Author's Notes: Yes, I know I have several other projects that
need work/finishing. But this has been lying on my hard drive
for three weeks, and if I don't upload it soon, I might lose
interest and delete it. And I REALLY don't want that!

I can't make any promises on how often I update, but I will try
to update as much as possible without sacrificing either my other
fics or my schoolwork. Please be patient!

Translations:
katana: a sword.
shinai: A practice sword made of bamboo. Used primarily in
kendo matches.
gi: In this case, the top part of the traditional martial
artist's outfit.
hakama: long pants that conceal the wearer's leg movements.
Part of the standard kendo uniform.
-dono: a more respectful form of "-san". Archaic, and no
longer in general usage.

----------
RAN KUSAMORI: SAMURAI GIRL
by TheArchimage

Event 1: Far From Home

=====

"Choke up! Spread your feet out more! You're leaving yourself
wide open!"

She was trying to pay attention to what he was telling her, but
it was little use. Sensei's attacks were too powerful, too
fast, and too varied. Her Sensei had been training her for all
ten years of her life, and she still couldn't hold a candle to
his skill. She couldn't hope to keep up with him, and it wasn't
long before she felt the shinai against her unprotected stomach.
He had stopped short, but the blow still lifted her off her feet
and knocked her to the floor.

As she struggled to put air back in her lungs, Sensei looked
down at her, displeased. "And now you are dead. Tell me,
how do you expect to protect others if you can't even defend
yourself? Do you really think you can live up to the ideals
of the samurai like that?"

She raised her eyes up to him and protested, "But Father-!"

She was interrupted by the shinai going against her throat.
"No backtalking, and no excuses. They are forms of weakness
you are going to have to rid yourself of. And I have told
you a thousand times, you will address me as Sensei. Is
that clear?"

She swallowed as she realized her mistake and bowed her
head low. "Yes... Sensei."

Sensei removed the shinai from her throat. "Good. Take
a short break, and meet me back here. We'll try this again."

*****

"Hello? Hello! Are you okay over there?"

She groaned as she opened one eye. It was dark out, and
it took her eyes a brief moment to adjust. She saw a
middle-aged woman, wearing clothes of a style she had never
seen before, inspecting her from a safe distance. Her dark
brown hair flowed smoothly down the entire length of her
back, and her face and body were both somewhat plump. She
did not seem familiar; she was certainly not anyone from the
dojo. Then where had she come from?

Or for that matter, where was she? The vibrant scents of a
forest reached her nose, but it was a different smell from
the woods near the dojo. The girl opened her eyes fully as
she sat up. She was not going to learn anything lying
there. "Where... where am I? Who are you?"

The woman smiled pleasantly as she introduced herself, "My
name is Ryoko Mitsuda. You're in the middle of the woods.
Is anything the matter? Are you hurt?"

The girl looked down at herself. Despite not knowing where
she was, she was in excellent shape. Both her white gi and
midnight blue hakama looked like they had been newly
threaded, and she had no apparent injuries. A katana was
laced along her belt on her left side, also in perfect
condition.

However, there was something quite amiss. Her hair was cut
short, as per Sensei's instructions, ("Long hair will only
serve to hinder your movements in battle," he often told her)
but very little about her had remained the same. She was
much taller and quite a bit more muscular than she remembered,
although she was still quite lithe. Her body had matured
greatly... she guessed that she was at least five years older
than she remembered. Was this a dream? No... the sights, the
sounds, and especially the smells were far too vivid for this
to be a figment of her imagination.

"I am unharmed, Mitsuda-dono," she informed the woman. Even
her voice was a bit stronger, more refined, and lower toned
than she remembered. How strange... "Although... I have no
idea how I ended up here, or how long I have been unconscious.
It might very well have been several years, as my most recent
memories are from when I was much younger than I am now."

Ryoko moved one hand to her mouth and gasped, "Oh, you poor
thing. You have amnesia?"

The girl furrowed her brow in thought. "I do not recognize
the term... but I have no memory of the past few years, if
that is what you mean. I am certain everything will
become clearer when I return to the dojo. Unfortunately,
these woods are not familiar to me." She stood up and
brushed herself off. "I must have a long way to travel,
so I should get started on my way. Good night, Mitsuda-dono,
and thank you for your concern."

Ryoko shook her head. "Traveling? This late at night? Kids
these days, always trying to overexert themselves. Come on,
follow me. I'll let you sleep at my place. I'll get you a
more suitable change of clothes and a good meal, as well."

The girl's stomach rumbled. She did not want to admit it, but
she would rather not travel on an empty stomach. Also,
despite just awakening, her body was still sluggish and slow;
she needed sleep, and a safe place to do it. Her honor would
never allow her to ask for such things as food and shelter,
but in her circumstances she would gladly take them if offered.
"Very well. But I can only stay one night. I must be off,
before the rest of the dojo begins to worry about me. Lead
the way."

