would become uncertain and unpredictable, something I hated. And Tsuki being as weak as she was at this point, made her a burden. I wanted her to not use her abilities, her mind could break otherwise. A girl like her, who never hurt anyone outside of training was not used to anything. The potential she carried was accompanied by great risk too. 'The scale must be in balance.'
"I guess so." I answered.
The sun had set, it was dark. The usual star-filled sky appeared accompanied by the moon. 'I wonder how long it has been since someone was on the moon.'
"You sleep first. I'll wake you up in a few hours."
"All right." Tsuki answered and feel asleeps immediately.
'Riding the whole day must've taken a great toll on her body. But it was all worth it, considering the distance we had covered.'
It felt good to sleep and shower after weeks of travelling, but sadly, that time came to and too. We were now back to sleeping under trees and keeping watch.
When I stayed awake, I would use Galaxy-Sight to observe my surroundings. In fact, I had gotten so used to doing it, the range I could use Galaxy-Sight in increased by a few meters and I was able to use it with one eye open. The clash between normal sight and Galaxy-Sight took a toll on my mind though.
Nothing was out of the ordinary. Even the horses fell asleep. It was only me and my mind that remained awake. There was nothing for me to do except watch our surroundings.
I thought about a few things. My uncle and my grandpa, whom I had never met before the impact. I wanted to ask the reason for that, but I felt as if they hid the real reason deliberately. 'Dad, who were you really, huh? Even mom never introduced me to her side of the family.'
I realized that I didn't know much about either of my parents' past. 'My dad seemed to have been a soldier. But my mom? Did she fight in the world war too? When she talked about her past, she would only mention things that had something to do with my training. I wonder if dad did the same when Haru asked him about his past, but I doubt he even cared. Haha! It was so funny hearing him getting beaten up after father found a pack of cigarettes in his jacket. It was around 8 years ago if I remember correctly. Does he still smoke?' I reminisced.