Relax, I'm A Ninja (27 page)

Amy stabbed one with her sai, but it wasn’t a mortal wound. I couldn’t do much to help except keep Logan focused on me. Metal clanged as someone’s weapon hit the roof, but I was too busy dodging a fierce swing at my head to see whose it was. I tried to trip Logan, but he stood his ground and thrust his sword. Barely missed.

Then there was a sound I’ll never forget—the sputtering, gurgling noise of a fatal blow. I turned to see who got it, hoping it wasn’t Amy. Thankfully, it was the shorter Akuma who had two neat punctures in his neck. Amy pulled her weapons out, blocking a blow from the other Akuma just in time.

Courtney yelled her spell before the guy even hit the ground. The dead Akuma glowed bright white for a second. A familiar resonating filled the air and dissipated. Then the body dissolved into nothing as his
kami
fled back to the spirit realm.

Logan roared like a bear. “Kill the damn Saburau!”

I tried not to panic. If they got Courtney, there was nothing protecting us from getting eaten. Amy and I blocked as many blows as we could for her, but Logan was on me like permanent marker and the other had Amy totally figured out. We had to do something. We needed help. We needed Marty. I forced myself to stop thinking about it before I broke. Maybe if we drew attention to ourselves, a patrolling Saburau would investigate.

“Use your explosives!” I yelled.

I kicked Logan in the balls and he faltered back several paces. I shoved my hand into my pocket and pulled out the noisemakers, throwing them to the ground. The sound echoed through the night, and then seconds later Amy’s sounded. People screamed below. Someone had to have heard it.

Logan was still recovering, so I had time to block a blow from the other Akuma and kick him away from Amy. We needed breathing room. I motioned to the ledge and we made a run for it. I pushed off the edge, willing myself to land on the neighboring roof. We all made it safely and kept on running, jumping rooftops until we ran into a building too tall to scale.

“Where’s Marty?” Amy panted.

“They probably got him.” Courtney sat down, breathing too hard. Her makeshift bandage was soaked with blood that dripped down her arm.

“No.” Amy’s eyes filled with tears.

We didn’t have time to worry about Marty. The Akuma weren’t far behind us, glowing like bouncing balls as they jumped after us.

“Amy, come here.” I kissed her, immediately feeling a surge of energy, and not a moment too soon. The Akuma thudded on the roof. We barely dodged Logan’s attack. That kiss did wonders, but it wouldn’t last long. We used the Bat’s Eye to get in another kiss, but the Akuma could save up their
kami
energy better than we could.

After that, we couldn’t get close enough to kiss again. Every time I tried to get to Amy, Logan blocked my path. “I can’t decide if I should kill you for all that
kami
or keep you for our Master,” Logan said. “Akuma himself in our realm …”

“You won’t have to decide.” I gritted my teeth as I searched for an opening. “Because you’ll be dead tonight.”

He laughed, which caused him to let up the tiniest bit. I took the chance, leaping over him and kicking the back of his head on the way down. I had to kiss Amy again because I could feel exhaustion setting in.

Before I got to her, Amy fell, dropping one sai in the process. But the tall Akuma didn’t go for Amy first—he kicked her out of the way and made for Courtney. I ran to her so I could help, but Logan grabbed my ankle and tripped me. I barely dodged his sword strike. When I turned around, a Saburau clad in ninja gi was blocking the other Akuma’s attack.

“Too slow,” Marty’s relaxed voice came from behind the mask. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief.

“We thought you were dead!” I yelled.

“No such luck!” Marty dodged a swipe and got Courtney into a safer position. Amy and I helped him protect her, but it didn’t last long.

The tall Akuma charged Marty. I tried to intercept him, but he pushed me back. He chucked Marty off the roof and blocked Amy’s attack at the same time. Then he got Courtney by the leg and threw her over the side, too. My heart stopped. They had to know how to survive a fall like that, right? But Courtney was injured.

Amy was pissed off. She charged the tall one and got him with her remaining sai. I didn’t want to risk him rebounding, so I sliced the Akuma across the stomach. Logan laughed as he pulled the
kami
from the guy. He swallowed it in one gulp and smiled. “Bad, bad move, Tosh.”

