Relax, I'm A Ninja (20 page)

Courtney preened. “Threatened much?”

Amy balled her fists. “Don’t make me—”

“Enough, girls!” my mom yelled. “Don’t mix your covers with business. Courtney, go back with Marty. He needs more sparring practice anyway.”

Amy and I went through the moves my mom taught us. She didn’t talk, and I had this sinking feeling she was mad at me. We couldn’t do this again—it was a health risk. What was the big deal? She had to know I wouldn’t do anything with Courtney, no matter how hot she was.

Mom kept us late. It was dark before she finally told Marty and Courtney they could go. Mom pulled her bike from the garage and started riding back to the dojo. I took my time unlocking my bike so we could have some space. I had to take the chance to talk to Amy before this problem exploded like the last one.

“What’s your problem with Courtney?” I asked as she climbed on the back and put her arms around me.

“She got you beat up—not nice.” Amy squeezed tighter and kissed me on the cheek, avoiding the real reason.

“C’mon, there’s more to it than that. I can tell.”

She sighed. “Can you not see through me for one sec?”

“Nope, it’s only fair. You do it to me all the time.” I had to lighten the mood. She wouldn’t close off if I was chill. “Were you best friends, but then she stole Logan from you after you had a crush on him for years? Is she dead to you?”

She snorted. “Yeah, I pine over Logan the Barbarian.”

“I knew it!” I put my hand on her arm as we stopped at a light. Mom had made it through and pulled ahead of us, so hopefully Amy would talk now. “What’s the real reason?”

She tensed. “I know you had a crush on her.”

My face burned. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked—this could blow up in my face.

“You’ve liked her for years. At least, that’s what Eddie said.” Her grip on me loosened. “It’s like I’m sloppy seconds. She’s…she’s prettier than me, and she acts like she wants you. Then I get scared you might want her.”

I had no idea Amy would see things like that. No wonder she’d been so distant since the hospital. She really thought I might leave her.

I put one hand on hers. “Amy, I don’t want her. Maybe I did before, but my whole life has changed since then. She’s trying to manipulate me, not date me. And you’re beautiful, not to mention my other half and all that junk.”

“Really?” Her voice cracked.

“Yeah.” I gulped, trying to find the courage to speak. So far it seemed like there wouldn’t be a fight. “All this stuff has been really hard, but I’m not going anywhere if you’re not.”

“Okay, I’ll try not to be so neurotic about it. Just…the way she looks at you drives me nuts.”

“That’s probably why she’s doing it. She’s mad at us and wants revenge, that’s all.”

She leaned her head on my back and let out a long, shaky sigh. “Thanks, Tosh.”

“For what?” I was relieved that she seemed satisfied for now, even if things weren’t totally fixed.

“For talking. For being you.”

“No problem.” I smiled.

We were almost home. I could see the dojo. The lights were off, but it wasn’t nine yet. Dad didn’t usually close that early. Something felt off, so I pedaled faster to catch Mom. She wasn’t too far ahead, but I had to go through a red light. A car honked.

Mom skidded to a stop in front, jumping off her bike instead of pulling it around back to the garage. My stomach dropped. I barely registered the broken window as we ran in after her. The door to the back training room was mangled, as was the one leading to our apartment.

All I could think as we climbed the stairs was that my father might be dead.

25

I had only a second to process the chaos in our apartment, but it was enough to make my heart stop. Slashed furniture, broken television, cracks in the walls. Dad was on the ground, the blood on his gi shining black in the dark. His chest heaved, an empty vial of Spirit’s Grace clutched in his hand. I thanked my ancestors he was at least alive. A limp figure clad in black lay next to him, but my mom was fighting another.

The Akuma glowed green where her ninja gi didn’t cover, and her empty eyes were blacker than the room. The sword she wielded was stained with blood. She kicked my mom, who flew into a wall at the impact. Mom flopped to the floor, knocked out. The Akuma held out her hand to my dad. Amy screamed, but my vocal cords locked as my father’s
kami
emerged from his wounds.

I charged the woman, though I wouldn’t be strong enough to stop her. A million thoughts coursed through my head all at once—the chances of winning, if my mom was fatally injured, how I’d protect Amy—but one truth blared above everything else. I would lose my dad. I hadn’t talked to him more than twice since learning what he was. How could I doubt him?

