50 Inner Conflic (1/2)
Taku slowly opened his eyes as pain radiated throughout his whole body. He could faintly recollect what had happened before but he had no idea that his actions would produce such a shocking back lash. He had no idea how far he and Maka had flown but he knew that they had probably landed rather awkwardly. As his eyes opened he realised that the sky was dark and it was already night time. He had no clear way to discern the time at this moment. He tried getting up but he could barely lift a finger as he felt pain the minute that he tried to move.
He took a quick glance at himself and realised that his whole body was bandaged; in truth he looked like a mummy. He had no idea regarding the amount of damage that was done, but he could tell that he would be bed ridden for a while. Taku could not even move his head and he could only stare up at the sky. At this moment he was just worried, worried about Maka. He had no idea what happened afterwards but the fact that he was bandaged meant that either he was found by someone else or Maka had woken up before him and applied first aid, but he had no way of knowing which was which and at the moment all he could do was worry.
He tried to spread his soul sense but to his astonishment his soul power was completely diminished. This meant that he had no way to check his surroundings and at this moment this left him completely feeling even more helpless. Taku felt like his world was collapsing right before him, before he could even meet Saru this accident had to happen. He began to wonder how his team was doing and how Maka's team was doing; he began to even wonder about his master and that black figure that was always behind him. He knew that if he didn't recover and if Maka wasn't safe he would never be able to go back to the Gutu or anywhere for that matter where he could meet his friends or his master.
Taku sighed and tried and tried to move again and it was at this moment that a voice drifted into his ears, ”Don't move!” Maka exclaimed, ”You've been out for five days, I did not realise it at first but you actually got injured more than I did and by the time I bandaged you up, you had lost most of your blood and that is why you have been unconscious for so long. Just try not to move okay, I will feed you some porridge just now.”
Taku just slightly nodded as he was not able to move much, he knew that at the moment the only thing that he could do was wait and recover. He mumbled a thank you to Maka and proceeded to just lay there like a corpse. Maka came close to him about five minutes later with a bowel of porridge.
Taku was flabbergasted and couldn't help but ask, ”How do you have porridge and utensils at a time like this.”
Maka was slightly shocked by this question; she did not know why someone would think of such things at a time like this.
She promptly recovered from her shock and answered, ”I made these utensils when I woke up a couple of days ago, which was about three days before you did. As for the porridge, it's a type of porridge that is made from bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots that my master taught me when I was young. It might taste horrible but it is good for the body.”
At the word horrible Taku cringed there was nothing more in this world that he loved more than his food, and for him to be told that the food he was about to taste was going to be horrible mad him feel as if there was really nothing worth living for anymore. As Maka came before him, he realised that although she wasn't as injured as he was, she was still heavily bandaged. Some guilt and helplessness crept into Taku's consciousness, if only he was powerful enough then they could have avoided this situation. At the moment all he wanted to do was get up and train, the last thing he wanted to see was Maka get hurt especially because of him.
By this time Taku had already accepted his feelings for Maka even though he was still afraid to mention them out loud, he made a vow that he would become stronger and protect her. Maka raised the bowl of porridge and slowly fed Taku. By the time Taku was finished his face was distorted from the taste but he could faintly feel his body lightly get better. He felt his muscles relax and his wounds stop hurting. He could even slightly move his head now. What shocked him the most was that he could now, not only move his head but also his fingers were able to move. This porridge was truly miraculous.
Maka jut smiled down at him and then sat down, ”I think those three beasts were after me or at least after my master.”
Taku frowned a bit, ”Isn't your master Saru?”
Maka nodded.
Taku continued and said, ”I guess it is a pretty effective plan to kidnap you as a way to get to Saru, but Saru is a pretty powerful individual. Or at least I am guessing he is. I am sure he has a high standing in the empire, wouldn't kidnapping you be the same as provoking the whole Empire?”
Maka shook her head, ”The empire is way more complicated than you think. Even though my master is a higher up in the empire, there are still certain factions within the empire. For instance there are factions who support the current royal family and there are others who support the Ngundu clan.”
Taku was slightly shocked when he heard this, it almost felt as if the Ngundu clan was put within the same bracket as the royal family. He was surprised because even though he had heard that the Ngundu clan was a very prosperous clan he just thought that it was one of those rich, wealthy merchant families. Little did he know that the clan his team mate was from was actually a very big clan.
Maka could tell that Taku was slightly shocked, she shook her head and began explaining, ”Ultimately the Empire has three royal families, the other one right now is currently not worth mentioning but the Ngundu clan is part of that cycle. After every three hundred years they are supposed to change their seat but the Gumbo family have been in the royal seat for last couple hundreds of years because they keep on producing superior talent and the other families cannot seem to catch up. Are you shocked because your team mate is from such a prosperous clan?”
Taku nodded.
Maka continued, ”It is actually not that shocking if you look at it, everyone wants to join the Ivory Guard. Everyone wants to become a part of the project, coming from the Elephant Foot Guard going to the Ivory Guard, it's something that everyone wants to do. Being part of something so prestigious makes you feel not only great about yourself but it also brings great honour to your family.”