Star League 4 (5 page)

Fuzen's ninjas lead the Star League through a series of twisting tunnels that eventually lead into a secret passage. I climb along the top of the wall as fast as I can, but soon my arms start to get tired and ache. If we don't get to the cell soon I'm going to fall off the wall and they'll definitely notice that.

Finally we come to a door guarded by another ninja with red cuffs.

‘Ah, good, you caught them. Grandmaster Fuzen will be pleased.' He inspects the captured Star League, then frowns. ‘Wait a minute, where's the sixth one? The ninja?'

‘These five were the only ones there,' says one of the ninjas. ‘There was no sixth kid.'

‘Are you sure? She might've slipped away while you were capturing them. Maybe you should go back and do a better search of the area. Check the walls, too. She might be hiding.' I tense where I am, and start to reach for a weapon, but luckily Jay speaks up.

‘If you're talking about Asuka, we'll never tell you where she's hiding. We'll especially never tell you that she escaped to the forest.' Jay makes a big show of widening his eyes and opening his mouth, like he's made a huge mistake. The others catch on quickly.

‘Good one, Jay,' scolds Leigh.

‘Yeah, way to tell them where Asuka is,' growls Connor.

‘Now she'll never make it out of her secret hiding spot in that big tree really far away from here,' moans Roger, laying it on a bit thick.

The ninjas eye the Star League off warily. I think that at any moment they're going to call the
Star League's bluff, but then the guard nods.

‘You five just made a very big mistake!' He turns to the ninjas. ‘Get out there and search for her. And don't come back until she's found!' The ninjas turn to leave. I breathe a sigh of relief. Can it really be this easy?

‘Wait a minute!' yells the head guard. ‘I can only spare one of you to look for the girl. The rest will have to stay behind to look after this lot. We can't have our prisoners escaping now, can we?'

The remaining seven ninjas escort the Star League inside the cell. I want to groan in frustration, but I keep quiet. If I can release the others, we may still be able to work together to defeat Fuzen's ninjas.

I climb across to the wall near the guard. Thankfully it's quite dark and he doesn't see me. I move until I'm directly above him, then I drop down on him, making sure I strike a spot near his neck.

I know from years of training that a skilful blow to this spot will make him pass out instantly, which is exactly what it does. I lower him gently to the ground, checking to make sure that nobody has heard anything. Then I slip through the door.

Inside the room, the ninjas are busily tying the Star League to chairs. I sneak into one corner, behind a pile of sacks, where they can't see me. From my new hiding spot I can see that the Star League aren't alone on the chairs – tied up in one corner is Ari! His eyes are closed and I can't tell if he's still knocked out from Fuzen's poison dart or just pretending to be.

There's no way I can take on all seven ninjas by myself, so I'll have to release the Star League and Ari first. I glance around the room, wondering how I'm going to do that. Then I notice that the only light in the room is coming from an old oil lantern sitting on a crate across from me. If I can put the light out it'll be pitch black in here.

I reach into my pouch and pull out my sling. Slipping a ball bearing into it, I spin it around and let go at the last second. The ball bearing flies through the air and smashes into the lantern. It falls onto its side and the flame goes out, plunging the room into darkness.

‘Hey! What's going on?' yells one of Fuzen's ninjas. I feel my way in the dark to where the Star League and Ari are tied up. I slip out a knife and cut through the ropes on the closest set of wrists, then I move onto the next, and the next. ‘Asuka, is that you?' whispers Ari as I reach him.

I feel a rush of relief at the sound of his voice. He must've been faking unconsciousness so he could wait for the best chance to escape.

‘Don't worry, Ari, I'll get you out of here!'

I can hear the ninjas bumping around in the dark until one of them finally manages to re-light the lantern. Light floods the room, just as I cut the last of Ari's ropes. The Star League and Ari jump to
their feet, ready to fight.

‘How'd you all get free?' shouts one of the ninjas. I rise up from the shadows and sheathe my knife. ‘It's the ninja girl. She tricked us!'

‘That's right,' I say. ‘And you're going to pay for kidnapping my brother!'

Fuzen's ninjas rush at us. They're so fast that the rest of the Star League don't have time to react, but Ari and I have trained our whole lives for this. We duck their first attack and strike out.

‘Quick, get ready!' I warn the others. As I keep a wary eye on the ninjas, I hear the Star League moving into fighting positions. The ninjas attack so quickly I can barely see them. They strike out with staffs and short swords, but the Star League fight back just as well.

Connor leaps out from the shadows in werewolf form and strikes at one of the ninjas with his huge claws. The ninja tries to fight back, but his quick reflexes are no match for Connor's strength.

A ninja steps forward and hits Roger in the
head with her staff. Roger's head pops off his neck and rolls onto the floor. For anyone else the attack would be deadly, but for a zombie like Roger it's a small setback. His headless body reaches into his pouch of potions and aims one at the ninja. It explodes all over her and sends her into a flurry of scratching.

Looks like my Itching Fit Mixture is really up to scratch,' says Roger's head, grinning on the floor.

Jay fights another ninja to my left. I've never seen anyone except a ninja block punches so well, but then I guess Jay has trained as a fighter all his life, even if it has only been for the movies. He ducks a blow from the ninja and delivers one of his own. The ninja falls to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

A ninja rises up behind Sam, her hands ready to deliver a blow that could be deadly. Then there's a humming sound and a crackle of electricity sweeps through the room, making my hair stand
on end. Sparks fly as the ninja's blow connects with the back of Sam's neck. Sam has made himself electrified! The ninja shudders and drops to the ground, unconscious.

Leigh stands very still with her eyes closed. If it were anyone else, I'd think they were napping on the job, but I know that Leigh is concentrating on talking to animals. I wonder what kind of animals would be living in these walls. I get my answer in a few seconds as thousands of brown, scuttling shapes pour out of the cracks in the walls.

‘ARRGGHH! COCKROACHES!' yells Roger's head, which is still on the floor. But the roaches don't go anywhere near him. Instead they swarm one of the ninjas so that every inch of his body is covered in the insects. His panicked shrieks are cut off as his eyes roll back, and he passes out. I guess he's just as afraid of insects as Roger is.

There are two ninjas left and they've both got their eye on me. I look between them, wondering
how I'm going to take them both on at the same time. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Ari stand beside me.

‘Nobody gangs up on my little sister.' Ari lunges at one of the ninjas and kicks his legs out from underneath him. They both fall to the floor in a frenzy of kicking and punching.

‘Hey! I don't want to miss out on all the fun!' I turn to the last ninja standing, then I reach for the sheath on my back and pull out my bo, a short wooden staff. I flick my bo towards his head, but I'm just pretending that's where I'm aiming. Instead I switch my grip at the last second as he raises his sword to protect himself and smash the bo into his stomach.

He cries out in pain, and his eyes flash with rage. But instead of attacking me, he turns and runs.

‘You're not getting away that easily!' I chase after the fleeing ninja with the Star League and
Ari close behind me. We follow the runaway ninja down the halls towards the front gate. I'm about to get out my sling to try to bring him down as I race through the front gate, when my blood runs cold. I hear the others skid to a stop behind me with startled gasps.

Because standing before us is a crowd of about a hundred ninjas, and they don't look very happy to see us.