Relax, I'm A Ninja Page 5

  His breath caught, betraying yet another small hint of surprise. He was so off his game. Something was up. “Why is that?”

  “We went to see Todd at the hospital today. He showed us the wound, and I could swear it had the mark of Dragon’s Bile.” What I was saying was crazy. Dragon’s Bile was the most lethal poison in the ninja arsenal—incapacitating in ten seconds, fatal in two minutes.

  My father tensed. “What did it look like?”

  “A jade tinge in the veins surrounding his wound, and distinctly lime-colored pus. It smelled like saffron.”

  He nodded. “Dragon’s Bile.”

  “But what kind of Clan would allow its people to do that? I mean, it was so…unnecessary.”

  He took in a deep breath, but didn’t answer. I could almost feel his indecision as he looked everywhere but my face. He knew something, but he either couldn’t tell me or wouldn’t. I wasn’t a fan of either option.

  “Should we, I don’t know, go after him?”

  “Perhaps.” Not a helpful answer. Even though Todd was my friend, Dad wouldn’t put the whole Clan in jeopardy for vengeance. If the ninja and his Clan were a direct threat to us, then we’d take him out.

  I could always tell when my dad was done talking. It was as if the air currents suddenly stopped, so silent that sound would mean death. I stood up, tired and more frustrated than ever. “Okay, goodnight.”

  If Dad wouldn’t tell me what was happening, then confronting Courtney was my only choice.

  8

  I was determined to get something out of Courtney that day. It had been two weeks, and I had nothing thanks to her iron-clad cover. She made sure to come to history with Logan in tow and kept a flock of cheerleaders around her at lunch. Since school was a bust, I’d even snuck back to her house a few times and didn’t find her home—at three in the morning.

  A girl had been murdered in Richmond District the day before. The article I read described a crescent-like stab wound exactly like what I’d seen on Todd. I couldn’t give up, not if this guy was still killing innocent people.

  “Hey, you look stressed,” Amy said as she leaned on the locker next to mine.

  “Do I?” Now that she saw me so much, she could pick my façade apart no matter how hard I tried to hide. I thought it would bother me, but it didn’t. I needed someone who knew the real me.

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “Eh, the usual. Can’t wait for winter break.” I shut my locker and leaned next to her. I wondered if I should tell her about Courtney, but I didn’t quite trust her yet. She might not believe me. Or worse, she might tell my dad. “So, where were you last night?”

  “Oh, um …” She looked at her clunky black boots. “I mouthed off to my mom and she wouldn’t let me come to practice.”

  “That’s harsh. Does she have something against karate?” I was joking, but my comment turned her smirk into a frown.

  “Actually, she hates it.” The bell rang and we headed to class.

  “I’m sorry.” I didn’t like seeing her upset. She was never sad. Maybe those smiles and jokes hid some of her feelings, but I still liked them.

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s actually a really funny story. My dad signed me up to spite her, but he didn’t think I’d actually like it.” She bumped my shoulder playfully, like she was trying to hide the fact that her eyes glistened. “Will Sensei kill me for not showing up?”

  I wanted to make her feel better, and Eddie wasn’t there to see. Not that it mattered anyway, because Amy and I were just friends. I put my arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “Not kill, unless you consider his icy glare fatal.”

  She laughed, and her mouth broke into a genuine smile. “Thanks, Tosh.”

  “Anytime.”

  ***

  After chemistry I prepared to face Courtney. Honestly, I didn’t have any great ideas to get more information from her. She had the upper hand at school. It’s not like I could walk up and start some wicked ninja fight, own her face, and demand the facts.

  I stared at her in history, wondering how aware she really was. She hadn’t done anything very ninja-like since she’d ripped me from her windowsill. Sometimes I doubted it had happened, but only for a second.

  I should have been listening to my teacher’s lecture, but I finally had a decent idea to get Courtney’s attention without looking suspicious. She was turned the other way toward Logan and might not be paying attention. I wrote a message in Japanese and balled it up. Then I chucked the paper ball over three people. It was headed right for her shoulder.

