Relax, I'm A Ninja (4 page)

“They don’t like people dying here,” Eddie added.

“Okay, okay. I get it. Dumb question.” Stu held up his hands in surrender, but he was smiling. He was a good sport to come; we had kind of dragged him.

After rounding a few more corners, we found Todd’s room. Eddie knocked on the door and then opened it tentatively. “Todd?”

“Eddie! Hey, guys! Come in.” He sounded in good spirits; he looked good, too. His afro was perfectly shaped, and his wide smile revealed a “grill” of braces, as he called it.

“Dude, how are you?” Eddie went in, so we followed. “The team is pretty worried and stuff.” By team he meant the Academic Decathlon members, who treated trivia like a sport.

“Tell them I’ll be all right. Doc says I’ll be out tomorrow or the day after.”

“Does it hurt?” Amy asked.

“Not as much anymore. Wanna see it?”

“Yeah!” Eddie said.

“No!” Stu’s blond hair might have gone whiter at the thought. He backed up to the door and grabbed the handle. “Hope you get better fast.”

After Stu dashed out, Todd pulled up his shirt. A large piece of gauze covered the right side of his brown torso. “It’s still kind of oozing. Doc says it got infected.”

“Gross,” Amy said, but not in an oh-my-gosh-you’re-disgusting way. She leaned in to get a better view.

Todd pulled part of the bandage back, and I honestly got sick. But it wasn’t because it was nasty. That was no infection surrounding the crescent slice in his skin—that was the mark of Dragon’s Bile, the deadliest of ninja poisons. The veins were tinged green, as well as the pus.

This was the proof I needed. Courtney had to be involved. No one but a ninja could have attacked him. But why did she do such a thing? He was defenseless, not even a threat.

I tried to find a logical motive. Todd’s parents were your average rich folk, both accountants for big companies. We didn’t hurt number crunchers if we had corporate espionage missions, and there wasn’t any reason to kill their children. I would bet my right arm Todd and Courtney had never said a word to each other, making the whole “he dishonored me” thing implausible at best.

And how did he live? He would have been dead in the street without Spirit’s Grace, the only antidote.

I held in my gasp as I realized the answer. Maybe she didn’t attack him; maybe she gave him the antidote. She must have. There was no other way he could have survived. She didn’t have a motive. She couldn’t have been that evil. If she was, she wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me in her room.

There was only one problem. If Courtney was innocent, that meant there was someone else out there—a Clan horrible enough to condone using a poisoned sword on an innocent.

I did my best not to look freaked out. I had to warn Dad, but I’d have to wait for a good opening. If I left now I’d look like a jerk, so I forced myself to calm down. At least Todd wasn’t dead, and he probably had some information I could use.

“Dude,” Eddie said. “How are you still alive?” I was grateful he asked, because then I didn’t have to look too curious.

“I don’t know.” Todd’s smile dropped. “This guy dressed like a ninja showed up out of nowhere when I was heading to Tosh’s house after the game. He didn’t say a thing, just pulled out this wicked dagger. I tried to run, but he was right in front of me again. For a little guy, he was freaking strong. He sliced me open—hurt like hell. He was about to stab me again, but then he took off. I passed out. I guess you guys showed up after that. I’m damn lucky to have good friends.”

This was bad. Even Todd could identify him as a ninja. The police might think it was a gimmick, but I’d never felt so exposed.

“Any more news on finding him?” Eddie asked.

Ninjas don’t get found.

Todd shook his head. “Nah, I can’t even give them a description other than he was short and wearing a ninja costume. He didn’t say a word.”

Eddie smirked at me. “Maybe you know him, Tosh.”

“Whatever.” I pulled up a chair because I had to sit down. Todd seemed pretty certain it was a guy, meaning he probably hadn’t seen Courtney at all. Maybe she was the one who scared off the attacker, which made me wonder how powerful she was. First she scares away someone like that, and then she beats me?

“I’m so sorry.” Amy put her hand on Todd’s shoulder.

“Are you kidding? I survived a ninja attack! This will put me on the map at school!” Todd secretly wanted to be popular. He had these really expensive basketball sneakers he never wore to school, and I found a basketball tryout flyer in his room last summer. He never told us if he went for the team.

