No one cared. Hideki only helped because it was common courtesy. He didn't treat me bad, nor did he treat me good. I received the most basic treatment both Clans would give each other.
I was left to deal with the problem myself. It was left for me to handle. After doing the bare minimum, Hideki left the training grounds, so did the other Takeda who enjoyed more respect than their older brother or uncle.
"What the fuck was that about?! Who are you?" The Takeda asked.
I was at a major disadvantage. If I were to offend the Takeda even more, I could imagine how they would lynch me. Seeking "help" from Tsuki was another thing I couldn't do. I owed her too much already. And paired with the guidance she received here, I couldn't risk her being held responsible too.
"First of all, my name is Niam Henka. What is your name, Takeda?" I asked.
The Takeda's attitude was as expected. His arrogant smile encouraged his siblings to slowly close the distance and surround me. He was around my age, had long, black hair that was tied into a bun, carried his bow and a pouch, and even had a beard that most Japanese men don't have at that age.
"Suzaku. For you, it's Master." He responded.
"I came here to get what is rightfully mine. The dagger in your pouch, the foreign, grey dagger with the horse pattern is mine. I ask you to kindly hand it over, Mister Suzaku." I said respectfully.
"How so, Henka?" They tried to threaten me even more.
They only thing that was left, was for them to draw their bows and aim at my head. Although it was human nature to try and threaten an opponent through quantity, the new epoch overwrote those rules. One couldn't know what to expect when there was countless abilities that could end one's life.
"Awfully close for people that don't know the extent of my Salan ability." I stated.
Most were startled and unconsciously took a step back. Suzaku remained on the same spot, even going further and taking another step towards me. We came face to face, the length of a dagger away.
He didn't say anything, so did the others. They clearly knew I wouldn't dare to be the one to use force first.
"The dagger is mine, now, fuck off!" Suzaku shoved me.
His shove felt as if he pushed a brick wall. I didn't even sway. I increased the earth's gravitational pull on myself to such a degree that he wasn't able to move me.
***
Another thing I disregarded. If I had realized sooner, I would've awakened my second Mana-Core right then and there as well. It was the second time I failed to awaken. But luckily, there was something called subconsciousness.
***
"The hell?!" Suzaku asked perplexed.
"Suzaku, what must happen in order for me to get my dagger back?" I asked, but before he could answer, a great idea popped into my head. "How about we have a little competition? You use your bow, and I use my revolver. We shoot at targets, and whoever shoots more targets, wins. What do you say?"
A trap. I was confident I would hit all of the targets with pinpoint precision. My ability didn't allow any less.
He felt disrespected, but he wasn't dumb enough to react immediately. 'Maybe he is smarter than I thought...'
"What do I get if I win?" He asked.
"Whatever comes with the dagger. You may ask her what that means. But I guess you can already imagine what it is." I pointed at Tsuki.
"Now I know... Her dagger is dark, so is her stallion. It's like a certificate. Whoever has the dagger owns that horse."
'Omar would've had a laugh, saying that it was just like the keys for a car.'
"Yes." I answered, hoping it would be enough.
"No. I don't want a horse. Give me something more valuable. Seeing how much trouble you're going through just to get the dagger, I just know that its value is much higher." He paused. "When I win, I want you to provide us with intel about your Clan. We were the ones who were ordered to keep you in check, it's only fair."
For some, this wager might've been too much, but it was actually a win-win situation. If I won, I would get the dagger, if I lost, I would just deliver them counter-intel.
"Tell your people to prepare it. I'm not keen on staying too long."
The Takeda walked over to the estate, while Tsuki and another girl walked to me.
"Niam, I didn't now." She tried to explain herself.
"I know, Tsuki, don't worry. You know I will win no matter what, right?"
"Yes. But how are your injuries? You came here just a few days after waking up."
"Forget about my injuries. Who is she?" I mentioned the girl next to her.
"You two are pretty similar when it comes to origin. She is Russian and Japanese. Her name is Mila Takeda." Tsuki introduced.
Mila had snow-white hair and icy-blue eyes. There were no blemishes on her skin, nor where there any signs of physical performance on her body. Like calluses or scars. She wore a brown kimono with a bow on her shoulder, and a curved knife on her waist. I realized quite fast that her appearance wasn't altered by her Salan ability. She was an albino. I noticed from her eyebrows. Those were the same white as her hair. That's what was different between her and Tsuki. Tsuki's eyebrow color hadn't change.
Mila bowed as a greeting, quite formal for my taste. I was immediately alerted. A show of respect was always arousing my suspicion whenever I saw it. That became a thing after the impact.
"Tsuki has told me a lot about you. How you only seem to have eyes for the stars, and not for the moon as well." She spoke with a Russian accent.
"You're quite interesting. Have you had a journey to old Japan as well? How did you end up here?" I asked.
"Rude to boot." She whispered something I didn't hear. "What makes you think that?"
"Accent." I simply answered.
"Yeah... I knew you'd think that. I was just here to visit my family. Then, the impact happened and we lost a lot of people." She explained.
"My condolences."
After the small talk was over, Tsuki, Mila and I talked some more over a cup of tea.
"Have you accustomed yourself to your new home?" Mila asked.
"They are different and difficult, just like everybody else we met. Talking about 'we', what has she told yo about our journey." I asked.
"Nothing about your Salan ability or anything similar, don't worry. Mostly about your skill and yourself."
"Hm..."
***
"Pretty simple. A target behind the wall gets thrown into the air. You can only shoot once. Hit it, you get 1 point. Miss it, you don't get anything. The target's speed and flight path will increase with in each round. We have foreseen that 20 targets will be enough for each. If you have the same result at the end, you will enter the knockout phase where you will lose if you miss and the other hits. Everything clear?" A servant explained.
"Yes." Me and Suzaku answered in unison.
We stood next to one another. Him, with his bow and arrow, and myself with a revolver.
There was just one thing I didn't think about mentioning. That was the time between rounds.
It started off easy. I used my Salan ability and created gravitation points my bullet would gravitate towards. That way, I was able to hit every target up until the 13th. But then, before I could reload my revolver, the target was thrown, and I missed for the first time at the 13th target.
I didn't ask, or tell them about the time between the rounds. Maybe it was just the way it was here, or maybe it was Suzaku pulling some strings, but I fell into some kind of trap. A trap either I made, or Suzaku.
'He didn't miss yet, so he is 1 point up. I can use my revolver up until the 18th, then I'll need to switch to throwing my bullets.' I thought. I thought, but I hadn't previously thought about cheating. It was something I often did. Victory was victory, after all. 'I will just increase the earth's gravitational pull on his target once and have him miss.'
I hit all of the targets up until the 18th, then it was time to convert my plans into reality. I threw a bullet for the 18th target, then I manipulated Suzaku's target's trajectory and made him miss.
"Ohhh!" The crowd was amazed.
After the 20th target, the score was 19 to 19.