  But as it passed over the second person’s head, Courtney started to move. She lifted up her notes like she was checking something. My paper ball hit the notebook and fell to the ground. She didn’t even look at it.

  It wouldn’t have made me so mad if she hadn’t flipped me off as she turned her stupid paper. I got the point without the added rudeness. I faced forward again and sighed. At least I wasn’t making up the whole “Courtney is a ninja” thing.

  We were talking about the Civil War in class, and I decided I should listen for once. I still had to get good grades to keep my cover.

  “Abraham Lincoln changed our country forever,” Mrs. Sanders was saying. “If Lincoln hadn’t been president, our country could be very different. Some even say it may have been different if he weren’t assassinated …”

  The last word struck me. I knew a thing or two about assassination. I wondered if Courtney would think the same things. With a new idea, I shot my hand into the air.

  “Yes, Toshiro?” Mrs. Sanders said my name in the worst English accent, butchering the “r” sound. That’s why I had people call me Tosh instead.

  “Were there spies in the Civil War? Like, people who’d sneak around and learn important information and stuff?” Spies were a lot like ninjas, except they worked with governments. I glanced over to Courtney—she looked at me with one eyebrow arched. She got that I was talking to her. Excellent.

  “A little off topic, Toshiro, but yes, there were spies on both the Union and Confederate sides. We know that they gathered some important information on the opposing armies, but I’m afraid much of what they did is lost.” She looked like she wanted to go on with her speech about Lincoln, but I wasn’t finished.

  “What if the information isn’t lost, just secret? Don’t we deserve to know? I mean, we are citizens of this country, and the information is so old it couldn’t possibly affect anything if they told us.” I glanced at Courtney, positive she’d figure out that I was telling her to cough it up.

  “You pose an interesting question, one that I’m sure would make a good debate. Throughout history, governments have kept information from their people. Anyone else have thoughts on this?” And, like I’d hoped, Courtney’s hand shot up. “Courtney?”

  “They would have told us if we needed to know.” She glanced at me. “The general public doesn’t need to know everything that goes on. They couldn’t handle knowing how many threats our country receives daily.”

  I shook my head. How could she think I couldn’t handle it? That wasn’t fair—she didn’t know anything about me. “How does the government know that? What if the public could help?”

  “The government doesn’t need help.” Her fingers tightened around her pencil. If it weren’t plastic it would have snapped.

  “I think the government needs to suck it up. It’s only fair that we’re aware of threats. Some people are more capable than they think.” I stared back, engrossed in our masked conversation.

  “And some are a lot stupider than they think.”

  “That’s enough, you two.” Mrs. Sanders clapped her hands like we were five.

  She continued with her lecture, and Courtney went back to her notes like nothing had happened. I did the same, but inside I seethed. Even if it was her cover, she was such a brat. She could have chosen to be popular and sweet. But no. She was just mean.

  That was why my pencil suddenly looked like a shuriken, which are typica
lly straight like darts, not stars like in all the shows. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to make her bleed…or at least throw it so directly that she’d have to ninja dodge and possibly blow her oh-so-precious cover.

  I threw my pencil hard—tip first—right at Courtney’s head.

  Only after I threw it did I realize everything that could go wrong. If it did hit Courtney, I’d go to the principal’s office. Word would spread around school that nerdy Tosh made her bleed, and I would stand out. Then there was the other option—the one that actually happened. The one that was worse.

  She shifted in her seat and smirked. Then it was like slow motion. My dread multiplied each nanosecond as I realized that my pencil-shuriken would miss her. And not only miss her, but hit the person sitting next to her: Logan “my brain is my smallest muscle” Williams. It wouldn’t have been as bad if he could freaking sit up in his seat, but the guy was slouched down so far his head was at the exact same height as Courtney’s.

  “Urgh!” The pencil hit him right in the forehead and stuck there for a second, mocking me, before it fell to the ground. Blood started to run as he grabbed the pencil. I faced forward and prayed to my ancestors that he wouldn’t figure out it was me.

