As far as duels went, this one was fairly typical, with no real personal grudges involved. No one expected either of the combatants would try to kill the other, although of course, because the winner would claim the loser’s jade, the stakes were still serious. All the other people in the pub began clearing space between the tables for the contest to happen.
Niko remained seated. “Kitu, you don’t want to duel me. You’ll lose.”
This was not in fact a foregone conclusion. Kitu’s family was not well off, but he was of respectable account as a fighter, and the jade he wore as a second-rank Finger had been won, not inherited. Kaul Niko, in comparison, was naturally talented and his family employed a bevy of personal coaches, but within the clan, people quietly said he didn’t put in the effort to be at the level one would expect from a Kaul.
Even if Kitu lost the duel, he would gain regard simply for having had the thick blood to challenge the first son of the Kaul family, and if he made an especially good showing, he would be taken more seriously and others might measure him to be worth a future contest. Kitu said, impatiently, “Are you going to get up or not?”
Niko said, “I fought a duel a month ago, keke.” That duel had been closer than Niko would’ve liked to admit and had nearly broken his jaw. “I don’t feel like it tonight.”
The refusal surprised and disappointed everyone, Kitu most of all. Young Green Bones intending to advance on the military side of the clan looked for opportunities to duel, and it was poor form to refuse a clean blade so long as it was sincerely offered and there wasn’t some extenuating circumstance. “If you’re too drunk or lazy right now, I’ll meet you tomorrow at noon,” Kitu said, and waited for the other man to name the place and weapon of choice.
“Are you that eager to get your ass kicked and lose your jade?” Niko spoke indifferently, but he was filled with a sudden, ferocious resentment. It wasn’t that he disdained Kitu’s skill or was afraid to face him. He’d come to the Pig & Pig to relax and didn’t see why he had to upend his evening simply because someone wanted the chance to make a name for himself. And he was galled by how quickly even his own friends had jumped up to move chairs and tables, expecting him to duel at the drop of a pin.
Niko took out the car keys from his jacket pocket and held them up. He was indeed slightly inebriated, but not so much that he wasn’t able to think clearly or had a strong enough excuse not to accept the challenge. “Kitu, you know what you need more than a broken face? A new car. That piece of junk you drive has got to be twenty years old. Isn’t it your ma’s old two-door Tezzo?” Niko jangled the keys. “I’ll tell you what,” he said, “you can have a clean-bladed duel, or you can have my car. It’s a Roewolfe SX Coupe, only two years old. My parents gave it to me when I graduated from the Academy. It’s sitting out in the parking lot right now.” He tossed the car keys onto the table. They skidded a little and came to rest between the two young men.
The entire pub had gone silent. Kitu looked from Niko to the keys and back again. “You’re joking.”
Niko shrugged and gestured at the keys. “Take them,” he said. “We’ll agree I’ve paid for insulting you, and you’ll get a piece of Kaul property without any blood loss or broken bones.”
One of Niko’s friends said, uncomfortably, “Um, Niko-jen, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, it doesn’t seem right. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow and see if you’re both ready to fight the duel then.” Several others murmured agreement. No one was sure if what Niko was doing went against aisho per se, but it certainly was not in accordance with dueling custom of any sort.
Niko said, “What’s your decision, Kitu?”
Kitu’s face went through a series of contortions. His brows drew together, his nose wrinkled, his lips twitched and twisted. He picked up the car keys and stood there tense for several seconds, expecting Niko to laugh at him for taking the joke seriously and then demand his car keys back. When this didn’t happen, he seemed unable to put the keys back down on the table.
It was true what Niko had said, that Kitu’s mother’s old car was on its last legs and he didn’t have the money for a new one. And it was also true that the outcome of any duel was uncertain; he might be injured, or lose his jade, or even be killed. He’d been willing to take the risk, but now he was not so sure. He had a feeling that he was being toyed with, but he was not sure what to do about it.