On Her Own, part 3
The next town Ranko came to was fairly large, so she wandered around
for a while. Walking by a dressmaker's shop, her heart almost stopped.
A beautiful black silk dress was on display in the window. In the
center of the chest was a Tao symbol embroidered with silver to create
a shining yin to contrast with a black yang. This was HER dress.
The redheaded girl smiled at the dress in the window then entered the
shop, her eyes clouding over for a moment as she saw herself wearing
it. She spoke to the dressmaker with a hopeful glint in her eye.
"Hello, I need to earn some money. Do you have anything I could do to
help you?"
The man's eyes twinkled. "I saw you looking at the dress in the
window. If you would like to work, the owner of the import store down
the street has a pregnant daughter who needs a few months off so she
can have her child."
"Thank you! I still want to buy that dress some day!" Ranko said, as
she hurried out of the shop and down the street.
The man smiled in the redhead's wake, shaking his head slowly. He
never really understood why he had made that dress, and had never
expected to sell it... But something had compelled him to create it...
this girl's destiny perhaps?
=======
"Lee Imports" read the sign on the shop. Ranko figured this must be
the place, so she clambered up the stairs and entered the open door.
"Hello?" She asked as she entered the store.
"May I help you, miss?" Came a soft voice to her right. Ranko looked
up at a girl about her age, though a good 15 centimeters taller. Her
black hair fell unbound from her head to flow smoothly down her back.
The girl's hair was fine and straight, while Ranko's always seemed to
have a mind of its own, currently corralled in a ponytail.
Ranko looked up at the girl, almost in awe. She had been away from
Joketsuzoku long enough to forget just how short a girl she was... But
there was something else about this girl. Something that made Ranko
reluctant even to think of her as a girl... What made her different?
Suddenly, she remembered what the dressmaker had said, and cast a
quick glance at the young woman's midsection, noticing a slight bulge.
Flushing very slightly, Ranko responded. "My name is Saotome Ranko...
and... uh... I'm traveling to Japan, but I'd like to earn a little
money. I was told there might be a job working at your store."
The girl's expression became happy as she replied "I'll go get my
father, Okay?"
"Sure..." Ranko told her hostess' back.
It wasn't too long before a middle-aged man returned with the girl. A
worn pair of glasses perched on is nose, calling attention to
themselves instead of his very ordinary face and coal-black hair. His
body was muscular, and Ranko figured she'd give up at least half a
meter to this giant of a man, from her perspective. As he approached
the redhead, he offered a hearty smile. "Mei-Lin said you'd like to
help out in our store when she... is unavailable."
Ranko reflected the smile boosted by an enthusiastic sparkle in her
eyes. "Sure, I'd love to help!"
The man's expression lost a little happiness as he continued. "You're
not from around here, are you?"
Ranko's face fell. "No, sir. I hope the job you need done can be
performed by a lonely Japanese girl... far from home." A tear
punctuated just how far away she was from home, and how lonely she
felt.
"I think so, Ranko. I think you'll work out just fine."
=======
Mr. Lee, Mei-Lin's father never ran out of things for Ranko to do,
especially when he found out just how strong the teenager was. The
girl unloaded trucks and re-arranged stock in back with surprising
ease, never complaining. She also became a good friend of Mei-Lin, who
after only a few months found her ability to work in the store
restricted by her advancing pregnancy. Ranko's Mandarin improved
greatly due to her very public position as a clerk and stocker in the
store. Her blossoming friendship with the increasingly expectant
mother gave her ample opportunity to learn more about the Mandarin
language, and about a very feminine condition, pregnancy.
After a few months more, Ranko's life had fallen into routine. It was
daybreak, so she was practicing her kata. Mei-Lin watched as her
friend performed her martial arts dance, like she did every morning.
Ranko was a remarkable girl, and had helped both father and daughter
tremendously. The petite martial artist stopped her workout & turned
with an arm raised, catching a thrown towel from her friend. "Thanks!"
Ranko exclaimed happily, giving the young mother-to-be a beautiful
smile as she toweled off the bulk of the sweat her workout had
generated.
"Sure, Ranko. Tossing you a towel is a pretty small place to pay to
watch your martial arts show in the morning!" Mai-Lin replied.
Ranko walked over to her friend, draping the towel over her shoulder.
"So, how's junior?"
"Well, the baby's not trying as hard to practice the kata as last
week. No kicks yet today!"
Ranko laughed "Good, Mai-chan. Mom deserves a rest sometime..."
"Yeah, I guess..." The taller girl responded with a grin.
