We Put The Zoo In Zoomies!

…dogs, cats, raccoons, pigs, all zooming

The Doclopedia #3,088

Who Is Red?: A Ronin

A tip of the bandana to Clyde Lee Graham for the idea.

How did I get here? I fell into a hole in the air. It was the fall of your year 1760 and I was walking down a hillside. The next thing I knew, I woke up on a beach 400 miles and 150 years later. I was 38 when I fell and about 16 when I woke up. It was 1910.

Scared? You have no idea. I spent a month hiding in the woods. I stole clothes and food and read anything I could find. I’d hide and listen to people talking. Finally, I realized there was no place in the modern world for my swords or my old ways. I walked to a city and sold the swords for a good price, then rented a small house to live in for a while. I needed more time to think about my future.

Eventually, I met Mr. Fujiko. He was about 80 and his grandfather had been a samurai in his youth. He saw that in me, so I told him my strange tale. He believed me, or at least didn’t act like I was crazy. Then he helped me with books, answer to questions, everything. He told people I was his great nephew from up north. I learned to navigate the modern world from him. When he died in 1915, it was like losing my father again. He left me a good deal of money, so at 21 I left Japan and traveled the world for a few years. I learned a lot.

I settled here in Los Angeles in 1921 and set myself up as a private investigator in Japantown. Business was okay, sometimes dangerous. Never got married, but did have a dog. Life was pretty good.

Was being the active word. Fall of 1940, I was dealing with a slimy little thug from the homeland when he offers me a chance to make big money as a spy. Not sure why I played along, but I did. Slowly pieced together some things, which is why I’m going back to Japan tonight on a cargo plane.

Look, Em, you’ve been a great landlady and secretary. You and Frank and the kids are the family I’ve missed, but I need to do this. Something big is about to happen, and America might need a guy on the inside over there, even if they don’t know it.

Take care of yourself, Em. I’ll see ya around.