My friends laughed as he went on about how many ladies he’d get from his “battle wound.” I, on the other hand, was trying to hide some serious panic.

Who could have done this? Not that we knew details on every Clan in the area—there weren’t even that many—but I knew for sure none of them used Dragon’s Bile on a regular basis. That stuff was serious business, practically forbidden. Dad only had one small vial of it locked up so tight even I didn’t know how to get it.

Nothing made sense. Ninjas may have been all about stealth, but they were also about logic and the path of least resistance. We didn’t just kill for sport.

There was only one thing I knew for sure: Courtney was involved. To give Todd the antidote in time, she must have intercepted that ninja, which meant she had been tracking him.

She had to be a freaking good ninja to do that. How was I supposed to get information out of her?

If you don’t know, you don’t want to.
The words repeated in my mind, and I clenched my fists. I really, really wanted to know.

“Like this? I don’t want to hurt you.” Amy stuffed a couple of pillows behind Todd.

“You won’t. I’m tough.” Todd was about as tough as tofu, but whatever.

“I could take you.” Eddie folded his arms, scowling at Todd.

I laughed. “Sure you could.”

“Shut up.” Eddie elbowed me.  

I couldn’t wait longer to investigate. I had to follow Courtney again, or at least go back to the crime scene and look for more clues. “We should probably let you rest, huh.”

“I’m still pretty beat.” Todd leaned back into his pillows, for the first time showing an indication that he’d almost died four days ago.

Once we left the room, Eddie called his driver to pick us up.

“I think I’ll walk,” I said.

“You sure? After what we heard from Todd?” Eddie asked.

“It’s broad daylight. I need to go back to school and grab my bike anyway.”  

“All right, catch you later, then.”

“See you tonight!” Amy smiled wide, and I wanted to die when I saw Eddie’s reaction. Total betrayal. He treated life like D&D—chivalry, broadswords, and all.

“My dad invited Amy to the competition class, Ed. She’ll be practicing with me now.”

“Oh, I see.” Eddie’s posture didn’t relax.

“What, did you think I would go on a date with Tosh?” Amy laughed hard. I wasn’t sure my pride could take this. First Courtney and the goose egg, then her anti-nerd parade in history, and now Amy scoffing at the thought of dating me. Again. Ouch.

“Is dating me really that funny?” is what I would have said if Eddie wasn’t there. What came out instead was, “Like I would ask her out.”

She stopped laughing and glared. I thought my dad was the only one who could shut me down without a word. Apparently not
.

Eddie glowered at me, the same glint in his eye that he got when he figured out a really hard boss in D&D. “This is the competition class that Amy couldn’t get into, and now suddenly she’s in it? That seems pretty convenient for you.”

And there it was—he thought I was trying to get close to her, which meant he’d pay more attention to my karate life than I wanted. It felt like a piece of my cover had come undone, and if Eddie tugged hard enough he’d unravel the whole thing.

Amy opened her mouth, probably to mess things up more. “Are you saying I didn’t earn it, Ed?”

Eddie’s face filled with horror. “No! I …”

I let out a relieved sigh, unsure if Amy’s distraction was intentional or not. Either way, it worked for me. “I really gotta go. Later.”

They barely said goodbye, locked in a small argument. I headed in the direction of Greenburg as fast as I could without breaking into a jog, desperate to figure out who had tried to kill Todd.

5

I felt like my true self when I wore my karate gi. The worn cotton fabric was soft and familiar against my skin, the brown belt around my waist second nature. The moment I could stand on my own, Dad started training me in karate. We had videos of toddler me performing kata better than ten-year-olds.

After suiting up in my room, I headed down for “competition class.” AKA: Ninja School. I didn’t know what felt more like home, our apartment or the dojo. The large mirror reflected the
kanji
scrolls on the opposite wall. The
kamidana
lived in the center of that wall in a small Shinto shrine. Those were the only décor in the back room—other than that there was a drinking fountain, a closet, and a bathroom by the office door. In front we had some trophies and posters for the people who thought karate was about fighting. It was more a way of life.