I stood in front of Amy to protect her. If I could barely handle his strength, she’d be mush against him. I wasn’t even sure I could take him now. My muscles burned and my heart thumped in my throat. Logan glowed brighter than us.

I tried to block, I really did. But my sword was out of my hand before I could register just how powerful Logan had become.

Amy screamed when he ran me through. It was over. The Dragon’s Bile instantly took effect. I could feel it rushing through my body and encircling my heart. It felt so hot it was cold, spreading like fiery frost before he pulled his sword out. I grasped for my Spirit’s Grace, but couldn’t seem to find my pocket through the pain.

He looked down at me triumphantly. “Screw loyalty. Now you’re all mine. I’ll rule the Akuma myself.”

He held out his hand to take my
kami
, and all I could think was how Amy would die, too. How would the world go on without her? I should have been smarter. I should have listened to my mom and become a Saburau. Then Amy would have lived.

Now Logan would kill my dad. With all our
kami
, he’d be a god. He wouldn’t need backup to take out every Saburau in the city. I’d been so stupid to think we had a chance alone.

When the green light sprang from my wound, I wasn’t sure where I was. Maybe in two places at once, our world and the
kami
realm. Part of me could hear fighting, but I couldn’t tell if Amy was attacking Logan because my vision was liquid. I tried to get free like I’d seen the other
kami
fight, but I had no clue if it was helping.

And then I was back. I knew because I could feel the full force of the poison again. Before my vision completely blurred, a blade emerged from Logan’s stomach. His eyes went wide as he gasped for breath.

As he slumped over, Courtney’s bright blonde hair shone in the moonlight, her mouth a mixture of growl and triumphant smile. Amy’s arms came around me and she said something frantically as she held a vial to my lips, but I couldn’t hold on to consciousness any longer.

33

Before I opened my eyes I knew where I was. The hospital was my second home these days, but this time
I
was strapped to the beeping machines. The tape over the needle in my hand itched. The stitches in my stomach tugged uncomfortably.

I opened my eyes. My parents were slumped on the couch. Dad had his arm around Mom, something I rarely saw. It kind of warmed my heart. It was reassuring to see how much they cared about each other, despite their disagreements.

Amy’s hand was in mine. She had stayed at the bedside like I had when she was here. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her sleep. Her hair was all over the place, face dirty and tear-streaked. I loved her so much. I squeezed her hand and she shot up, a surprised look in her eyes. “Hey, babe.”

“Tosh!” She jumped up from her chair and kissed me.
Zing
. “Don’t you ever get stabbed again!”

I laughed and immediately regretted it. My stomach felt like I’d eaten a million shuriken. “I’ll try?”

“No trying,” Dad said. My parents came over. Amy tried to get off the bed, but I refused to let her go. I needed her close.

“So, what’s the damage?” I felt okay for almost dying, but I figured I was on a lot of painkillers. Things seemed hazy.

“Pretty much what happened to me,” Amy said. “You should be out in time for the Stomp.”

“Awesome.” I didn’t care if we went, but if Amy wanted to we would. It would be nice to do something normal. “And the Akuma?”

“
Baka
!” My mom hit me over the head.

“Mom!” I rubbed the spot.
Who hits their son when he’s in the hospital?
But under her furious face was a layer of panic.

“You tell me you’re not following my orders, and then you do
exactly
what I wanted you to do! You had no backup. They were one second away from destroying everything we built.”

This wasn’t the time for an argument. I was tired. “First off, we did what you said, but we chose it for
ourselves.
That’s the difference. I told you we were willing to help the Saburau, but Amy and I decide what we do with our relationship. You could have helped if you wanted, but you decided not to talk to me.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but I held up my hand.

“Also, we did have backup. It’s really lucky you guys like to force little kids into being Saburau when they might be
Inyo
. Courtney would never have helped if you hadn’t messed her up so bad. Speaking of, weren’t you supposed to report me to your Clan? Why didn’t you? Did you worry they’d
use
me? Get me killed?”

The anger dropped off her face. “They would have taken you from us,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “When your father sensed Amy, we hoped they would forgive me if you two connected.”

“And have they?” Even though I was mad at her for lying, I didn’t blame her for not giving me up. In fact, I was grateful she went against orders. Turns out even the most law abiding ninjas weren’t so law abiding.