I ducked to avoid the Akuma’s blade, then grabbed the arm that held my dad’s shimmering green spirit. She growled as I used all my weight to keep her hand from her mouth. She wouldn’t eat him. I couldn’t live without my dad no matter what he was. But she was so strong, and Amy and I hadn’t kissed much that day.

Amy finally snapped out of her shock. She grabbed the Akuma’s sword arm and bit down. The Akuma screamed, a horrible, inhuman noise like a falcon cry. Amy worked on prying the sword from her hand while I wrestled for my dad’s
kami
. It wasn’t good enough. We didn’t have the power.

The Akuma kicked Amy away, and I had to loosen my grip to save my own life. Her blade ripped through my jacket, almost poisoning me with Dragon’s Bile. She freed her hand, Dad’s
kami
coming dangerously close to her mouth.

“
Modotte kite
!” Mom screamed. Relief washed through me as Dad’s
kami
slipped from the Akuma and rushed back into his body. He gasped for breath. I didn’t know how he was still alive, but I was glad he was.

“
Shimatta
!” the Akuma cursed. She was outnumbered—and my Saburau mom had regained consciousness. So, instead of trying to fight, she ran through our kitchen, breaking the window as she jumped through.

“Ken! Here!” Mom grabbed the phone off the wall and tossed it by Dad’s hand, then she ran for the broken window.

I couldn’t believe she left him. He was covered in blood, barely alive. How could tracking an Akuma be more important? Dad grabbed the phone, his hand shaking. “Toshiro, Sato, follow Hisako. We need to get that Akuma…we need information.”

“But, Dad—”

“Go!” He dialed 911.

I grabbed Amy and put my lips to hers, trying to ignore my dying father and the dead guy. Kissing her was great, but
having
to kiss her for powers wasn’t so awesome. As much as I didn’t want to leave him, he was right. If we didn’t go, Mom could be in danger. This wasn’t a random Akuma attack. They really did want Dad gone.

Only a few seconds of kissing worked up a good glow. The more time we spent together—the more in sync we were—the faster the powers came. Mom explained that someday we wouldn’t have to kiss at all; we’d be that connected.

Not even half a minute had passed when Amy and I landed in the alley, but it was long enough to lose sight of them. We ran to the street, hoping to see something.

“There!” Amy pointed to a house a few buildings down. A flash of green disappeared over a steep roof.

“C’mon.” I sprinted for the nearest stoplight. We were faster after we kissed. Not inhumanly fast, but faster. I could run at top speed and my lungs didn’t burn and my muscles didn’t get tired like they should have.

The street wasn’t abandoned, but we had to take the risk of being seen. I climbed the stoplight, ran across the beam, hopped to the light on the other side of the street, and then jumped for the nearest building. Amy was right behind, even injured.

I scaled the building and leapt for the neighboring roof. Hopping roofs had never been hard, but it was even easier with boosted strength and speed. The Akuma was on the horizon, her veiny green skin lighting our way. Mom was on the trail, but losing ground.

We caught up fast. Mom smiled when she saw us. “Restrain her—don’t kill. She can’t take your
kami
with me close behind.”

I nodded. Amy and I ran hard, jumping roofs so fast I lost track of where we were in the city. I didn’t have time to get oriented now that I realized how important this Akuma was. They wouldn’t stop hunting Dad. We had no information, and she could provide it. I needed the answers—I had to protect my father.

We were right behind her, so I grabbed Amy’s hand in hopes of making the most of our connection. We glowed more intensely, united by our goal. The Akuma stopped on a flat roof and turned.

“I can taste what you are!” she yelled in a voice that sounded part human, part jackal. She raised her sword.

We dodged her wide swing. I had her sword arm, and this time it wasn’t hard to rip the blade from her grasp. Amy had the Akuma’s other arm behind her back. She writhed, trying to get free, but we were too strong.

Mom caught up, a wicked smile on her face. She pulled a rope from her baggy shirt and bound the Akuma, then pushed her down to the roof. From what I could see, I thought we were up near Marina. Downtown’s glittering lights were definitely south of us.

Mom pulled out a dagger and put it to the Akuma’s throat. “Spill it, before I spill your guts.”

“You’re not getting anything,” she growled.

