Ryori Chapter 2: Train me!

Read chapter 2 of Ryori by Ginra on NovelPedia.

Snow Ghosts… Nobody knows where these creatures came from. They appeared one day, spreading nothing positive everywhere they show up. Just a freezing world and, more importantly… death. The whole world became a frosty hell. Only a few managed to survive across the globe, managing to rebuild the home they had been used to, with the only twist that, deep down, death lurks in the shadows of the world. “Wake up, boy!” An unfamiliar, deeper voice reached Kedo’s ears. “You can’t go back to sleep for another week!” Managing to open his eyes slowly, he felt the heat hitting him, yet his vision was blurry for a brief second. “Finally managed to wake up, princess?” Kedo found himself on an unfamiliar bed. He was covered under a blanket. Beneath his head was a white pillow he was lying on. To his right was something, or more like someone, unfamiliar as well. A strange man he had never seen in his life ever before, looking right at Kedo with his crystal-clear blue eyes. He gazed back, yet felt pretty much unbothered by him. He was still trying to figure out what was going on. His gaze went over his own hands for a while, not sure if he was still alive or maybe even dead. “Is this the afterlife?” “Nah. You’re still alive,” he replied pretty directly. Kedo, on the other hand, wasn’t really sure if he wanted to believe that. Even when he apparently had already slept for days, his eyes still showed a glimpse of tiredness. “I’ve found you lurching through the landscape alone,” the man exclaimed, rubbing his brown beard. “You’ve collapsed like an old man right in front of me. Since then, you have been asleep.” “I see…” Kedo could barely remember anything the man just said. His mind was fighting its own war inwardly, not knowing if he should believe the stranger or not. But one thing he was sure of was the fact that the man took Kedo into his custody for a while. After Kedo's longer pondering, the man pulled Kedo out of his thoughts. “Anyway, what's your name?" “I’m Kata-Kedo, but everybody calls me just Kedo,” Kedo replied quietly, refusing to cross his own eyes with the ones of the stranger. Even when he didn’t know what was going inside Kedo’s head, nor did he know what he went through earlier before, he still acknowledged the fact that he struggled through something by the look of his eyes. “Alright, Kedo. Call me Zetako.” Yet no reaction. Neither a yes nor a single nod. The man that calls himself Zetako stood up from his chair quietly, walking towards the room next to them. Kedo was somewhat relieved that he got some alone time for a few moments. Yet the silence that filled the room didn’t last long. Zetako came back with steaming cups in both his hands. “Here, take one.” He glanced at him and the cups, not sure what to expect. No tea bag was ragging out and he didn’t know anything else that was this steamy. Kedo hesitated at first, but finally took one of the cups as he sat down on the bed. It had a sense of a sweet smell. The liquid was more dim and darker than the usual thing he had ever drunk in his life. Taking a small nib from the suspicious liquid, it took over his taste senses immediately. He took small nibs back to back. “It is called hot chocolate, if you wanna know.” Zetako smiled, glad that Kedo had gotten some sort of gleam back inside his eyes, even when it was only slow but steady. He ignored Zetako for the most part, just enjoying his drink. “Kata-Kedo, right?” he asked just to be sure. Kedo didn’t reply in an instant; he just gave a single and silent nod. “There’s a reason why people are more likely to call you Kedo. It’s a pretty ugly name to have.” Kedo wasn't really pleased as he dragged his name through the dirt. With such a comment, he had the deep urge to punch him right in his face. But he held himself back very well. “Shut it! That name was given to me by my mother!” he declared protectively, even when he got mocked by other people as a child just because of his unusual name. Letting his mind take the opportunity to