Relax, I'm A Ninja (26 page)

“Well, now I have to survive.”

“Good.” I grabbed my sword. Since I didn’t usually take it out, it felt strange to strap the sheath to my waist. The blade only went to my mid-thigh—shorter so it could be drawn faster and concealed better—but I didn’t feel safer having it on me. Bringing it meant I might have to use it.

“What next?” Amy asked.

“Shuriken—in your leg wrap, tips down so you don’t accidentally prick yourself. They have Serpent Scale on them.” I divided them between us. Then I stuffed my half in between the dark blue fabric around my calf.

I grabbed four black eggs and handed two to her. “This is Bat’s Eye. Throw that in their eyes and they’ll be temporarily blind. Left pocket.”

She nodded and took the little eggs. I pulled a wooden box from under my bed and turned the lock to the correct code. Amy laughed. “Um, pyro?”

“No, most of these explosives only emit smoke. Good way to distract and find a place to hide.” I pulled out four round smoke bombs and held one up for her to see. “Pull this little string and it’ll spew smoke. Right pocket.”

I gave her two and stuffed mine into my pocket. Then I grabbed a couple of noisemakers.

“These will make a small explosion to get people looking or running in the other direction. Throw them against something hard. Inside pocket.” I handed her a few and she smiled.

“I’m running out of pockets.” She tried to stay upbeat, but her voice quivered. Geared up like this, the reality of the situation was setting in for me, too. My palms already sweated too much.

“One more thing.” I went to my desk and grabbed two vials of Spirit’s Grace. I put mine in the pocket right over my heart. Amy took hers and did the same.

“That’s it.” We had all the tricks we could carry and just had to put our headgear on. We looked at each other for a moment, and the same doubt I felt flitted across her face. Tonight could be nothing—Eddie could just be Eddie. But the other option weighed on me. Could we really fight four Akuma if they all showed up? Things had been better between us, but it wasn’t perfect. Hopefully we’d be strong enough, because if our connection failed we’d be dead.

“Okay, then come here.” She hugged me so tight it hurt, but I hugged her just as hard. I focused on her, on our relationship, as we shared one more kiss. We had to be one tonight and put all our troubles in the past. I soaked in everything about her, and we glowed an ethereal green. We were so close she may as well have been me.

“I…I love you.” It felt weird to say it out loud, though it was true. I figured it might make us stronger, and she had to know in case it all went wrong tonight.

“I know. Love you, too.” She nuzzled into me and we glowed brighter.

“Let’s head out.” I reluctantly let her go. Then we put on our headgear and climbed out the window. We ran over rooftops in the darkness. It was approaching nine—about the time Eddie would leave for the comic store. I sped up the pace so we wouldn’t miss him. If he changed his pattern, we had to be there to know.

I didn’t see Courtney or Marty, but I didn’t expect to. They were supposed to meet up at her house and stay far behind us in case Eddie could sense the Saburau like Courtney said. We couldn’t have him bolt and call in reinforcements.

Eddie’s house was barely lit when we got there, mostly because his parents preferred to use electricity for their computers and not the lights. A dim blue shone through his blinds and two windows downstairs, and we stayed hidden in the shadows while his parents’ town car pulled in front of the house and honked.

The light from his room disappeared. I held my breath, waiting for him to leave the house and listening for any signs of trouble. He came out, dressed in the same long trench coat from the other nights. He scanned his surroundings and shifted something underneath his coat. He looked on edge as he stalked to the car. I felt sick. The way he moved reminded me of Simon the night Amy got stabbed. He was hiding something.

Amy pulled at my hand. “We gotta get running.”

“Right.”

We sprinted for the next house, keeping an eye on the town car. We knew its likely destination, so we didn’t have to stay too close. With stoplights and traffic, we were never far behind. It got more challenging when we hit downtown. Amy and I scaled the smaller buildings, but we had to jump into the alleys once they got too tall and slick. No use climbing a forty-story skyscraper when your target was on the ground.

The comic store was near Chinatown, where some signs had
kanji
characters as well as English. The town car pulled over. Eddie got out, waiting until his driver left to make his move. Amy and I hid across the street under a truck. I peeked from behind the wheel as Eddie teetered on his feet for a moment before disappearing into the alley behind the closed comic store.