"My home is just around the bend," Ryoko said. "It won't
take long, Miss...?"

"Ran," the girl gave her name. "Ran Kusamori."

"Well, Ran, let's be on our way, shall we?"

They walked on for several minutes, without a word from
either of them. Finally, Ryoko said, "A samurai, you
said? That's a rather odd career choice..."

"Perhaps it is. You are not the first to be so surprised.
Traditionally, women are prohibited from becoming samurai.
But it was my mother's last wish that I take up the sword,
and Sensei had no choice but to accept me as his student."

"That... wasn't quite what I meant, dear."

"Then what did you mean?"

"... Ah, here we are."

Ran looked up from the road, choosing to ignore Ryoko's
odd statements for the moment. The house was a three-story
affair that peeked out from behind the surrounding trees.
It seemed entirely possible that, if you weren't looking
for it, you could never notice it was there. Despite this,
it was in good condition, and built in a distinctly Japanese
manner that put Ran a little more at ease.

"This is my home," Ryoko explained. "Don't worry, I get
guests all the time, and I even have a few permanent
boarders, so it's no trouble at all. It used to be an
inn, a long time ago. But now, it's more of... a home.
Come on, let's get ourselves inside and out of this night
air before we catch cold."

"Very well, Mitsuda-dono," Ran said as she fell into
step behind her.

*****

Ran inspected the nightgown Ryoko gave her apprehensively.
It was a peaceful sky-blue, quite comfortable, and
exquisitely made. That last part was what was bothering
her most. "Mitsuda-dono, it is not necessary to pamper me.
I have no taste for luxuries; something this grand is
wasted on me..."

"Nonsense. I'm not going to let you go to bed in that
kendo uniform. Before we turn in, you'd better call your
folks and tell them where you are. The phone's right there.
I'm going to fix up your room." Ryoko then went up the
stairs, leaving a puzzled Ran staring at the "phone".

She approached the strange device slowly. After a moment,
she grabbed hold of the phone, and lifted it off the hook.
She sighed as she hung the phone back up. Even if the
device could let her speak to Sensei, it was better to not
deal with such artifacts, especially when she was unsure
how to use it. What a strange land, to have such things, yet
look like the land she came from...

When Ryoko came back down, Ran was walking towards her,
looking behind her at the telephone with a strange look.
"Well," she said. "Did you clear things up with your parents,
Ran?" Ran said nothing, unsure how to respond.

Her despondent face sent Ryoko a different message than she
had intended. "Are your parents not home? Well, I guess
there's no helping that... as long as you left a message, it
should be fine. Room 205 is all ready for you. Up the stairs,
third door on your right. And please try to be quiet, since
everyone else is fast asleep." Ran sighed as she passed her,
going up the stairs. Just as Ryoko was about to follow her,
the phone caught her attention.

"Poor girl, so tired she hung the phone upside down," she said.
She corrected the mistake, turned the lights off, and went to
her own room without giving it a second thought.

*****

It was so late, even the owls were silent. Ran was lying in
her room, opting to sleep on the floor in a futon instead of
using the western-style bed in the corner. Although anyone
else would have called the furnishings of the room generic, she
thought they were quite strange indeed. The curtains had a
flower pattern that must have taken forever to weave, and a
scent strangely reminiscent of a summer's meadow permeated the
room. Not only that, but everything was so... clean. It was
almost as if the room had never been used at all. She was
probably in some aristocrat's house, she realized. Who else
could afford such things?

This place was too strange, she thought. Where was she? How
had she gotten so far from home without realizing it? Should
she really be staying here, when she didn't even know how far
away she was from home?

And Mitsuda-dono... there was something odd about her, as well.
Nothing that she could put her finger on, but her aura felt...
different. Like nothing she had ever felt before. There was
a strange power inside her, but it was being choked off, or
perhaps blocked. It wasn't ki, but it seemed somehow similar...
how strange.

Ran pushed those thoughts from her head. She would be leaving
tomorrow, so there was no need to be thinking about such things.
Still, she could not remember the past several years, and the
sword she found at her side when she awoke was of excellent
quality. She had never been allowed to wield a metal sword in
all her days of training. Perhaps... in the past few years,
she had proven herself to be able enough to carry a sword of
her own. She would be immensely proud of this was the case.

Sensei would be able to tell her of all these things when she
returned. It would be better to rest up now, so she could get
an early start. Yes, that would be best...

-----

Preview of Event 2: Meet the Residents

The young girl spoke for the first time, "I'm not a thing,
nee-san! I'm Hazumi!"

Ran's eyebrow twitched. "And I am not your 'nee-san'. Now,
will you please let go of me? I must take my leave before-"

Ryoko came in at that moment, wearing a pink apron and
smiling cheerfully. "Breakfast is ready! Ran, what are you
doing with that bag over your shoulder? You should stay a
while, have breakfast!"

"...Before that happens," she sighed, caught.