I slipped out of my shoes and stepped onto the mat, which somehow put me at ease. You wouldn’t think the plastic-smelling, grimy mats could ever be comforting, but that’s exactly how it was for me.

“Tosh! What’s up?” Marty called as he entered the back room. Marty was the coolest person I knew in real life. I hated that our covers didn’t allow us to hang out. It was kind of disgusting how pretty the guy was with that curly blond hair, baby blue eyes, and cool skater look, which happened to be his cover. A senior at the local public school, he wouldn’t be caught dead talking to a private school geek like me. But in here we were best friends.

“We got a new recruit coming today.” I looked through the small window to the front room. A group of middle school kids were going through a kata with my dad. No Amy in sight.

“Really? I was starting to think I’d be the last one.” He began stretching, so I joined him.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Did Sensei say why?”

I sighed, not wanting to replay that night again.

He laughed. “Say no more.”

Dad was never one to explain his decisions. Since he was Clan Master, we did as we were told. Usually the reason became apparent in doing.

“I guess it’ll be nice to have new blood. It’s been kinda lonely since Danielle finished. I miss sparring with her.” Marty pushed himself up to a handstand and then arched over to stretch his back.

I nodded. I did want to fight someone new, but the thought of fighting Amy made my insides turn. Fighting girls added a different aspect to the battle. Dad rarely recruited them, but when he did they were always freaky good at ninjutsu.

“So, who is it?” Marty asked.

“Amy Sato.”

“I think I’ve seen her out front in the brown belt class,” he said. “She the super short one?”

“Five-nothing, long black hair.”
Instincts of a panther…the girl who kicked my ego in the shins…
I shook my head, telling myself to get over it.

“She’s good, makes sense.” Marty went into a split. “Doesn’t she go to your school?”

“Yup.”

“Two of us in one place. That’s…dangerous.” Marty lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. I didn’t dare mention there would actually be three.

The door clicked open, and we both turned to see who it was. Hair pulled back into a tight braid, Amy stood there with a nervous smile. Her baggy gi somehow made her look smaller, like a kid wearing her mom’s clothes. All she needed were the stubby pigtails she used to wear and she’d still look eight.

“Hey, Amy, come stretch,” I said. She nodded, set down her things, and took off her shoes.

“Ito Sensei should be back here soon, then we can get you started.” Marty held out his hand. “Martin Perry, by the way. I don’t think we’ve formally met.”

“Amy Sato.” She took his hand. He winked and kissed the top of it. Only he could get away with such cheesiness. She blushed. “Nice to meet you. I’ve watched you compete. You’re really good.”

“Why, thank you,” he said with a big smile.

“Is this the whole class?” Amy looked around the near empty room.

“It’s a very,
very
special class,” I said.

“Okay …” She looked at me like I was crazy, but I was enjoying the last moments before she broke down in tears.

New recruits always freaked out. It wasn’t fun to learn you’d just walked into a ninja school and had no chance at leaving. That’s why Dad picked so carefully—we didn’t want to take drastic measures to keep people quiet. Some of them had suspicions (like an illegal fighting ring), but they never guessed right.

The door swung open again and my father came in. He didn’t have to say a word to tell us we needed to stand at ready; just his presence implied that. The three of us scrambled to our feet and lined up. He stood with his hands behind his back and inspected us. Dad reminded me of a badger—black hair streaked with gray, short and slight, and a fighter you’d never want to meet in a forest.

“Sato, I am pleased you have chosen to join us,” he began in his accented English. No welcome, no smile. On to business as usual, like he wasn’t about to drop a bomb on Amy’s life. “You will train in ninjutsu until I deem you fit to work. You are now a ninja, member of the Ito Clan; you must live this secret or die. Do you understand?”

Boom!
The mushroom cloud formed. Amy gasped and stiffened. She had to be falling apart inside. I tried to imagine what it’d be like to learn that real ninjas still existed. It had to seem crazy. My first instinct was to put my arm around her, but damage control happened after orientation.

“Sato, do you understand?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes, Sensei.”

“I must evaluate your fighting instincts first. Gear up, all of you.”

We went to the closet. Amy stared blankly as she slipped on the smallest chest guard and pads.

“You okay?” I whispered. She nodded and went back to the floor in front of my dad.