My heart pounded as I waited for a clear moment to cross the street. When it came, we ran into a dark shadow by the alley dumpster. The light from the door at the back made the grimy fog glow a sickly gray.

“Eddie, just in time. Do we have a treat for you,” a man said with a heavy accent. My mind raced over what kind of treat it could be. It could be something completely innocent, but then again, what if he walked out glowing? I shuddered.

The door slammed and all was dark and hazy. Amy and I crept from our hiding place toward the back door. It was a narrow alley, but surprisingly long. It felt like minutes before we reached the end.

“So, I guess this is it, huh,” Amy whispered as she took my hand.

“Yeah.” I swallowed hard, knowing what we had to do. Our glow had already waned from following him at such a pace. We’d have to kiss to lure him out. But we had decided on our own to be bait this time—that was what made it okay.

A big part of me didn’t want to kiss Amy. I was terrified of the truth about Eddie, terrified of discovering once and for all if he’d been the one playing me this whole time. All the people I’d blindly trusted in my life had turned out to be secret ninjas or ex-evil ninjas. Eddie would be the last straw. I would never trust my own judgment again.

“You okay?” Amy rubbed my arm. “Do you need a minute?”

“No. Let’s get it over with.” I took a deep breath, pulling my headgear down so I could kiss her. She did the same and then wrapped her arms around me. We leaned in slowly, like we both wanted to put it off for a few more seconds. Finally our lips met.

“Tosh!” Courtney cried just as we’d got going. I whirled around, drawing my sword as a precaution.

She came into view, and it wasn’t pretty. Her hair was a wild mess of knots. Mascara ran down her cheeks from horrified eyes. Her left arm was drenched in blood. She hugged it, shaking as she heaved breaths.

“What happened?” I took a few steps forward.

She burst into tears, but I could still make out the words. “He tried to…he almost killed me.”

My heart sank. So, it was Eddie after all. I really was that stupid. He must have met her out front and attacked. This had to be a trap. I should have confronted him sooner, should have forced myself to stop thinking of him as my best friend. He obviously didn’t see me that way.

“You’re going to pass out.” Amy pushed Courtney to the corner and made her sit while she looked at the wound.

“I’m such an idiot. I had my Spirit’s Grace, but I wasn’t prepared …” She didn’t seem quite coherent. She wasn’t wearing her gi, so maybe she hadn’t suspected Eddie as much as I thought. Even with the proof, I still struggled to accept it. “It won’t be long before—”

“I’m here?” I turned around, shocked. That wasn’t Eddie's voice.

I held my sword defensively, watching the four glowing figures approach, their dilated pupils shining against the whites of their eyes. I frowned. None of them had Eddie’s build. Then it hit me. Courtney wasn’t talking about Eddie. That was why she was crying.

Logan laughed. Of course it was Logan. All my senses went into overdrive. My heart pounded as I gripped my sword. The Akuma in front of us were massive, except the woman. How could we hope to take all four? And if Logan was smart enough to fool Courtney, we had more of a fight on our hands than we thought. Not to mention he was lit up like a Christmas tree. Who had he killed? I gulped. Marty wasn’t here yet.

No, it can’t be.
At least I wished it couldn’t be.

“Well, well, this worked out better than I hoped,” Logan said. “Here we thought we’d have to waste time hunting you after I killed Courtney. Should have assumed she was stupid enough to lead us right to you.”

The Akuma
let out cruel snickers while Courtney sobbed.

“She was supposed to lead you here so we could kill you,” I said, hoping to put some doubt in their minds. I analyzed my opponents, waiting for them to make the first move. The girl wasn’t much smaller than me—she’d be fast. The two men were solid. The shorter one leaned heavily on his right leg. Was he injured? Maybe.

“Sure she was.” Logan pulled out his sword. “Eddie? Really? He wouldn’t be able to handle getting the tattoo, let alone suppressing the hunger. Damn Saburau know nothing. I didn’t have to do a thing to throw you off the trail.”

“Leave me,” Courtney said to Amy. “You have more important things to worry about.”

Amy nodded, then drew her sai from her waistband. She stood by me, fierce and strong. “At least I have no problem killing you, troll.”