“We’ll see.” My mother ripped off the Akuma’s facemask, revealing a mess of black hair. She barely looked human, the stolen
kami
pulsing through her skin. “How long have you been here?”

She stared at Mom defiantly, hair moving with her heavy breathing.

“Come now, we already know it was some time around November when your activity increased in San Francisco.” My mom studied her face. “Ah, sooner.”

The Akuma didn’t stand a chance. My dad taught me all about reading body language, and Mom knew the same things. She would get all she needed just from how the woman reacted.

“How did you find Ken?”

The Akuma growled.

“Do we have a Saburau leak?” No reaction. “All right, a spy?” The Akuma’s lip curled for a split second. Mom smiled. “I see, so an outside spy it is. How many Akuma?”

She held strong on that one. Mom asked specific numbers, but she wouldn’t give it up. She’d closed her eyes like she’d gone into a meditative state. Then Mom changed tactics. “I’ve been told the hunger burns like acid. Is that true?”

The Akuma’s breath caught for a moment, and mine did as well. I realized where Mom was going with this. I didn’t like it. She would ask—more like demand—something I couldn’t give.

Mom came close to her face, pressed the dagger harder so blood ran. I’d never seen her so heartless and angry. The woman I knew was long gone. “How much do you think it would hurt if there were hundreds of
kami
here? Would it incinerate your insides?”

The Akuma had to know she wouldn’t live. Her pupils slowly receded, terror saturating her face as she looked at Amy and me. “Please don’t.”

“I’ll make you a deal. You tell us how many are in the search party, and I’ll kill you quickly.” Mom folded her arms, betraying only the smallest twinge of regret.

Silence.

“Fine, we can do it the hard way.” My mom looked at Amy and me. “Kiss.”

“Mom …” I backed up a few paces, wanting to run and knowing Mom would kill me next if I did. Amy and I cared about each other. Our kisses were personal, not for making Akuma talk.

“Toshiro, that’s an order.” Her voice was steel, like her eyes.

“No. It’s not right.” I couldn’t manage more than a whisper. I needed to be strong, but I couldn’t find it through all the shaking.

“Not right? And what this demon did was?” Mom hissed. “She almost killed your father! She would kill you right now if she wasn’t bound!”

“But—”

“Kiss now. That is an
order.
”

I looked down to Amy, whose lower lip quivered. She didn’t want to either, but we’d been ordered. Twice. So I reluctantly leaned in.

It was the worst kiss ever.

I didn’t even feel like I was kissing her. The
kami
came, but I felt sick inside when the Akuma wailed.

She screamed and screamed. We stopped several times—I was sure someone had heard her and cops were on the way—but Mom told us to kiss again. Amy shook in my arms, her lips barely moving over mine. The Akuma’s cries burned my ears, drowning out the gentle resonating sound that came with our glow.

“Four! There’s four left! They’re searching the city for Ken right now!” she finally screamed.

We stopped kissing, and Amy buried her face in my chest. I pulled her away from the Akuma and sat on the roof. Holding her, pushing back my tears, I decided my mother would
never
make us do that again. I felt dark, evil, ashamed of what we could do. Fighting the Akuma was one thing, but I couldn’t use what we had for torture. We wouldn’t be Saburau, not if this was how they worked. No ninja was “good,” but this was out of my ethics comfort zone by about four hundred miles.

“Thank you for cooperating. Toshiro, Amy, you may leave if you’d like.” I only pulled Amy up because I didn’t want to see what Mom would do to the Akuma.

We waited on the street, but I didn’t hear anything else from the roof. The cold air barely registered because I was already numb from what we’d done. Mom came around the corner a few minutes later as if nothing had happened. Amy tensed like she was scared of my mother. I didn’t blame her. The woman who looked back at me was foreign.

“What now?” I asked.

“It’ll look suspicious if we were all at the house. The police must be there by now. We’ll go to the mall, get food, and act as if we’re just arriving home. Pretend you have no idea what happened, okay?”

We nodded. She headed to the main road. There was a bus stop a few streets down. While we waited, I couldn’t stop shaking.

26

When we got back over an hour later, three cop cars were out front. I was pretty sure some of the officers recognized Amy and me. The tall, skinny one in the doorway had questioned me at the hospital. The big one had taken our statements when we found that girl in the park. I tried not to make eye contact.