  “Did you see who threw this?” he growled to Courtney.

  I forced myself not to swear out loud.

  “I’m pretty sure it was Tosh.” Courtney could barely hold in her laughter. She wouldn’t have to fight me at all. Her meathead boyfriend would do it for her. I resisted the urge to ball my fists, trying not to act guilty though it didn’t matter now.

  The bell rang. Logan stood up and pointed at me. “You are so dead!”

  And because I had to, I did what any nerd would do. I ran.

  9

  After school ended, I weighed the chances of getting to my bike without a black eye. They were low. They wouldn’t be if I could kick the crap out of Logan, but I’d promised my dad a long time ago that I wouldn’t fight at school. And with all the recent evil ninja problems, I couldn’t risk holes in my cover.

  I booked it out of class, hoping to make it to the front and knowing I wouldn’t. I took the less convenient staircase by the art rooms. Maybe I’d get lucky if I stayed away from the gym.

  “There he is!” a group of Logan’s cronies yelled as I rounded the corner near the front entrance. I turned around and headed down the nearest hall. The hardwood floors boomed under my feet. Students cursed as I pushed them out of my way.

  “Tosh! Wait!” Amy had found me. I didn’t want her involved, but she was following me. I grabbed her hand and pulled her along, since she wasn’t keeping up. “I heard what happened!”

  “I bet you did.” When we got to a hall intersection, another group of Loganites found us, so I dashed the other direction. This wouldn’t last long. He’d obviously put a group at each exit, which meant Courtney must have planned it. I would be surrounded soon. Too bad I couldn’t hop through an air duct and call it good.

  We rounded another corner and stopped. Logan, with all his muscle and a gang of jocks, stood there waiting.

  “Look who we have here.” He took a few steps closer, and I backed up against all my impulses. I squeezed Amy’s hand so hard she winced, so I let her go.

  “Get out of here, Amy.” I motioned her off, hoping they’d let her slip into the gathering crowd. “I’ll be fine.”

  She shook her head and stayed close.

  “Go.” I wished I could tell her she needed to leave for more reasons than my impending beating. So many people had seen us holding hands. If she stayed it would look like we were involved beyond friendship.

  “Aw, how cute. The geek is trying to protect his girlfriend.” Logan folded his arms, smug as ever.

  “She’s not my girlfriend.” I didn’t intend to sound so angry, but it came out that way since I was already pissed off about the fight I had to throw. Amy slinked back, and I wondered if I’d hurt her feelings. I couldn’t have, but her face was bright red and she stared at the floor.

  “What was I thinking?” Logan laughed. “Who would date a loser like you? Even nerd girls have standards.” He looked Amy up and down, and I wanted to kill him. “Especially the hot ones.”

  “Excuse me?” Courtney stood right next to him. Her pinched brow betrayed the smallest hint of insecurity. Did she not realize he did that all the time? Logan shrugged like it was innocent banter. Courtney folded her arms in an attempt to brush it off.

  “Don’t you have some kind of beating to do?” I squared my shoulders, ready to take it if he was going to mess with Amy. It was my fault I’d lost my temper and threw the pencil anyway. Courtney had gotten the best of me, but I planned to make her life hell for this.

  “That’s right.” He came forward and pushed me. “Where do you get off throwing stuff at me, man?”

  “Oh, you know …” I glanced at the mark my pencil had left in his thick forehead. “Just trying to pop your big head.”

  The crowd went “oooh,” and I ducked out of his first blow before I could think. I pretended to run, and he grabbed my arm. As I forced myself not to block, Logan punched me in the face. I hadn’t been punched dead-on for a while. It made my head spin badly. He took another swing, hitting me in the nose. Blood trickled down my chin as the pain spread like a wave of needles scratching my bones. Then he got me in the stomach. I fell to my knees and coughed. My face pulsed; my stomach burned.

  “Next time, I’ll beat you twice as hard.”

