Fan Fiction ❯ San ❯ 3 ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: firemoonhalk 
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Action / | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.06.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 121 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Action / | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.06.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 121 | Status: Completed
Several hours later San awakened with a start as Ro gently shook her. San opened her eyes and sat up. San looked over at her bed and saw that the man remained asleep. Ro made a gesture that looked as if she was eating and held out her hand. San told Ro that she wasn’t hungry and gave Ro one dinner ration coin. Ro smiled and gave San a hug, the closest equivalent to a thank you the girl knew and ran off to get food.
San smiled after her sister and continued to watch the rise and fall of the man’s shallow breathing. San sighed and lied back down on the bed. Several hours later, she heard the door open and looked up to see Ro enter with three ration coins in her hand. San laughed aloud and asked if Ro was charging for spying on the adults again. Ro looked at San, smiled smugly, and nodded. Most adults seemed to forget that just because Ro was mute and could not talk did not mean she couldn't listen and write down what the adults said for the other children to know about. Ro had made enough ration coins to last three months doing just this. San laughed and wondered for the millionth time why she still gave Ro any coins when she had so many herself.
San and Ro both looked over at the man on the bed as he groaned and tried to sit up. The pain and dizziness made him pass out again immediately and he fell back to the bed. Ro got a water bottle from a peg over the bed and slowly made him drink some. Ro then put the bottle down, went to San and looked up at her questioningly. San saw Ro’s questioning gaze but pretended not to because she was not sure herself what they were going to do with this man. They did not even know if this man spoke the same language. Ro came and sat next to San on the bed.
San sighed and stretched as she got up from the bed. Ro watched her older sister as she went to the wall and pulled open a drawer to produce a bag full of jingly coins and went towards the door. “I will be back in a minute OK Ro?” Ro nodded her head and lied down on the small bed. Ro watched the ceiling and waited for her sister to appear at the door.
As Ro lied upon the bed, she heard a groan from the other side of the room. The man was rousing and had moved over and was looking at Ro. Ro starred back at his unbelievably blue eyes she had ever seen. His eyes shined with the glow of a deep inner peace and understanding. For just a moment, Ro stood captured in those knowing eyes as he scanned over the room and her. The man looked at her confused. He was wondering how he had come to be within this room and where was this room for that matter. Had the enemy caught him after all his struggle and pain? Was this some holding cell? He scanned the room carefully and noticed the little shelves and drawers and the pegs that held various bags and garments all throughout the room. “No, this couldn’t be a prison chamber” he decided aloud. He then turned his attention once more to the girl on the bed opposite him. He starred at her for a long moment. “What is your name?” He asked Ro gently. Ro shook her head and put her hand to her mouth. "Are we supposed to be quiet?” He whispered. Ro again shook her head. The man frowned and sighed. “Do you understand me?” He asked. Ro nodded and smiled at his confusion.
Many people didn’t realize Ro was mute until told so. Many people are much less perceptive than they would like to think that they are. When Ro had first started school, all her classmates thought she was stuck up at first until the teacher explained to them that Ro could not speak. After the children got over the mindset that Ro could not think because she could not speak, they quickly became her friends. Now, five years later, Ro was very popular with all the children and was their primary source of information.
Ro got up and opened a large pouch that she had hanging from her belt. She quickly produced a pad of paper and a pencil and scribbled down that she would be right back. Ro walked over to the man and held the pad so he could read it. He nodded and she wrote that he was to stay put. Again, the man nodded and looked over at Ro. Ro placed the pad back into the pouch and buttoned it shut. The man grabbed her hand as she took a step forward, causing her to turn towards him once more.
“Thank you.” He said and Ro smiled and nodded. “You are mute aren’t you?” He asked with genuine interest. Ro raised her eyebrows and nodded, a little shocked that he had known her for five minutes at the most and he had realized what took most people quite a while to realize and even longer to believe. He let go of Ro’s hand and she let it fall to her side. Ro turned and hurried out the door to find her elder sister.
