Legacy of the Chosen One pt 1
Chapter 3
"Where am I?" What happened to me? Oh yeah...I remember now." His eyes slowly opened and scanned the room. His breathing was somewhat labored. "This doesn't look like a hospital." The palm of his hand slowly moved to his forehead. "I can't believe how strong that guy was. The grip he had on me wasn't too tough, but he just seemed to get stronger after I kicked him. Then I let the other one get behind me...stupid...my body feels really sore...what happened after I was knocked out...am I speaking out loud, or is this in my head? Where AM I?"
A face then leaned into Mat's field of vision. "Otoosan! Amerkika-jin ga okite-imasu!" The face belonged to a Japanese girl, who looked about 19 with long teal colored hair tied up on into a pony tail. Her eyes were nearly the same shade of teal as her hair. "Are you awake?" Her English was surprisingly good.
"Yes." Mat answered, even though the question did not really call for one.
Just then an older Japanese man entered the room. The room appeared to be a bedroom. The man had graying, black hair and appeared to be in his late fifty's, but in good physical shape. "You feel better?" He said; speaking in a manner that showed his English was poor at best. "You...have question, yes?
"Yes, I have a few questions." Mat replied, still rubbing his forehead.
"You should rest." The man stated.
"Where am I?" Mat asked anyway.
The girl answered, "I am Tanaka Nuriko, and this is my father Genzo. You are at our house. Please listen to father, you do need rest." It was becoming more and more apparent to Mat that she had be studying English for quite awhile.
"How long have I been here?" Mat asked as he turned his head to face Genzo.
"Three day, now rest." Genzo replied, he then left the room.
"Sleep loose." Nuriko said with a cheerful smile before following her father out the door.
"'Sleep loose?' Mat said quietly, before he drifted off to sleep.
Mat awoke early the next morning. He looked around the room to get more of an idea of where he was. There was not much light, but he could still make out most of the objects in the room. There were a couple of dressers, one of which had a mirror. There were a few posters on the walls and two windows. Sitting atop the dresser without the mirror were a few stuffed animals. A penguin with a little silver plate around his neck that read "PEN" with a little number 2 after it, and a black pig with a leopard print handkerchief around its neck. This led Mat to the conclusion that it was Nuriko's room that he was in. He attempted to sit up straight but a fire in his ribs made the task difficult. It was only then that he realized that breathing was a little difficult as well.
"I think you have some broken ribs." A female voice said as Mat felt at his chest. He then recognized Nuriko and Genzo coming in the room.
"I don't think I ever gave you my name...It's Mat." He said as he struggled for air.
"Take this...Mat." Genzo said as he handed a glass of water and a tablet to the ailing man.
"Father told me that it is an herbal pill to decrease your recovery time." Nuriko explained.
"It will help you heal." Genzo stated as Mat swallowed the pill. "Ii desu yo. You try walk tomorrow?"
"But till then, I should rest...right?" Mat asked as flatly as he could. Genzo nodded his head in agreement and left the room. Nuriko followed her father out of the room.
Mat wok again late that night. "I owe these people a great deal." Mat thought to himself. "Ungh...My chest hurts. My legs and arms aren't nearly as sore though, and the swelling on my head has gone way down. I should be close to normal in a week or so. Who knows, maybe I will be able to walk tomorrow. So, what do I do then?" Mat fell back to sleep before arriving at an answer.
The smell of cooking food woke Mat the next morning. Noticing that his breathing was a little easier, he pushed himself upright. There was still a little pain, but he felt that he could manage it. As he looked around the room on this new day, he saw that a crutch had been placed against the dresser with the mirror.
The crutch was a good ten feet away from Mat, but he was determined to get there. He breathed in as deeply as his ribs would allow him, and let it out quickly. Now that he was sufficiently psyched up, Mat began the process of getting out of the bed for the first time in days. Mat threw back the covers, turned himself around, and carefully placed both his feet on the ground. He then pushed with his arms in an attempt to stand, but the pain in his ribs sent him back to the bed. Clutching his side, Mat sat there for almost a minute. He had been unprepared for the pain he had experienced, but the smells coming in from outside the room only served to encourage him. It had been a few days since his last meal after all.
With one last deep breath, Mat tried again and this time was successful. With a constant grimace on his face, his left arm clutched to his side, and his right hand against the mattress of the bed in case he fell; Mat made his way to the crutch. As luck would have it, he could reach the crutch from the edge of the bed. Putting the crutch under his right arm and leaning most of his weight on it, Mat slowly made his way towards the partially open door.
It only took the short trip from the bed to the door to get the rhythm of walking with the crutch. As he slid the door open the rest of the way and stepped into the hall, Mat got his first real look at the rest of the house. Apart from Nuriko's room, the rest of the house looked very Japanese. Three more sliding doors were in the hall to Mat's left, with the open end of the hallway to his right. The hall opened into the living room where a TV could be seen, although it was not on.
Following the sounds of cutting, mixing, and boiling; Mat headed through the living room, turning left and through the dining area towards the kitchen. When he arrived he saw Nuriko bustling about the small, yet not overly-small kitchen.
"Something sure smells good in here." Mat said as cheerfully as he could. The words startled Nuriko and she dropped one of the long cooking chopsticks into the soup she was preparing. Nuriko turned around to see the American visitor leaning on his crutch and holding his lift arm close to his body. Surprisingly, there was a smile on his face. "I haven't eaten in a few days, so I thought I would see what was for breakfast."
"I was going to bring it to you." Nuriko said as she grabbed her chopstick again, luckily it had not been completely immersed in the soup.
"I appreciate it," Mat began, "but I can't stand to just lie around like that."
"Well then, just sit down there and wait a few minutes for me to finish." Nuriko said in a semi-demanding tone as she pointed to a chair at the head of the table. The table was fairly small, It was barely big enough for three people to sit at. Mat guessed most of the meals were eaten at the table in the living room.
Mat sat down at the table. Sitting down ended up being more of a chore than he thought it would, but he made it. Nothing was said for the few minutes that the cooking continued. When Nuriko finished preparing the food she served it to Mat. There was a bowl of rice and a clear soup. Also, Mat was served some hot green tea.
Mat ate some of the rice and then sipped the soup. He paused a moment as he swallowed. "Is it too hot?" Nuriko asked.
"Not at all." Mat replied, "It just felt really good going down. Kind of like it was soothing my injuries from the inside."
"That is good. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, but now I'm really looking forward to getting myself back to normal." Mat ate a little more rice then drank about half of the soup. "At least I'll have some really good food to look forward to over the next week or so." He flashed a half-smile towards Nuriko, whom was blushing slightly.
"Carve it out." Nuriko stated as she regained herself. The strange words distracting Mat's thoughts for a moment. "Before I forget, father wanted to see you. But, he was going to wait outside to see if you could make it that far."
"I think I can make it that far," Mat said as he thought about it, "At least I hope I can." He chuckled a little. "But first I have got to finish this food."
Mat wolfed down the rest of the rice and then finished off the soup and tea. When he finished, he grabbed his crutch and pulled himself up. He then headed towards the front door. He waved to Nuriko on his way out.