Ranko looked at her friend, who was now only a few weeks away from
delivery. Would she ever be able to do this? It would be tough, men
held none of her interest... at least that way. But, though the part
of her that longed to join Mai-Lin in motherhood seemed to grow larger
each day much as her friend's baby did. She could never imagine
herself willing to be with a guy in that way. Period. She had become
more of woman then she had thought possible. When she closed her eyes,
she saw a girl now, at least outside. Inside was a different story.
She hoped it would always be so.
=======
Finally, it was time to leave. Ranko's friend and 'neice' were doing
so well that another hand was no longer needed around the store. Never
wanting to be a burden, the girl had thanked her hosts and packed to
leave.
Ranko hated times like this. Leaving friends, perhaps forever with
only words to mark her passage. But she knew that wasn't true. She had
made an impact at each place she had stopped and, with the start of a
new spring, would be back in Japan in just a few months. She did have
one purchase to make before leaving, however.
The dress she had fallen in love with nearly a year ago was no longer
on display at the shop, but she knew it was still there waiting for
her. With a bit of excitement, she opened the door.
"So, you've come to make your purchase before leaving town?"
"Yes, I hope I have enough to pay for it..." Ranko put a wad of
crumpled bills on the counter, the man counting out his share.
You can change in the back room. I'll bring the dress to you."
"Oaky!" She said, and hurried to the back room. The dressmaker brought
the dress to her and left the room. She quickly got out of her skirt
and blouse, then put on the dress. She clomped out into the room.
The man made some markings on the dress "It will be ready tomorrow."
Ranko walked to the back room and looked at herself in the mirror. He
would NEVER have worn anything like this, but she would. She took the
dress off, and put her mundane clothes back on. Returning it to the
man, she said "See you tomorrow!"
=======
Ranko smiled as she left the town. The dressmaker had helped her
carefully roll up the dress, and pack it in a plastic bag to protect
it from damage. Ranko wasn't sure when she would be able to wear it,
though. Someday she would sport the beautiful symbol of her life new
and his old one, when she had a good reason to.
It was wonderful to walk again, to leave the urban area for the
freedom and peace of the open road. After a few days travel, her trip
reached a junction she had never imagined.
Ranko saw a flash on either side of the road, 200 meters ahead; she
went to the side of the road and quickly took off her boots, putting
them in her pack. The flashes hadn't moved. The fools didn't see her!
Though it was much less comfortable to walk in her stocking feet, she
could FIGHT. She put her pack back on, cautiously walking down the
road.
A twig snapped. Ranko went to her battle stance, dropping her pack.
Four, no, six men rushed out from the bushes. She knew where each of
them was. In two seconds, she whirled around to disarm them. "Feh,
weapons users!" She whispered as she whirled around again, rendering
them unconscious.
Hearing the sound of a man clapping behind her, she jumped and
flipped, now facing him 5 meters from where she had previously stood.
"Very good, you are skilled, girl! But can you beat a man?" He
sneered, taunting her.
Anger filled Ranko for a second, but she let go of it, that was part
of the trap this man was trying to set. She studied her opponent.
"Ah, a bit of self-control. I am truly impressed; you are indeed a
student of the Art. A pity you must die today."
Her opponent slowly advanced...
Ranko studied him, he lunged at her, just missing...
Ranko felt a trickle of blood on her leg, and a slight burning. Her
expression darkened... POISON!
"You know no honor!" She spat.
The man laughed. "I'm a thief! What honor do I need? And YOU... are
dead!"
Ranko had to act fast. Shouting "Kachuu Tenshin Amiguriken!" She
pummeled the man before he had a chance to react. Three tenths of a
second later, her opponent was unconscious.
Ranko tied a strip of material from her skirt around her thigh. At
least some of the poison wouldn't make it, but would it be enough?
Pain forced her to the ground. So... this is where it ended, so far
from either of her homes...
She heard an auto engine, then rolled over to see a truck. She
screamed before the darkness came.
=======
The woman driving the truck slammed on the brakes, then her companion
jumped out of the truck, running over to the girl.
The man looked at the girl, her leg already turning blue-black from
her wounds. He shouted to his wife, the driver. "Floss! You'd better
call for backup, we need to get this girl back to town."
The woman shouted into the radio. "This is Floss, calling from the
South road into town!"
"What's your problem, Floss?" A scratchy voice responded.
"We need another truck out here right away. The bandit gang is down,
but we are returning with a critically injured woman, over."