San walked slowly to the room to eat the many plates of food she carried. Ro came running around the corner, nearly knocking all the food from San's tray. Ro smiled and pointed to her tray and put two fingers up. San looked at Ro for a moment and nodded. San turned and started to head back to the mess hall when Ro tugged on her sleeve. Ro pointed towards their room, pulled a food coin out of her pocket, and showed it to San. San thought she understood her sibling’s actions. San figured Ro was hungry also and wanted to pick out her own food. San sighed and slid her card through the slot. The door opened and San entered.
San walked quickly over to the bed and put her food down. The man watched in silence as San came into the room thinking that maybe this girl might be mute also. When she sat and started to eat, he smiled. “Think I could have a little of that?” The man said. San spun around to face him as she half choked on the bite she had been chewing. San swallowed and glanced over at the man, instantly locked into the strangers eyes. “When did you awake?” San looked the man over and wondered for the millionth time where he had come from.
“So, you can speak. This is a good thing. My name is Kutoni Sortane. I am General of the Imperial Army of the Emperor of Tsunota. Most of my friends used to call me Kuto, and if you wish so may you.” Kuto smiled and hung his head in a small bow. “I would bow to you my lady, but I seem to be immobile at the moment.” Kuto took a breath before continuing. “Do you happen to have knowledge of how I came to temporarily reside within this settlement?”
“There were only a handful of survivors. A search party went to look for survivors and reported that the ship had self-destructed killing everything for three miles. We were about four miles away from the blast when it happened. Even from that distance it knocked me down to the ground.” San caught his feelings of disappointment. “About a hundred of our women and men died but the blast killed about five hundred of their own. Oh, if I may call you Kuto, then you may call me San.”
Kuto smiled and his whole face lit up causing San to smile even broader. The door opened and Ro walked in carrying a tray full of food and set it down next to Kuto. Ro made a small bow and ran out the door. Kuto looked confused and San smiled. Kuto was indeed hungry for in a moment he was digging into his tray as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. San smiled and started eating with slightly more restraint.
“So is that girl a servant or something?” Kuto asked San. San laughed and half choked on the bite of food she had been chewing. San put up a finger and tried to swallow her bit of food. San smiled and shook her head at Kuto.
“No, Kuto that is my little sister Ro. She is mute but don’t let that fool you, she is very clever.” Kuto smiled and put down the fork he was holding. San got up, took the empty tray from Kuto, and pulled open a door in the wall. San dropped both her tray and Kuto’s empty trays down the shoot. Kuto looked at San questioningly. “It goes down to a net that catches the dishes and lets the food go through, they take out the dishes and the food goes down to a mulch pile for the tree to grow strong in.
“This place has many things like that; all meant to keep the people from doing too much work and keep the trees strong at the same time. Many people around here are solders or doctors or too young to work so we have found ways to minimize the work yet keep everything done. The hold keeps getting less and less populated as we fight and there are less and less people to help with everything. Ro is old enough to work but because she is mute people always assume she is not capable of working I would not want her out in the field fighting anyway, she doesn’t know how to work other than cleaning up the rooms, and she is supposedly born too high for that.
“Our father was once the chief of the town and out mother was the daughter of another city’s chief. They fell in love and were lucky that they had the same status. That was back when status was what decided all. Things have gotten a lot more lax since then but Ro still can’t be a house cleaner. She earns her food tokens through other things like taking messages between adults that think because she is mute she can’t read, and then she writes to the children and informs them what happens. The children in turn give her their food coupons and she can make up to twenty a day if it is a good day.”
Kuto laughed. “OK, remind me not to talk about privet affairs in front of her. She sounds very smart, I knew she was mute. She wrote for me to stay here when she left.” Kuto and San both smiled. Kuto tried to stand up and fell to the bed groaning. “Ouch! Oh, that hurts! I guess I got hurt more than I thought. San got up, sat down next to Kuto on the bed, and rubbed his forehead.
