Relax, I'm A Ninja Page 7

  She nodded and let go of me with one hand. She pulled out her phone. Once I took it, her arm went right back around me.

  I never thought I’d dial 911. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say as I pressed the three numbers on her phone. I hit call and held it to my ear.

  “This is 911. State your emergency,” the dispatcher said.

  “Um…me and my friend are at Golden Gate Park, and we found a dead body in the bushes.” It sounded too simple. This girl had a family and friends and a life—until she’d been murdered. I gulped, realizing just how lucky Todd was that we found him in time.

  “Are you sure the person is deceased?”

  “She’s not moving, and there’s a big gash in her side.” I failed to mention how the blood had stopped running, replaced with oozing lime-tinted pus that indicated Dragon’s Bile.

  “All right, do you know where you are?”

  “I think close to the tennis courts.” I looked around. The hazy fluorescent lights barely cut through the night. “Yeah, I can see the lights. There’s a bathroom close, too.”

  “A unit has been dispatched to the area. Please stay where you are and don’t hang up until they find you,” the lady said in a calm voice. How could she be calm? I guess it was her job.

  She gave me updates on the cops as we waited in the dark. Amy stayed quiet at my side. Her grip loosened only slightly.

  I scrutinized every shadow while we waited. Usually when I did this, it was to find good hiding places for myself. Now I searched the darkness for threats. I strained my eyes, trying to find an anomaly in the nearby evergreens. Nothing. I moved on to the shaded boughs of another tree, watching every major branch for movement. Nothing.

  And then I saw something—a flash of green light in a tree to my right. I squeezed Amy and she looked up at me. I motioned to the light with my eyes. She looked without moving her head and then met my gaze again. It moved, creeping toward us. I wanted to run. Where were the cops? Whatever it was, it was getting too close.

  Finally, I heard dogs barking and a flashlight shined our way. The green light dashed off like a laser beam in hyper drive. “They’re here!”

  “Okay, you see them?” the dispatcher asked.

  “I’m waving to them. They see us,” I told her.

  “All right, then. Good luck.”

  She hung up, and I stuffed Amy’s phone in my pocket rather than have her move. I hugged her tight, leaned my head on hers. “It’s gonna be okay.”

  “Is it?” she whispered.

  Maybe that was stupid to say. “I don’t know what’s happening. I’m really sorry for that girl…but I thought that might be you when you screamed. Maybe I’m selfish, but it’s gonna be okay because you’re still here. And we’ll figure out what’s going on.”

  She looked up, eyes searching mine, and nodded.

  A few cops came to our side. “Are you Tosh?”

  “Yeah.” I pulled away from Amy so I could talk to them, and she grabbed my hand.

  “Tell me how you found the body.”

  “We were on a date. We went to the museum and then went for a walk.” I swallowed before I said the next part. It was the most logical explanation, but I really didn’t want to imply it. “We started…making out. One thing led to another, and we found the body.”

  The cop nodded.

  “You’re not gonna tell the news that, are you?” I could see it now. Eddie and the rest of Greenburg Academy seeing us on TV saying we’d run off into the park to get busy. Nightmare.

  “You’re minors, so the news won’t be informed of your identities.” The cop wrote in his little book as we both breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you know the girl?”

  “No. We live in Pacific Heights,” I said, as if that would clear us. I had no idea where the girl came from. She could have lived on my street for all I knew.

  “I see.” He held out his hand like he wanted us to leave the area. “We’ll need to get your official statements, then you’re free to go.”

  “Okay.” I was surprised that was it. Standing next to a dead body, it felt like we were in trouble even if we weren’t. For some reason I kept waiting for cameras to come out and reporters to mob us with awkward questions like, “Were you planning to use protection?” And here I’d just realized how much I cared about Amy. I was more worried about how I’d keep those feelings to myself than anything else.

  When they let us go, there were no flashbulbs or mobs, only Amy and me walking hand in hand out of the park. We had to act like we were together, which consisted of holding hands the whole time. It felt so natural. I didn’t want to let go even though I should have.

  “What was that light?” she asked as we waited for a bus.

  “No clue.” It felt like it was a person, but what kind of person glowed? “I’m sorry things went so bad your first night out.”

  “I hope they catch that guy. Makes me sick to think he’s out there.”

  “Yeah.” It made me downright nauseated knowing he was right behind me at one point, but I didn’t say anything. Amy had experienced enough trauma for one night. I wondered if I could have fought him and survived. Not with that Dragon’s Bile. I wished I had a vial of Spirit’s Grace on me.

  “Can we still hang out?” she asked as we approached the dojo. “I don’t want to go home. I don’t feel safe.”

  “Sure, if you want. My mom probably has food waiting for us.” Her hand was cold in mine. I was tempted to put my arms around her to warm her up, but I didn’t. I already felt guilty enough.

  She nodded. “I’m starving.”

  We went through the back and checked in with my father first. He’d already sent Marty home, so he stood there in the back room alone. He glared at our clasped hands, but I couldn’t seem to let go of Amy after all that.

  “Everything okay?” His voice was laced with the smallest hint of tension.

