Legacy of the Chosen One pt 1
Chapter 5
The next few days passed with no event. Mat started walking as much as he possibly could so as to help strengthen his body during his recovery. A routine had developed over this time in which Mat would get up in the morning, having moved into the living room, and take the short trip into the kitchen. Nuriko would usually be bouncing around the kitchen, already fixing breakfast. Morning conversation between the two of them usually involved simple things in Japanese to help Mat's skill in the language. Nuriko cooked him foods that were highly nutritious for breakfast. The morning meal was also accompanied by a tall glass of milk.
Mat would finish his breakfast, and always go outside and walk a lap around the house. He also started taping his ribs during this time, to minimize the stress to his upper body. Feeling restless most days, he tried to do as much as possible to keep from going crazy. The afternoons were a bit less hectic for Nuriko and she tried to keep Mat entertained. The conversation frequently had to deal with Japanese and American culture. Nuriko had a fixation on American culture, and would ask Mat to teach her all he could.
Genzo, who was always awake before everyone else, spent most of his day outside. He spent his time doing chores, meditating, exercising, and keeping the property looking beautiful. Not one day would pas without his asking Mat, "You feel ready?" To which Mat would usually reply, "Just a little more time. I can hardly wait."
About a week passed, when Mat decided that he would try to go without the crutch. It felt like he was starting his recovery over, having underestimated how the crutch had helped him. Managing through the pain for a few more days, he felt himself getting stronger. Then came the beginning of the thirteenth day since he finally had gotten out of bed.
That day started just like any other day. The sun would shed its light around the dojo until it was high enough in the sky to peer over the trees and into the ancient building. When the sun would finally rise over the forest, the rays of light would make their first trip through the living room windows and land on the sleeping Mat, waking him.
Mat rose from the couch, which had been his bed for the past week or so now, and stretched in the sunlight. That had become a morning ritual for him. He would test his recovery by seeing how far he could go without feeling any pain. This day, however, his ritual was not met with something that had been there the previous mornings. For the first time, he felt almost no pain. A smile crossed his lips as he finished his stretch and headed, sweat-pants clad, to the kitchen where another newly familiar sight awaited him.
Nuriko was going about her morning routine in the kitchen. Mat could smell the aroma of his breakfast being cooked, while Nuriko casually prepared the meal.
"Ohayoo gozaimasu, Nuriko-san." Mat said softly so as not to startle her, as he had done a few times before.
"Ah . . . Ohayoo, Mat-san." Nuriko replied with a smile as she turned to face him. She then returned to her task.
After a few short minutes, Nuriko served breakfast for the whole house. Genzo, as if cued, entered the house and sat down at the small table in the kitchen. Before he started to eat, Genzo spoke.
"How you feel?"
Mat, who had been looking forward to the question, answered. "Great! I could start training tomorrow if you wish."
"Good." Came the reply. Genzo was holding his enthusiasm in. "We start this time tomorrow, OK?"
"Yes." Mat said, more subdued than before, "I promise to not let you down."
"Also, you help Nuriko today." Genzo added, "I want be sure you ready." With that, Genzo returned to his meal. Mat, not saying a word in response, turned his gaze to Nuriko. All of the sudden, she wasn't in as chipper a mood. Mat made a note of it, but quietly returned to his breakfast.
Breakfast was finished and cleaned up. Genzo returned to his chores outside, and Nuriko finished doing the dishes. Mat waited patiently while she finished her duties. He knew that Nuriko had little to do during the day. He had spent the majority of his days with her while he was recovering. Guessing that she was going to be doing something out of her normal routine today, Mat's curiosity forced him to speak.
"Where are we going?" Mat asked, almost sounding like a young kid.
"We have a few things to do in Tokyo today." Nuriko said, her pre breakfast demeanor having returned.
"What kinds of things?" Mat questioned, now back in his usual tone.
"Well for one," Nuriko began, "You need some new clothes. We can't have you in Father's clothes forever. You don't look that good in them anyway."
"Gee, thanks." Mat said with a laugh. "I have been meaning to ask. What happened to the clothes I was wearing when I got here?"
Nuriko's face became bright red. "Um . . . mmm . . . well." Nuriko struggled with her words as Mat gave her a knowing look. He had already guessed that Nuriko was the one responsible for their removal. "They . . . were . . . torn . . . and tattered . . . completely unusable now. We . . . er . . . I emptied the pockets and threw the clothes away."