“You have a hole all the way through your chest, I would not advise getting up for a while. You are extremely lucky. That laser beam could have easily pierced your heart or your lungs. You could have died so easily.” Kuto looked up at San and smiled.
“I guess it was my lucky day, get shot and live then get rescued by a beautiful girl and brought to safety and bandaged up.” San blushed and Kuto smiled crookedly.
San smiled after her sister and continued to watch the rise and fall of the man’s shallow breathing. San sighed and lied back down on the bed. Several hours later, she heard the door open and looked up to see Ro enter with three ration coins in her hand. San laughed aloud and asked if Ro was charging for spying on the adults again. Ro looked at San, smiled smugly, and nodded. Most adults seemed to forget that just because Ro was mute and could not talk did not mean she couldn't listen and write down what the adults said for the other children to know about. Ro had made enough ration coins to last three months doing just this. San laughed and wondered for the millionth time why she still gave Ro any coins when she had so many herself.
San and Ro both looked over at the man on the bed as he groaned and tried to sit up. The pain and dizziness made him pass out again immediately and he fell back to the bed. Ro got a water bottle from a peg over the bed and slowly made him drink some. Ro then put the bottle down, went to San and looked up at her questioningly. San saw Ro’s questioning gaze but pretended not to because she was not sure herself what they were going to do with this man. They did not even know if this man spoke the same language. Ro came and sat next to San on the bed.
San sighed and stretched as she got up from the bed. Ro watched her older sister as she went to the wall and pulled open a drawer to produce a bag full of jingly coins and went towards the door. “I will be back in a minute OK Ro?” Ro nodded her head and lied down on the small bed. Ro watched the ceiling and waited for her sister to appear at the door.
As Ro lied upon the bed, she heard a groan from the other side of the room. The man was rousing and had moved over and was looking at Ro. Ro starred back at his unbelievably blue eyes she had ever seen. His eyes shined with the glow of a deep inner peace and understanding. For just a moment, Ro stood captured in those knowing eyes as he scanned over the room and her. The man looked at her confused. He was wondering how he had come to be within this room and where was this room for that matter. Had the enemy caught him after all his struggle and pain? Was this some holding cell? He scanned the room carefully and noticed the little shelves and drawers and the pegs that held various bags and garments all throughout the room. “No, this couldn’t be a prison chamber” he decided aloud. He then turned his attention once more to the girl on the bed opposite him. He starred at her for a long moment. “What is your name?” He asked Ro gently. Ro shook her head and put her hand to her mouth. "Are we supposed to be quiet?” He whispered. Ro again shook her head. The man frowned and sighed. “Do you understand me?” He asked. Ro nodded and smiled at his confusion.
Many people didn’t realize Ro was mute until told so. Many people are much less perceptive than they would like to think that they are. When Ro had first started school, all her classmates thought she was stuck up at first until the teacher explained to them that Ro could not speak. After the children got over the mindset that Ro could not think because she could not speak, they quickly became her friends. Now, five years later, Ro was very popular with all the children and was their primary source of information.
Ro got up and opened a large pouch that she had hanging from her belt. She quickly produced a pad of paper and a pencil and scribbled down that she would be right back. Ro walked over to the man and held the pad so he could read it. He nodded and she wrote that he was to stay put. Again, the man nodded and looked over at Ro. Ro placed the pad back into the pouch and buttoned it shut. The man grabbed her hand as she took a step forward, causing her to turn towards him once more.
“Thank you.” He said and Ro smiled and nodded. “You are mute aren’t you?” He asked with genuine interest. Ro raised her eyebrows and nodded, a little shocked that he had known her for five minutes at the most and he had realized what took most people quite a while to realize and even longer to believe. He let go of Ro’s hand and she let it fall to her side. Ro turned and hurried out the door to find her elder sister.
San walked slowly to the room to eat the many plates of food she carried. Ro came running around the corner, nearly knocking all the food from San's tray. Ro smiled and pointed to her tray and put two fingers up. San looked at Ro for a moment and nodded. San turned and started to head back to the mess hall when Ro tugged on her sleeve. Ro pointed towards their room, pulled a food coin out of her pocket, and showed it to San. San thought she understood her sibling’s actions. San figured Ro was hungry also and wanted to pick out her own food. San sighed and slid her card through the slot. The door opened and San entered.