  “They didn’t question the story, and our identities will be kept anonymous since we’re minors,” I said.

  He took a deep breath. “Tell no one.”

  “Right.”

  “We’re holding a competition New Year’s Eve.” A competition meant Clan meeting, and that meant Dad had something serious to say.

  “Usual place?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll call and reserve the hall.” He liked me to do the technical work. I’d pose as “Hiro Tanaka” and make the plans so no one would recognize his voice.

  He looked haunted as he walked past us, anxious. I didn’t like it when my dad worried; it meant things were really bad. It reminded me of that night he came home bleeding, the only time I’d ever seen him hurt, maybe even scared.

  His mood had changed that day he asked me to recruit Amy, and it had only gotten worse. I couldn’t help feeling like there was some kind of connection between her and me and everything going on.

  Dad disappeared into the office. I took Amy upstairs. We stuffed ourselves full of rice and watched some game shows with my mom until she went to bed. Amy wanted to watch a movie after that, so we picked something random and she leaned into me. I couldn’t take it. I threw caution to the wind and put my arm around her.

  “Tosh?” She looked up at me with a slight smile.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re a great friend. I’m glad I know how cool you really are.”

  “You’re a great friend, too.” My stomach sank. She said friend. Was she setting boundaries or testing the waters? I was so confused, but I didn’t move my arm and she cuddled into me as the movie progressed. For such a terrible night, it sure ended well.

  12

  It was tradition for us to play Dungeons & Dragons the day after Christmas. My parents left the house so they wouldn’t be in our way. We stocked up on junk food, had a Lord of the Rings movie marathon, and pretended to be other people. It was always a good time, but having Amy there made it even better.

  “Can you stop talking about The Ninja? We’re in the middle of a campaign here,” Eddie grum
bled. He hated when we didn’t stay in character.

  “Sorry.” Todd rolled his eyes. “The guy did almost kill me, and he’s taken out four others. It’s kind of a big deal.”

  Evil ninja had officially been labeled a serial killer, complete with a fancy name. The media were calling him “The Ninja,” thanks to Todd’s description. With San Francisco on high ninja alert, I’d never felt so exposed, as if the whole city could see through my cover.

  I needed to talk to Courtney, but she was still on vacation. I couldn’t help but think her absence had caused those deaths. She had been defending the city somehow, but cover came first and she had to go with her family. Most nights I’d go out on my own, searching for some kind of clue or trail. It was like trying to catch smoke. I could smell something was wrong, but I couldn’t grasp it.

  “Eddie’s right,” Amy said as she came back from the kitchen, drink in hand. “This is creeping me out.” She’d been skittish since we found that girl. She made me walk her home every night.

  Eddie grinned. “Back to the game, then. So, the four heroes made it out of the forest alive, besting the murderous dark elves.” He liked to use a British accent when he played Dungeon Master for our campaigns, and I gave up a long time ago telling him he sounded silly.

  “We should celebrate!” Amy sat between Eddie and me, leaning toward me a little. I forced myself to stay calm as her knee touched mine. I couldn’t let them see I liked it, so I moved away. She shot me a crestfallen glance. “Sir Remeus was particularly valiant and strong.”

  “Why, thank you, my lady,” I, Sir Remeus, answered. “But were it not for your adept combat skills, I fear we would have been doomed.”

  Her character had been flirting with mine all night. I tried to ignore it—tried to be the loyal friend I should be—but there were a couple of problems with that. One, my paladin and her monk, Shera, would be attracted to each other. And two, I liked it.

  “A pint for the lady and me. I hope you can hold your ale, Shera.”

  Amy laughed, batting her pretty black eyelashes. “Better than most men, as long as you don’t sweet talk me, of course.”

  I shook my head, smiling. “I would never compromise you in such a way!”

  She rolled her eyes. “Paladins and their ethics. So noble.”

  Eddie cleared his throat, a scowl on his face. “Quinthar notices a bounty tacked to the wall of the tavern.”

  Stu had been dying to lead the group on a campaign, and he threw himself into character with even more enthusiasm than usual. “I cannot believe it! This is the man who killed my brother. Friends, I beg you to assist me in hunting him.”

  “I’m always in for a good manhunt!” Todd said. He played a dwarf named Steve Megabeard. “Just one more beer. Arg!”

  “Your brother deserves to be avenged.” I looked at Amy. “What say you, Shera? We could use your skills.”

  She smirked. “Do you truly require my skills, or are you merely loathe to part with my pretty face, good knight?”

  Eddie’s brow cinched. He had to know she was role-playing, right? I needed to remember that, too. He glared at me, but I had to play my character. Sir Remeus liked Shera. He couldn’t get mad at me over that.

  “Your pretty face is more than welcome, but your skills are most valued,” I answered. Eddie’s scowl deepened.

  “‘Then I’d better come,’ Shera says, and takes Remeus’s hand.” Amy couldn’t seem to help herself—she leaned into me again. I practically wedged myself into the arm of the couch. Eddie’s dark eyes grew wide. I did my best to look annoyed, unsure if I pulled it off.