“For the most part. My superiors would be happier if you joined the Clan.”

“Not gonna happen.”

She nodded. I could hardly believe she was giving up. She put her hand on my arm and smiled. “You need to rest.”

“I won’t argue with that.”

“We’ll bring you both some clothes.” She kissed my forehead. “You’ll be safe—we’ll all be safe—for a while.”

Before they left, my dad came close and put his hand on my shoulder. As worn as he appeared, there was something strong in his gaze. “Excellent job, my son.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I beamed. Coming from a man like him, it meant the world.

When they left, Amy snuggled under the blankets and put one arm on my chest. I hugged her as tight as I could with my non-IV arm and kissed her forehead.

“We’ll have twin scars now,” she said.

“Yeah, lucky us. How’s your bruise?”

“This?” She pulled up her shirt, revealing a big purple bruise. “Not comfortable, but better than what you have by a lot. Not that I’ve been there or anything.”

I couldn’t help myself. IV or not, I had to touch her skin. I grazed my fingers over the bruise and put my hand on her hip. We totally lit up. “Thanks for saving my life.”

“
Our
lives, and we really have Courtney and Marty to thank.” She pulled her shirt back down, but I didn’t move my hand.

“True. We’ll have to do something really nice for them.” I dozed off before long, surprisingly comfortable in that brick of a bed. Maybe it was the drugs, or maybe Amy’s soft touch.

It was almost noon when I woke up again. Amy was lying next to me, but she smelled like fruit instead of sweat. She must have showered while I slept. My parents were back on the couch, Dad reading and Mom watching the TV.

“Oh, good, you’re up.” Amy kissed my cheek. “I hope you’re okay with a few visitors.”

“Who?” I couldn’t imagine her friends coming. They were cool, but I didn’t quite see them as my friends.

“You’ll see.”

“Do I have time to pee and clean up?” I wasn’t too keen on the hospital gown thing. A tad…airy.

“Let me get your pants.” She blushed and went for the duffle bag my parents had brought. Then she helped me walk to the bathroom, which hurt much more than expected. It felt like my stomach was ripping in half, and I clung to her shoulder. “Can you manage on your own?”

“Yeah.” We were close, but not that close.

My stomach killed as I worked to put my pants on, so much that I checked to make sure the stitches hadn’t ripped. I was never getting stabbed again. It sucked. I washed my face and ran some water through my hair. I looked like crap, but at least semi-clean crap.

There was a knock on the door not three seconds after I lay back down. Courtney’s bright blonde hair looked white in comparison to Marty’s golden curls. They both smiled, standing over me protectively like they had last night.

“You look like hell.” Marty laughed. Courtney smacked his arm, rolling her eyes for extra emphasis.

“Still looks better than you.” She sat on the bed. Her eyes seemed sad. “I’m so, so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to rub it in her face—she looked ashamed enough. She’d saved my life, so we were even. “Not all your fault. If I hadn’t kept pushing you, Logan would never have made the connection.” She smiled a little at that. “How’s your arm?”

“Fine. It’s just a scratch, really, nothing like the hole in your stomach.”

“I stitched it up nice for her after we took care of you.” Marty put his hand on her shoulder. He frowned when she pushed it off. Did he actually care about her? Maybe it really was more than teasing.

“How’d you escape Logan’s gang in the first place?” Amy asked. “Did they ambush you guys as you followed us?”

Courtney shook her head, fighting tears. “Perry and I hadn’t even met up yet. Logan called me, said he had something important to say. I had enough time to run over there, so I did. He told me he was breaking up with me—then he pulled out his sword.”

“I was waiting for her at our meet-up spot when I sensed an attack, but they were both gone when I got there,” Marty said.

Courtney put her head in her hands. “I’m such an idiot. I didn’t even come armed. If his parents hadn’t come home early I wouldn’t be here. I ducked out and ran for the comic book store.”

My eyes went wide. “So…he killed his parents for
kami
?”

She took a deep breath, looking seriously tormented. “Yeah. It’s on the news already. It kind of worked out for us, though. They found steroids in his bathroom and are blaming ’roid rage. The cops think he’s on the run, so they aren’t looking for his body. He may not have been my soul mate, but…but …” I’d never seen her cry like this. It wasn’t pleasant—she squeaked a lot.