San walked quickly over to the bed and put her food down. The man watched in silence as San came into the room thinking that maybe this girl might be mute also. When she sat and started to eat, he smiled. “Think I could have a little of that?” The man said. San spun around to face him as she half choked on the bite she had been chewing. San swallowed and glanced over at the man, instantly locked into the strangers eyes. “When did you awake?” San looked the man over and wondered for the millionth time where he had come from.
“So, you can speak. This is a good thing. My name is Kutoni Sortane. I am General of the Imperial Army of the Emperor of Tsunota. Most of my friends used to call me Kuto, and if you wish so may you.” Kuto smiled and hung his head in a small bow. “I would bow to you my lady, but I seem to be immobile at the moment.” Kuto took a breath before continuing. “Do you happen to have knowledge of how I came to temporarily reside within this settlement?”
“There were only a handful of survivors. A search party went to look for survivors and reported that the ship had self-destructed killing everything for three miles. We were about four miles away from the blast when it happened. Even from that distance it knocked me down to the ground.” San caught his feelings of disappointment. “About a hundred of our women and men died but the blast killed about five hundred of their own. Oh, if I may call you Kuto, then you may call me San.”
Kuto smiled and his whole face lit up causing San to smile even broader. The door opened and Ro walked in carrying a tray full of food and set it down next to Kuto. Ro made a small bow and ran out the door. Kuto looked confused and San smiled. Kuto was indeed hungry for in a moment he was digging into his tray as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. San smiled and started eating with slightly more restraint.
“So is that girl a servant or something?” Kuto asked San. San laughed and half choked on the bite of food she had been chewing. San put up a finger and tried to swallow her bit of food. San smiled and shook her head at Kuto.
“No, Kuto that is my little sister Ro. She is mute but don’t let that fool you, she is very clever.” Kuto smiled and put down the fork he was holding. San got up, took the empty tray from Kuto, and pulled open a door in the wall. San dropped both her tray and Kuto’s empty trays down the shoot. Kuto looked at San questioningly. “It goes down to a net that catches the dishes and lets the food go through, they take out the dishes and the food goes down to a mulch pile for the tree to grow strong in.
“This place has many things like that; all meant to keep the people from doing too much work and keep the trees strong at the same time. Many people around here are solders or doctors or too young to work so we have found ways to minimize the work yet keep everything done. The hold keeps getting less and less populated as we fight and there are less and less people to help with everything. Ro is old enough to work but because she is mute people always assume she is not capable of working I would not want her out in the field fighting anyway, she doesn’t know how to work other than cleaning up the rooms, and she is supposedly born too high for that.
“Our father was once the chief of the town and out mother was the daughter of another city’s chief. They fell in love and were lucky that they had the same status. That was back when status was what decided all. Things have gotten a lot more lax since then but Ro still can’t be a house cleaner. She earns her food tokens through other things like taking messages between adults that think because she is mute she can’t read, and then she writes to the children and informs them what happens. The children in turn give her their food coupons and she can make up to twenty a day if it is a good day.”
Kuto laughed. “OK, remind me not to talk about privet affairs in front of her. She sounds very smart, I knew she was mute. She wrote for me to stay here when she left.” Kuto and San both smiled. Kuto tried to stand up and fell to the bed groaning. “Ouch! Oh, that hurts! I guess I got hurt more than I thought. San got up, sat down next to Kuto on the bed, and rubbed his forehead.
“You have a hole all the way through your chest, I would not advise getting up for a while. You are extremely lucky. That laser beam could have easily pierced your heart or your lungs. You could have died so easily.” Kuto looked up at San and smiled.
“I guess it was my lucky day, get shot and live then get rescued by a beautiful girl and brought to safety and bandaged up.” San blushed and Kuto smiled crookedly.