  I was surprised that was it. I’d pictured him ripping me to pieces. The crowd thinned as Logan walked away. Courtney lingered, watching with a satisfied glare. Did she really think she’d won? I had no intention of cowering because of a public beating.

  Before I could stand, Amy knelt at my side. She pulled me down so my head rested on her shoulder.

  “Here.” She held out a handkerchief. I put it to my nose as she rubbed my arm. I felt bad about having her so close, but I was still dizzy and needed the support. I repeated my “she’s just being nice” mantra. It was nothing. She would have done the same thing if Eddie got beat.

  “You could have taken him.” Her voice was hard. “How could you let him do that?”

  I looked over the hall to make sure it was clear. Everyone had disappeared quickly to avoid catching teacher attention. “I may be able to beat him to a pulp, but the nerd boy who goes to this school can’t. You lose your cover, you lose everything.”

  “Ugh! So I can’t hurt him?” She leaned her head on mine, and goose bumps ran up my spine. That wasn’t normal. She was like one step away from cuddling with me. Could she like me? I shook off the thought. Amy and I talked a lot more since ninja orientation. It was nice having someone to share the secret with, but we were just friends.

  “No, especially with that evil ninja in the news. Even messing with him could be risky.”

  She pouted. “Why’d you really throw that pencil?”

  My words caught in my throat. She’d see through a lie, but I couldn’t say I was aiming for Courtney.

  “There you are!” Eddie’s voice came from behind. I shot away from Amy as fast as I could.

  “You missed the show,” I said as he came toward us.

  “I got stuck in last period, then I couldn’t find you. What happened?” Eddie squatted and inspected my face. “Did you get beat up?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, I walked into a wall.”

  “Logan,” Amy said.

  “Aw, man, that sucks. What a jerk. I bet Amy took really good care of you though.” Eddie smiled at Amy, who bit her lip.

  “Yeah, something like that.” Amy came closer and put her hand on my shoulder, at which point Eddie’s mouth pulled down. “You need ice or anything?”

  “I’m good.” I stood up to prove it. My eye felt swollen and my nose burned, but other than that I’d be fine.

  Amy hooked her arm with mine, and Eddie’s eyes popped out of his head. “I’ll walk you home. You shouldn’t ride your bike after getting hit like that
.”

  “I’ll be okay.” I wiggled out of her hold.

  “You could have a concussion.” She touched my arm. I backed up and bumped into Eddie. Could she not see what was going on? She couldn’t flirt with me like that. She was looking at me differently. I couldn’t help but feel like something had changed.

  “I can drive him home, then.” Eddie stepped between Amy and me.

  She frowned. “His bike won’t fit in your town car. It would be stupid for him to have to come back for it. You can walk with us if you want.”

  I held in my laugh—Eddie would never brave the hills between my house and school. Not even for Amy.

  They stared at each other for a second while Eddie shifted his blazer. Finally, his shoulders slumped. “All right. I’ll call you guys tonight. Stu wanted to do another dungeon crawl soon.”

  “Sure, sounds good.” I waved as he walked away.

  Amy stared at me with this smile I couldn’t quite place. My heart pounded. Why was I so nervous? It was just Amy. I saw her every night at practice. Then I realized it was the first time I’d been completely alone with her since that walk to her house. And now she was acting weird.

  She looked away. “So, are we going?”

  “Yeah.” I glanced at her handkerchief. That much blood would never come out. “Is it okay if I throw this out?”

  “Sure.”

  We walked to my house, joking and talking like everything was normal. I watched her closely, trying to figure out how I felt. I liked her, of course, I just couldn’t figure out how much. There were too many things in the way even if I did want her. No good could come of it.

  It was a cold day. The clouds hung low like they were about to burst open and soak us through. We quickened our pace down the steep hill.

  “What if I put super glue on Logan’s chair? Please?” Amy said.

  “No. Still too risky. Whatever you do, he’ll blame it on me. Then I’ll have to get creamed again.” We stopped at an intersection and waited for the light.

  “I’ll come up with something, I swear.” She put her hands on her hips, glaring like Logan was right in front of us.