"Oh . . . all right." Mat said with a chuckle.
"Don't laugh!" Nuriko protested, "It is not funny!"
"Whatever you say. Ha ha." With that, Mat walked out of the room to look for something to wear on his trip into Tokyo.
The sunlight that peeked through the trees was just enough to warm the air outside. The snow had melted a bit thanks to the milder weather as of late, but nearly two inches still remained. Mat and Nuriko emerged from the house at almost 10 o'clock and followed the trampled snow toward the back of the house. Mat had borrowed a light jacket from Genzo, since the temperature was still only in the 30's. He had his hiking boots as well, the only article of 'his' clothing that was still intact. Nuriko, as per the norm, was dressed like the typical twenty-something girl in the west, jeans and a loose T-shirt, covered of course by a light jacket of her own. Strapped to her back was a Sailor V backpack.
The two of them made their way to the back of the house toward the path in the forest. It was a short and fairly wide path, almost wide enough for a car, Mat thought.
"This path leads to the highway." Nuriko explained. "From there, it's just a short kilometer walk to the rail station. We'll take IT into Tokyo."
"How will I get on if I don't have a pass?" Mat asked as they stepped into the clearing in the trees.
"Check the pockets of that jacket." Nuriko said as she pointed at Mat. He reached in and pulled a credit card-sized item from the right pocket. "It's yours. Since there isn't a photo required, so it was easy to get."
"Aren't they kind of expensive?" Mat asked.
After a moment she responded. "Your doing our family a huge favor, to father no price is too much I guess." Her tone reflecting a slight amount of anger directed more at the subject matter than at Mat. Mat, noting Nuriko's tone, decided to drop the subject. During the course of their discussion they neared the rail station. As the two of them approached the station, a nearly uncomfortable silence had appeared. Mat, guessed that to Nuriko; talking about his training was a very touchy subject. He did know, however, that with him actually starting his training tomorrow; the subject should be approached again today. Just as he arrived at that decision, the two of them arrived at the station.
The train ride into the city was fairly short and uneventful. The train was only moving for a couple of minutes before it entered the city. Nuriko broke the silence between the two travelers, as she pointed out a few places that could be seen from the windows. The hints of anger in Nuriko's voice had disappeared as quickly as they normally did with her, as she was generally a kind and happy person.
Mat followed Nuriko out of the train and then to the street. The moment that he stepped onto the street, Mat realized how big a city Tokyo really was. People were bustling about in impressive numbers. Even more impressive was that it was barely 11 o'clock. Nuriko then spoke.
"Many of the colleges and universities do not start classes again till next week. That is why there are this many people out and around at this time of day. Just stick close to me and we should not get separated. We will stop at that department store last." Nuriko pointed at a building that was directly across the street from the train station. It was almost six stories tall, but about average for the other buildings in the area. "Since we have other things to do besides getting food; we will save it for last."
"Where are we going first, then?" Mat asked.
"I do not want to destroy the surprise." Nuriko said as she grabbed Mat's jacket, rather playfully, jerking him forward a bit. "Let's go." She said cheerfully as she nearly dragged him down the sidewalk, her left arm locked with his right.
"I don't think I'll ever figure that girl out." Mat thought to himself as he allowed himself to be pulled along. Not wanting anybody to get the wrong idea, Mat pulled himself free and began walking alongside and behind Nuriko as they headed toward their first destination.
Mat and Nuriko wove their way down the street quite briskly. After traveling a few blocks, they turned down another street and headed toward an area filled with a bunch of smaller, privately owned shops. Even with his limited knowledge of the Japanese language, Mat knew what most of the shops were. The first store in the area was a fish market. It was next to a Chinese restaurant. Down from the restaurant was a bookstore and across from that was a coffee shop. They crossed over toward the coffee shop and continued on. Mat noticed that there were far fewer people here than there were near the station, and he relaxed a little.
Nuriko came to a stop just two doors down from the coffee shop. When Mat, who was a few steps behind, arrived; he noticed that the front of the small shop, with exception of the door on the right, was a large window. Nuriko opened the door and entered the building. Mat followed her in, but already knew the kind of business it was. The interior confirmed his suspicions, and was also a very familiar sight. It was clearly a commercial dojo, very similar to those in America.