"We're coming. Let's put those bastards on ice. Out"
The man carefully carried the girl to the truck as his wife radioed
back to town. He'd seen the effects of the bandit leader's poison
before. It looked like the girl had applied a tourniquet, saving her
life. He hoped the doctor could save her leg.
As the man gently laid the girl in the back of the truck, his wife ran
out to get the girl's backpack and throw it in the back of the truck.
After her husband secured the girl, Floss turned the truck around,
then gunned the engine to race home.
=======
The blackness was lifting; Ranko heard the sounds of a household
around her. She opened her eyes, and saw a young girl about four years
old. She was cute, with pink hair and dancing gray eyes. "Hello."
Ranko said in her native tongue.
The girl looked puzzled. "What did you say?"
"Hello, who are you?" Ranko responded in Mandarin.
The girl smiled. "I'm Gloss"
Ranko struggled to smile. "I'm Saotome Ranko."
The girl ran out of the room. "Mommy, the brave lady is awake! She
says her name is Ranko!"
Two more people come to Ranko's bedside, a man and a woman.
"I am Chang Zhming, and this is my wife Floss."
The man had brown hair; Gloss had inherited her hair color from her
mother.
"How long?"
"You've been semi-conscious for two days, Ranko. The doctor was able
to save your leg, but thinks it will take at least 5 months to
recover." The man smiled as he continued. "Because you put an end to
the bandits which have plagued our village, you are the honored guest
of our town."
"What did you do with the bandits?" Ranko asked.
The man's expression turned grim. "They were taken away. We heard they
were tried and sentenced to long prison terms. My guess is they were
taken out and shot."
Ranko winced; she did not like to be responsible for the death of
anyone.
The man's expression remained grim. "They had killed many people who
lived here, Ranko. You should be proud, not upset. You avenged all of
their innocent victims."
The man's wife spoke next, motherly concern on her face. "The doctor
recommends that we help you exercise your leg. It's going to hurt, but
we should start as soon as possible."
Ranko could not bring herself to look at her leg. She tried to flex
it. It was on fire, but moving. She continued to move it until it was
completely extended. she then tried to contract it fully , then extend
it. After extending it, she became dizzy, and blacked out.
=======
When she woke up again, the girl was at her bedside.
"Where are you from, Ranko?" She asked with the intense curiosity
unique to four-year-olds.
"I'm from Japan. It's a beautiful place across the sea." She looked at
the girl's hair, the light pink reminding her of "Sakura."
"What?" The puzzled girl asked.
"Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom, you hair reminds me
of them." Ranko replied with a gentle smile.
The little girl grinned. "I see! You're a nice lady, Ranko."
"Thank you, Sakura" Ranko grinned right back.
The girl perked up even more, a delighted expression crossing her
face. "That can be your nickname for me!"
"Would you like to learn a little Japanese?"
"Sure, Ranko!"
=======
Weeks of pain followed. Exercise of her damaged leg alternated with
lessons about Japan and Japanese for Gloss and her parents, and
Mandarin lessons by the Changs for Ranko. After about a month, Ranko
was able to get along well enough to walk, though with a pronounced
limp. With their guest able to look after herself, the two parents
left their daughter in Ranko's care while they worked.
During this time, Ranko took it upon herself to work on making the
Chang's home spotless. She felt it was the least she could do for her
hosts. Gloss 'helped' her as any four-year old would. It was two steps
forward and one back. Ranko would scrub the floor, then Gloss would
tip the bucket over, while trying to move it for Ranko. She could not
find it in her heart to treat the girl too harshly, as she WAS trying
to help. Soon, Ranko provided Gloss with a DRY sponge, so she could
help clean the areas Ranko had not reached yet. Gloss really enjoyed
helping her "big sister", and proudly showed her parents where she had
helped clean each day.
When the Changs got home each night, Floss gave Ranko a cooking
lesson, and found the girl to be an eager learner. After a few
lessons, Ranko had a hot meal waiting for them when they got off work
each day. After their meal, language lessons and cooking tips
continued as Ranko and Gloss did the dishes. The Changs really grew to
love their guest, and Ranko wondered if she really needed to search
for her family any more... Then she thought of her father and mother,
a man she loved and a shadowy entity buried in her memory. She knew
then that no matter what, her family was in Japan.
=======
In another month, Ranko could walk well enough to engage in a light
workout. She invited all of the Changs to join in a simple kata in the
morning. When their parents went to work, Ranko trained Gloss, then
studied some books she had bought at the town store, after her
housekeeping chores. She thought it strange that it would be in China
that she would finally teach herself proper Japanese.
