Everyone Has Their Secrets

Chapter 1: Where am I?

Thick plumes of smoke seep out around me, it stings my nostrils; consciousness slowly returns. Where is this? I ponder as bleary eyes adjust to the dazzling beams of the summer sun; my arm raises to shield them from the warm rays. Breaching the silence is the soft hiss of broken machinery all around me, the sound that most definitely seals my fate: I'm gonna be stuck here, wherever here is, for quite a long time. Great. I wriggle my toes, relieved that they respond; so my feet are in tact, I'm not crippled just yet. Getting a firm grasp of the bent metal walls either side of the torn pilot's seat, I hoist myself out of the silver heap and commando crawl onto a nearby grassy bank. Collapsing onto my front, the consequences of the wreckage that once was my beautiful starship sinks in - mum's gonna kill me if she finds out I broke it so quickly. You see, this little gem was a birthday gift from a few days ago. Wanting to take it out for a spin was a more than understandable desire, however realisation that refraining from reading the user's manual is a terrible decision quickly sprang upon me due to the past few hours I spent hurtling through space with literally no control over anything.
"Uhm, excuse me miss, are you okay?" A voice with a lisp timidly asks, still flopped on the floor I grumble a no, "I'm Chef Kawasaki, I run a restaurant in a nearby village - there's a Doctor there, I'm sure he can help you!" My eyes narrow in the direction of the voice and slowly his blobby orange figure comes into focus. The creature, or Chef Kawasaki, peers down curiously - but a look of concern is plastered on his face. He carries a cooler that emits the faint aroma of fish and his white apron is a little damp - must've been fishing.
"That would be wonderful," I mutter before attempting, key word attempting, to get up. Miserable failure occurs before finally accepting the aid of the little Chef. He offers support as I shakily rise to my feet, however he only comes up to my chest so my back hunches in order to put most weight onto him. Scratch what I thought earlier, I'm definitely crippled. Grunting with pain, and with Kawasaki as my crutch, I limp into what he says is Cappy Town. Cappies had a pretty intriguing book in the library at home; peaceful, simple creatures. My time here may be quite enjoyable.

We reach a quaint wooden hut and I'm ushered inside by what can be assumed is another Cappy, however this one has small round glasses, a bushy grey moustache and eyebrows, some odd ear-like tufts, a blue and white doctor's scrubs and a peculiar looking stethoscope. Kawasaki carefully deposits me onto a patient chair - similar to the ones at home - and the Doctor begins a methodical examination.
"Greetings, I'm Doctor Yabui. I believe you're the next one to crash into our planet?" He asks with a chuckle.
"There's been others?"
"Oh yes my dear, it's almost becoming a monthly if not weekly occurrence. Usually a child avenging their deceased parents, what's your motives?" He presses the cool metal of his stethoscope to the exposed flesh of my back (my shirt got pretty torn up in the crash); the instant temperature change makes me wince a little.
"Let's just say you should always read the instructions before playing with your new toys . . ." I trail off at the end making the two Cappies chuckle, much to my embarrassment. He continues to examine me in a comfortable silence, checking blood pressure, cleaning wounds, bandaging cuts, all that jazz. Once Doctor Yabui seems satisfied with my state, he packs up his equipment and heads over to a little sink to cleanse his hands.
"Now I just need to ask you a few questions if you don't mind?" I nod, allowing him to continue, "Let's start simple, what's your name?"
"(Y/N) (L/N)."
"And how old are you?"
"I turned (age) a few days ago actually." He grins.
"Ah, well happy belated birthday! Final question for now, where are you from?" A few moments pass but my mind draws a blank, where am I from?
"I-I don't know . . ." It comes out as barely a whisper, "I remember my house, my mother looked after me. My father wasn't really in the picture, always busy working, but . . . it's like a white void in my mind when I try to think of a name."
"Don't worry my dear," the Doctor wipes his hands on some paper towels and disposes of them efficiently, he then approaches me, "it was a mighty crash out there, you may have hit your head a bit too hard - you are displaying symptoms of a mild concussion, side effects could include some form of short term amnesia. It should wear off with some rest and a little bit of time, then we'll be able to get you home. Anyway, you're done with me. That ankle took a lot of pressure so I've bandaged it up tightly, and you may take this to help alleviate some of the pain," he surrenders a wooden crutch, "I'm sure Kawasaki here can show you around the village, with the speeds you were travelling I assume the state of your craft isn't preferable and you'll be staying with us for a while," he chuckles again.
"Thanks doc, I really appreciate it!" With that we bid our farewells and Kawasaki guides us out of the little hospital. Now that's dealt with, I finally get the chance to take in the surroundings: Cappy Town is absolutely breathtaking.