The place was so much different from the one that Mat will become more and more familiar with starting tomorrow. Instead of a wood-paneled floor, there was white padding. There were very few weapons mounted on the walls except for a wooden staff and a couple of display wood swords. Where Genzo's dojo had scrolls and charts, this dojo had trophies and flyers. According to what Mat was seeing, this dojo taught Aikido. The far wall was lined with mirrors, and had a banister running along it. There was a doorway on the right, leading to an office.
The door shut behind Mat as he stepped in. With the closing of the door, there was a tiny jingle from a bell placed above the door. Mat instinctively removed his shoes, as did Nuriko, as a man that was roughly Genzo's age emerged from the door in the back. He was slightly taller than Genzo, but shorter than Mat and Nuriko. His stature was a little broader than average as well. His gray hair was kept short, but he still had a full head of it.
"Konnichiwa, Nuriko-san." The man said, his voice was fairly gruff but with a kind hearted sound to it.
"Sato-ojisan, eigo o hanashimashooka? How are you?" Nuriko asked with a cheery smile on her face.
"English, it is then, and I'm fine." Sato said, his English much better than Genzo's. He turned his view toward Mat. "Is this Genzo-san's student?"
"Yes." Mat answered, "My name is Mat. Hopefully I will begin my training with him tomorrow."
"Very good." Sato began, "Tanaka-sensei's eye is still good. Wait here." Sato then disappeared into the back room. A few minutes later he reemerged, this time holding something black under his arm. "I made this as close as I could just using Tanaka-sensei's description. Please try it on."
The something under Sato's arm was unfolded to show that it was a hand made gi top. Sato tossed the garment to Mat, and when he caught it, Mat realized why Genzo had it made. By his guess, the top weighed twenty to twenty-five pounds. After first removing his jacket, Mat tried on his new training tool. The fit was nearly perfect, and the added weight seemed to be in the body. The sleeves of the totally black garment were regular cloth. Mat felt a little bit of discomfort in his rib cage, but no pain. Sato lumbered over and checked the fit.
Sato studied the fit and said, "hmm . . . just a few adjustments. It should not take longer than an hour." Sato took a step back and held his hand out. Mat removed the gi and handed it back to Sato. "When you come back, you can pick up the wristbands and belt too."
"You do very nice work, Sato-san." Mat complimented.
"Thank you, Mato-san." Sato said as he gave a small bow. Sato rose from his bow and than turned to face Nuriko, whom had been predictably quiet. "I need to tell you something."
"Yes?" Nuriko answered in Japanese.
"Ogawa-san wishes to see you."
"Ogawa-san . . . is . . . he . . . back?"
"You did not know? I told your father months ago."
"I want nothing to do with that snake in a field!" Nuriko yelled in English. Mat sat back and monitored the conversation, and picked up what he could of the Japanese.
"That is what I told him. He knows, that you know what he is after."
"Don't let him know anything about Mato-san, please."
"I will not. What about the American?"
"He will guess that something is up. I will have to tell him something."
Sato walked toward the back of the dojo. "Should be an interesting lunch then." He said in English and then laughed, "See you in an hour or so."
Nuriko's face appeared as if she was lost in thought. Mat then walked up beside her.
"It's snake in the grass, by the way." Mat said, attempting to correct Nuriko's earlier mistake.
"What?" Nuriko said as her concentration was broken by Mat's correction. "Oh . . . oh yeah. Sorry."
"It's okay." Mat had assured her, "Let's grab a bite to eat and then we can come back."
In the same formation as before, Mat followed Nuriko back along the path they had taken earlier. However this time, instead of turning in the direction of the train station, the two of them headed in the opposite direction. After a block or so, Nuriko stopped in front of a small coffee shop. He guessed that the place served sandwiches by looking at the advertisements in the windows. Nuriko motioned to Mat to follow her inside, and Mat did as he was told.
Nuriko made her way toward the back of the coffee shop and sat down in a booth. Mat sat down on the opposite side of the table from Nuriko. During the walk from the dojo, Mat's thoughts were preoccupied with the conversation between Nuriko and Sato. He couldn't help but get the feeling that things were not as they seemed. Just then, as a waitress was approaching the table, Nuriko spoke.
"What do you want?"
"Order for me, I don't really care." Mat said in a gruff tone, trying to act angry in an attempt to get Nuriko to let him know what exactly the conversation was about.