=======
A low rumble broke the silence that usually filled the valley. Ranko
was studying her Japanese when Gloss ran in to the room. "Ranko,
something bad happened at the mine! Can you come help?"
"Yes!" Ranko made her way out the door, and limped to the mine
entrance up the hill above the town.
The town elder was at the mine entrance "Ranko, there has been a
collapse in the mine. We think there are seventeen people trapped down
there. Can you help?"
"Yes, can you get me to the collapsed section?"
Finally, Ranko had managed to crawl to the point of collapse. Several
workers were using picks, making slow progress against the mass of
rocks.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I try?" Ranko asked the people in front of
her.
The miners moved out of the way. She studied the rock, looking for its
breaking point. She turned around. "Could you clear the room, please?"
After the workers were a safe distance away, she turned to the rock
wall. With a shout of "Bakusai Teknetsu!" She touched the breaking
point, disintegrating the rocks. A repeat of the process, and she
broke through. Poking her head in the opening, she heard cries of
relief from the other side.
Fifteen people crawled out of the tunnel Ranko had dug.
Concern suddenly filled her face. "Where are the Changs?"
"They're still back there, the roof collapsed on them."
Ranko crawled as fast as she could through the tunnel, the elder close
behind. When she emerged from the collapsed area, she saw another
place where the ceiling had come down... Ranko hurried over, dreading
what she would see.
Mr. Chang was dead, crushed by the rock.
Mrs. Chang was clinging to life. She looked at Ranko, her head shaking
with her struggle to live. "Ranko, my husband is dead, and I soon will
be. Please raise Gloss as your own, we will not be able to."
"It will be my honor and joy." Ranko said through tears. She sobbed
for several minutes. When she looked to back on her friends, Mrs.
Chang had died with a smile on her face.
The elder was behind her. "Saotome Ranko, will you accept the duty
given you by your friends?"
"Yes. After I free them from this place, I will comfort my daughter."
Ranko began her terrible task, wishing she was beneath the rocks...
========
The two bodies wrapped in bed sheets lay in the back of one of the
trucks. One of the drivers turned to the stricken girl. "We must go to
the city to..." He could not finish the sentence. At last, he
continued. "You must stay with your daughter to comfort her."
Ranko limped home as fast as her good leg would carry her.
=======
Dirty and bleeding from her ordeal, Ranko limped into the home, her
endurance nearly spent. "Gloss, are you alright?" She breathed,
collapsing on a bed.
"Did you see mommy and daddy?" The girl replied with concern.
Ranko choked out the words she needed. "They are gone, little one.
They were killed in the mine."
Gloss' expression became puzzled as she asked. "When will they be
back?"
"I am sorry, they asked me to be your mother, because they will not be
coming back, Gloss"
Gloss began to cry, joining her 'big sister' in bed. Ranko just held
her, trying to absorb all the child's suffering. Soon both girls were
crying themselves to fitful, painful, sleep.
=======
The sun rose, waking Ranko up. "Gloss, are you OK?"
Gloss had slept embracing Ranko. The girl still was not awake, but
seemed to be breathing regularly. Suddenly she screamed.
"It's OK, honey, I'm here. Gloss, are you alright?" Gloss grabbed onto
Ranko as if she was a life preserver... perhaps she was. The girl and
her mother drifted back to sleep.
There was a knock on the door. Ranko got up to answer. "Miss Saotome,
the truck is back."
=======
Ranko and Gloss looked through tears at the two small boxes. Gently,
Gloss picked the first one up, and placed it into a larger concrete
container, then she did the same with the other. Ranko placed the
cover on the larger box; then haltingly bore it to the grave. Her
injury made the trip agonizing, but she refused all assistance.
Physical pain was the least of her suffering, and she had one last
duty to perform for her friends. Several mine workers attached cables
to the container and lowered it. Ranko and Gloss helped fill the hole.
As they left the gravesite. Ranko looked down at her daughter.
"Gloss."
The girl shot a glance of pain at Ranko "Gloss is dead, papa-mama, I
am Sakura!"
"Why do you call me papa-mama?" Ranko asked.
"You said you used to be a boy, and both my mom and dad are dead, so
you must be papa and mama to me, papa-mama."
Ranko and her daughter returned home, and promptly tried to sleep.
After many hours, the two girls succeeded.
