"My name is Kagami. I came here to give you your food." One of the guys from the training ground said.
Kagami had the same characteristics as me. Black hair and light-brown eyes. Though his skin was pale, just like the rest of the Henkas. Mine was darker due to my father's genes.
"Why did you bring me food? Weren't you calling me a burden before?" I asked.
"They did, not me. I even admire Miss Tsuki for her loyalty and affection towards you. When she brought you here, she spoke with us while your injuries were thoroughly treated. She said that she didn't know you prior to the impact, but trusted you the moment she saved you from your captives. It must've been hard, Mister Niam. I mean, fighting your way through 2 Lands, and killing if necessary? That sounds pretty challenging to me. No... It's sounds impossible. It's truly admirable."
Kagami was an honorable and respectful person. He empathized with me and Tsuki. He went so far and called it admirable. His intentions were pure-hearted. I hoped he would become someone I could call a comrade.
"Call me Niam, it sounds better. What did Tsuki do after she brought me here?" I questioned.
"She didn't do anything. We made her go somewhere else where she would be welcomed. I know it sounds very heartless, but traditions are traditions. Non-members of clan Henka can't stay in Henka estate, if they're not a part of our family. And when we asked if she might be your girlfriend, she denied. Our master was considered. He contacted a family that resembled our own. The Takeda family is known to give birth to talented archers, and they don't discriminate when it comes to archery. They welcomed Tsuki, offering her a place to stay and archery training. Since then, she has been there. But my mother, Tomoko, must've already contacted her."
Kagami was still standing. It would've been rude of me to not let him sit and converse with me. I signaled that he could sit too. I even offered him a share of my food, which he thankfully declined.
There was nothing that Kagami and I could talk about. Anything that was relevant for conversation was based on the world before the impact. I would've asked him about his school career, or his hobbies. But those kind of things became irrelevant. I also didn't want to pry into Kagami's life. I didn't see a reason to treat him like I did everybody, other than Tsuki and Omar. Tsuki and Omar were people that I could call friends, the rest were simple human beings whose existence occupied my daily life, not being of any use to me. But now that I was part of a "new" family, I needed to change my behavior to that what my parents always saw.
"Do you mind telling me about our family?" I asked him.
"I don't mind at all. Let's see... There is aunt Chikako and Daitan. They're older than your mother. Then there is uncle Saburo who is 2 years older than my mother and her twin brother, Kiyoshi. Aunt Chikako has two kids. Kurona, her son, and Ichika, her daughter. Aunt Daitan only has a son, Osamu. My mother has two kids. Me and my twin sister, Yaeko. Kurona, Ichika, Osamu, Yaeko and I were at the training grounds, if you recall. Uncle Saburo has two daughters, Shun and Hoshi. And Uncle Kiyoshi has one son, Ryoto. That's everyone of your uncles, aunts and cousins. Then there is Master Henka, our grandfather. He is the family's head."
"Quite the big family." I said. "And all of you survived the impact, except grandma, as aunt Tomoko said."
"Yes... But what about you? Any siblings?" Kagami asked.
"Yes. Haru, the Union's Light. I don't want to go into detail, but I seek revenge for something he did to me. And also, he left both of my parents' clans. He is isn't a Henka anymore."
"What kind of person was he?"
"Someone I envied."
I left it at that. There was no reason for them to know about Haru. If push came to shove, they might deny my quest for revenge or even intervene in it.
Kagami left shortly after our conversation. The time came for me to wait for Tsuki. About 8 hours had passed since I had woken up. Tsuki was bound to arrive in abut 4 hours. 'Maybe even 2 or 3 if she decides to push Ganko to its limits.'
I meditated while waiting. My Mana-Core was full, and my body's healing process quickened. The pain I felt gradually diminished. I realized that losing a third of my left lung was going to have an impact on my stamina. 'Whatever... I lost 2 fingers too. I can still fight and survive.'
2 hours after I initially started to mediate, I was in a better state. I was able to use my Salan ability to its fullest capacity again. I quickly used Galaxy-Sight to look around the estate. All the people that Kagami had mentioned were in the estate. But after all I went through, Galaxy-Sight's range was still 100 meters. Though it was big enough to oversee Henka estate, I couldn't help but desire to "see" more.
Another hour later, she appeared, riding on a horse. She stopped at the estate's entrance, and was let in after a few seconds. She left Ganko outside and ran inside the estate. I deactivated Galaxy-Sight after that. I smiled, I looked forward to seeing Tsuki again.
"Niam?!" She yelled.
"Niam is inside that room." One of my female cousins informed.
Quick steps grew louder the more she neared me. Through the shoji, I was able to see Tsuki's silhouette that was created by a candle outside of my room.
She crashed the sliding door open. We came face to face. I was still sitting cross-legged on the floor, while she was standing by the shoji, panting in exhaustion, looking relieved.
"Niam..." Her eyes began to tear.
Tsuki jumped onto me, crying like a kid in the process. I felt good to see that someone was showing such care for me. Tsuki hugged me really tight. Her moon-grey hair covered my face, it smelled like the freshest flowers. I hugged her back, feeling all the muscles she had gained throughout our journey and her training at the Takeda family.
Tsuki sobbed. My shoulder was drenched in her tears. And eventually, she was able to form a sentence.
"I'm sor-" I didn't let her finish.
"I should be the one to say that. If I'd known I would turn out like that, I wouldn't have made you shoot Jeun, and then making you take care of me."
Tsuki was still hugging me. I felt even more regret. 'What did she have to go through after I passed out?'
"I have an older brother. His name is Haru. And he is currently the strongest Bearer in the European Union. The Arabic Empire's first princess told me his alias is the Union's Light, maybe you've heard of him before. You see, after the impact, when I was buried under my house's rubble with my parents, Haru wasn't at home. He was outside, probably in the nearest slum with his gangster friends. Hours after the impact, Haru came back home, yelling out for us, trying to see if we were still alive. I yelled out for him, but instead of getting the help I needed, I got insulted by him. He laughed at me and wished me I would die a quick death. Then he left, saying he left both of my parents' families." I made good of the promise I made her, while we were still hugging.
"He betrayed you..." She said.
"He did, even though I never wronged him. I was just envious of his ability to naturally gain a person's trust, that's all."
Tsuki leaned back, breaking our hug. I was able to look into her eyes once more. They were bloodshot and filled with tears. That was the point where I realized that the never ending debt we owed each other, had become true loyalty. I was only able to experience this kind of loyalty from my parents.
"Please tell me what happened after Banna forest."