Logan growled, his pupils inking the rest of his eyes while his chest doubled in size. “Good luck with that.”

He lunged at me, and I deflected his sword. He was strong, but I threw him off balance for a moment. Then the woman came, and I blocked a slice to my head. Logan was back, so I kicked him hard. He tried to grab my leg, but my strength was enough to save me.

We were cornered and outnumbered, but my dad had taught us how to manage a situation like this. Defense was key.
Sometimes the turtle’s best attack is hiding in his shell.
The least we could do was protect Courtney. Who knows what would have happened if we’d had no warning?

One of the Akuma facing Amy yelled, and metal clanged on the ground—she’d disarmed the shorter guy. I was tempted to help take that one out, but that would leave us too open on my side. They might go for Courtney, who nursed her wound by tying a piece of her pant leg around it.

They were all strong, but Logan was
brutal
. His muscles bulged, augmented with fresh
kami
, as he charged again. I grabbed his arm and twisted as hard as I could. He yelled when I stomped on his foot. If this got any louder, Eddie and whoever else was in the store would hear. Then they’d be dead.

I tried to kill Logan right there, but my small victory only spurned the woman into action. She came at me fast, and I barely dodged her blow. Luckily, she left herself wide open. I grabbed her sword arm, kneed her in the stomach, and wrenched the sword from her hand. Where I’d hesitated against Simon, I didn’t think twice about what I had to do. I swung her poisoned sword across her leg. She didn’t scream as she fell to the ground convulsing. I cursed when she pulled out her own vial of Spirit’s Grace.

“You’re useless!” Logan did the worst thing I could imagine. Instead of charging me, he held his hand out to the female Akuma. Her
kami
came out like a laser beam, and he swallowed it whole before I could react.

Courtney screamed in Japanese, but it was too late. She hadn’t said it fast enough. Now he glowed brighter, laughing in triumph.

“Duck!” Amy cried. One of the other guys swung at us. I crouched down, hearing the blade whoosh over our heads. Amy was losing ground. Not good when Logan had more fresh
kami
. The second I stood he was in my face. Logan was a much better fighter than he let on—he’d held back the day he beat me up. I crossed my blades in front of me, and it took every ounce of strength to push him back.

We had to get out of the alley so Eddie wouldn’t hear. Courtney was on her feet and looked ready to go. I threw her the extra sword, and then I pulled a smoke bomb out and ripped the string with my teeth. The whole alley filled with thick, black smoke.

I headed toward the fire escape, Amy and Courtney following quietly behind. I hoped the Akuma might think we would go for the street to save Courtney. Maybe we could regroup on the roof.

We booked it up the building, staying as quiet as possible as we climbed the flimsy ladders and clotheslines. Courtney pushed past her injury well, her face now filled with anger and determination. We were lucky she hadn’t hurt her sword arm.

Everything was silent. They were listening for us. Once on the flat roof, we ran for a patch of shadow by an air conditioning unit. I scanned the cityscape for extra threats—nothing but the glittering lights of Downtown and the reflection of San Francisco in the bay. I held my breath so I could really listen. Creaking on the fire escape. Dread washed over me.

A thud as soft as a rabbit’s foot hit the roof. Logan stood in the open and looked right at us. He laughed a deep, demonic laugh. “Smoke bomb, very cute.”

As he walked forward, the two other Akuma
appeared from the shadows. And I don’t mean they walked out of a shadow into light—they actually
materialized from the shadows.
Suddenly all those years of my dad rocking at ninja “hide and go seek” made perfect sense. He
was
 a shadow. Courtney meant that part of their description literally. No wonder they were so hard to track.  

I held out my blade. Amy prepared herself too. Courtney stood behind. She couldn’t really help in her state, only defend herself.

“You know, it’s lucky I found you. Never thought I’d get anything good out of Court. But then you took an interest in her, and when you dodged that punch of mine I knew there was more to you. I finally got the connection we needed. Now we can give Ken what he deserves,” Logan said.

“Quit the small talk.” I brushed off the surge of guilt. I could think about how it was all my fault later.

He came at me hard and fast, and I wanted to kill myself for letting him take
kami
from his own Clan member. I struggled to fight him off. Amy was doing much better against the other two. At least they couldn’t suck another one dry now that our Saburau was in the game.