"Irrashaimase!" Was the greeting from the rather petite, magenta-headed waitress.
"I think we need a minute more." Nuriko said in Japanese. She had realized that Mat had something on his mind. With Nuriko's request, the waitress bowed and moved onto another couple that had just sat down. Nuriko then looked squarely at Mat. She was silently waiting for the questions that she knew were coming.
"Who is Ogawa-san?" Came the question after a few agonizing seconds.
"You're really mad then, right?" Nuriko said, guessing at Mat's tone.
"Not too mad. Just, I think that I deserve the truth if I am involved in this too."
"Right. Before I say anything," Nuriko paused and looked down, her voice becoming quieter. "Realize that the reason father did not tell you all of this was that his pride in his family, even about something that happened to someone else five hundred years ago, is very strong. So please don't fault him."
"I won't, just please tell me what's going on." Mat said, relaxing his tone a bit. The look on his face was still very stern.
"Fifty years before the Emperor freed our clan from its obligations, our clan was much larger. The two largest families in the clan were the Tanaka's, us, and the Ogawa's. When the seeds of the war that would tear our country apart were just beginning to sprout, an Ogawa did a very dishonorable thing. He raped and murdered a civilian girl. The Ogawa had become very arrogant around this time, and they thought that they could do whatever they wanted. Rumors of a spy in the Emperor's midst were also about. The Emperor did not take kindly to the dishonorable acts of the Ogawa, especially when the spy was found to be an Ogawa ninja. They were banished from the clan. To be fair to their years of service, the Emperor insisted they get fifty years to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" Mat asked, eager to hear the rest of the story.
"Prepare for the chance to redeem the mistakes they had made." Nuriko answered.
"But they never got the chance, did they?"
"No . . . " Nuriko said in a sad tone. "The imperial line was driven into hiding. It was at this point that the daimyo asserted their control. It all happened before they had their chance."
"So when the Tanaka family was given the rewards of their service, the Ogawa got nothing since they had been banished, right?"
"Yes . . . very right. After the Meiji Restoration, the imperial line was finally in a position to honor his promises to the clan." Nuriko said, her tone having picked up a bit. "Three years ago the youngest and last of the Ogawa, Ushiro, appeared with HIS father. They asked MY father if he would like to arrange for the two long separated families to become one again."
"Meaning, for you to marry the Ogawa kid?" Mat interjected.
"Yes, however Ushiro is closer to your age, no kid. Anyway, right away father could see that there was a blackness in Ushiro's heart. He knew that he would just dishonor us as his ancestor did before him. Father refused."
"What about you? Did you want to marry Ushiro?"
Nuriko, in a loud tone, "I would never have anything to do with him." She looked around and noticed everyone in the small place was looking at her, so she quieted down. "I learned very quickly what a horse's face he was."
Mat contemplated correcting her, but decided against it.
"All Ushiro and his father wanted was to have the privileges granted to the Tanaka family to themselves. Not to mention the Tanaka style added to their traditions, and Ushiro's impressive list of accomplishments. Knowing that father was looking for an heir to the style, they made a deal with him. If, in three years he had not found a student, then he would agree to teach Ushiro. But I guarantee you that never would have happened."
"So I'm a last minute alternative?"
"Not at all, Father wouldn't teach you if he did not think you were worthy of it. There are a few months before the deadline. If needed, father would have taught me or somebody else. He would rather break tradition, then let all that he and our family have stood for be corrupted by Ogawa's ways. But, since tradition is very important to him, you were just what was needed. Father truly believes that you are very special, and I agree."
"Why shouldn't Ogawa know that Genzo has picked me to train?"
"He would surely try to interrupt your training."
"Are you angry that I'm training with your father?" Mat asked, honestly not knowing what the answer would be.
"No . . . " Nuriko paused, "I think you are the best candidate. Just don't tell father that you know all of this."
"Don't worry. He won't know. I promise to make your ancestors proud. You did make the right choice." Mat smiled.
Nuriko looked at her watch. "We had better go. We spent all of our time talking." With that, the two of them left the coffee shop and headed back to Sato-san's dojo.
After picking up the freshly altered gi, the belt, and the wristbands from the dojo; Mat and Nuriko finished their business in Tokyo. They got the groceries from the department store and then boarded the train. Mat's last day of recovery had come to an end.