=======
Nerima, Tokyo
A young woman with short brown hair, Tendou Nabiki, ran the usual
search of newspapers she did once a week using the name "Saotome
Ranko". The computer and the Internet made this a much easier
proposition than it might have been. It seems that this Ranko
character was engaged to the Tendou family, and was to marry either
Nabiki or one of her sisters. Unfortunately, he got lost in China when
his idiot father had taken him there to train. There had been a battle
and the two became separated. Nabiki figured she might as well search
the Japanese-language papers in China looking for this Ranko, and had
been doing so for a year. Today was her lucky day...
The words on the screen almost shouted at her. "Japanese youth saves
fifteen in mine!" The person who performed the rescue was Saotome
Ranko from Nerima, Tokyo. Nabiki printed off the article and ran to
show her father.
=======
Chinav
Days and nights of pain and tears followed, after a few weeks, the
tears stopped and the pain was much less. Ranko was able to walk
without a trace of a limp, her recovery astonishing the town
physician.
Her recovery complete, Ranko decided it was time for her to earn some
income to support herself and... her family. Setting up a few tables
in front of the Chang's house, she opened a small cafe, "Ranko's",
putting the kitchen skills she had learned to work.
Business was slow at first, but seemed to pick up after a few weeks.
Her clientelle seemed to consist mainly of single male miners, but
Ranko never seemed to notice. There was always a line each morning of
eager customers wanting for some hot foot to take with them to work.
After a month, a smiling Sakura looked up at her mother. "Could I get
some clothes like yours?"
Ranko shook her head with a puzzled expression. "Do you really want to
wear clothes like mine, little one? You deserve prettier clothes."
Sakura looked at Ranko with the twinkle in her eyes that still melted
her mother's heart. "Your clothes are very pretty, mom, especially on
you!"
Ranko shrugged in smiling resignation. "OK, lets go to town on the
next truck."
=======
Ranko got a chance to visit her friends in the city. Most of them knew
the Changs, and would miss them. First, Ranko visited the dressmaker.
"What would you like?" The man asked with a smile.
Ranko looked a little embarrassed. "My daughter would like clothes
like mine."
Nodding his head affirmatively, the shopkeeper replied. "We should
have these in stock."
Soon Sakura was wearing clothes that looked just like her mother's.
=======
Ranko looked down at her daughter. They had just finished their
morning kata. Sakura did not cry anymore, neither did Ranko. It had
been five months since the accident. Another winter had come and left,
spring was again upon the land.
Sakura looked up at her mother. "Papa-mama, could you please have a
baby so I will have a brother or sister to play with?"
"I'm sorry little one, but I'm a boy and can't love a man. I don't
know if I can have a baby."
"Please, mommy?"
Ranko realized that many of the regulars at her cafe would be happy to
take her as a wife and Sakura as a daughter. Had she come far enough
to become one with her body at last? Was she ready to abandon hopes of
going home for the sake of her daughter? Had she finally become, at
last, a woman?
"Mommy?" Sakura asked with concern, worried Ranko hadn't responded to
her question.
"I'll try, Sakura." Ranko felt part of herself come to life at her
promise. She prepared to take a step on the road she dared not tread,
but realized she had reached its end. Looking at her daughter through
fresh tears of joy and sadness, she reached down and scooped the girl
up into a loving embrace. "You'll have a sister or brother, Sakura. I
promise."
That evening, Ranko thought she heard some people speaking Japanese,
but it must have been her imagination.
=======
Elsewhere in the village
Three Japanese travelers were looking for Saotome Ranko,
unfortunately, they could not find anyone who spoke Japanese. The
finally found an older man who spoke their tongue.
The village elder looked at the three foreigners. The man seemed to be
muscular, and wore a cloth over his head. His wife had red-brown hair
and had a sword strapped to her back. Their daughter looked to be
seventeen or eighteen perhaps, and had long black hair.
The woman spoke at last. "Good day, sir. I am Saotome Nodoka, Saotome
Ranko's mother. Do you know where Ranko lives?"
The man looked thoughtful. "Yes, but they are probably in bed by now.
There is an inn at the end of the road, perhaps you could stay there
tonight and see them tomorrow morning."
Undeterred, Nodoka continued. "Very well, do you have Ranko's
address?"
Jotting the address and a crude map on a piece of paper, the elder
offered the paper to the woman. "Yes, here it is."
=======
Nodoka looked at the simple bed with trepidation. Would she find her
son tomorrow? Would she even be able to sleep the night away? So many
nights had passed unnoticed since Genma had taken Ranko. And, after
the first few, all had usually passed easily. Now... perhaps... only
one was left. She lay awake, wondering if this Ranko WAS her son...
Visions of a strong, noble, manly son occupied her mind. Across China,
another mother tried to sleep next to her own child.
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