  “Excellent!” Stu said. “Let us be off to the Eastern Woods!”

  “Wait!” Eddie looked through his Dungeon Master notes. “As you are about to leave, the cry of a dragon pierces the night.” That was unexpected, and pretty cool for Eddie’s campaigns. They were usually downright predictable.

  “Make haste!” I said. “It sounds as if we have a bigger threat to face.”

  “Okay.” Eddie looked through his notes again. “The four heroes run outside to find a massive red dragon shooting fire across the city. Then the dragon spots the beautiful Shera—the perfect maiden to satiate his craving for blood. He comes to attack.”

  “I hide while I figure out how to fight it,” Amy said, rolling a twenty-sided die to see how well her hiding worked. It was a four.

  “You duck behind a wagon, but the dragon knows you’re there. He lands in the town square, ready to come at you,” Eddie said.

  I knew what Sir Remeus had to do, and I had a bad feeling about it. The chances we’d beat a dragon at our level were low. “Sir Remeus steps between the red dragon and Shera, ready to defend her to the death if need be. He says, ‘Back, foul beast!’”

  “The dragon laughs at the young paladin. It opens its mouth to take a bite of the feeble human.” Eddie rolled his twenty-sided die, and my mouth dropped open when it landed on twenty. Eddie smiled vengefully. “The dragon eats Sir Remeus whole.”

  I couldn’t form words. Eddie freaking killed my paladin! He never killed us. I wanted to believe it was in the campaign, but the way he looked through his notes told me it wasn’t. I had no idea he was that jealous. The furious way he looked at me made me think I hadn’t been hiding my feelings well at all.

  Todd laughed. “Dude, that sucks!”

  Amy looked confused. “Can’t we just resurrect him?”

  “D&D doesn’t work like video games,” Stu said. “When you die, you die.”

  “That’s not very nice, Eddie!” She smacked his arm. He smiled at the touch, despite her reprimand. “My character liked him! She’s gonna have to feed herself to the dragon now.”

  Eddie shrugged. “That’s how it goes sometimes. It’s nothing personal.”

  Sure, not personal at all. He totally killed my character out of real life jealousy. I couldn’t imagine how he’d act if he knew Amy had cuddled with me.

  “It’s getting late,” she said after another half hour of playing. I’d almost fallen asleep, since I didn’t have much else to do. “Oh! My birthday’s on the fourth. You guys mind pretending you care enough for a party at my house? It’s at seven.”

  “Sure!” Eddie beamed. “Won’t even have to pretend.”

  “Cool, I guess I’ll see you guys then.” She smiled at me. “See you at practice, Tosh.”

  “Yup.” I hated watching her leave when evil ninja was out there, but I couldn’t walk her home with the guys there. She could definitely handle herself. She knew to come straight back here if she ran into any trouble she couldn’t manage.

  The guys didn’t seem interested in leaving. I needed time to myself, especially after Eddie cut me out of the game. I was starting to resent his stupid crush on Amy. She didn’t like him, at least not like that. My loyalty to him was the only thing keeping me from her, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, even that was wearing thin.

  I hated feeling this way about Eddie. We’d been friends since kindergarten—ever since he sat next to me with his Yoda backpack and told me he was a Jedi in training. Stu and Todd came later. We met them in a junior high Anime club. I couldn’t hurt Eddie, but I didn’t want to ignore Amy either. It was too complicated.

  “Tosh?” Eddie said. It was only then that I realized my friends were staring at me, and not in a good way.

  “Yeah?”

  My best friend took a deep breath. “What’s with you lately?”

  “Huh?” My stomach twisted up when I realized they were about to go intervention on me. Was this about Amy or something else?

  “You’re at practice with Amy all the time.” Eddie leaned forward, not taking his eyes off me. “We barely see you online anymore. You’re like a totally different person. I didn’t realize you were that into karate.”

  I forced myself not to gulp. Was this about my cover? With The Ninja roaming around, they could have realized ninjas weren’t some joke or legend. Maybe they even thought I knew something. I’d been saying Da
d made me practice late for a competition so I could hang out with Amy. “Look, it’s not what you think, I swear.”

  “So, you don’t like Amy?”

  “No!” It came out before I could think. I didn’t expect him to ask that flat out. Now I’d really messed things up. That was my one chance to come clean. I couldn’t take it back—it would only unravel my cover more. “We…we really do have a competition on New Year’s Eve.”

  Eddie let out a long breath. “Good. I was gonna ask her to the Winter Ball.”

  “Oh? Cool.” I could barely choke it out. Now that I knew he was going to, I couldn’t even think about it. Asking her first would be the lowest possible thing I could do.

  “Stu wanted to ask Maddie, so I thought you and Todd could find dates and we could do a group thing,” he continued.

  “Eva’s been kinda flirting with me in debate. Maybe I’ll ask her.” Todd smiled, and I was jealous he could think of someone. I didn’t want anyone but Amy.

  “You should ask her.” Stu laughed nervously. “She’s good friends with Amy and Maddie, but I guess that doesn’t matter if Maddie doesn’t want to go with me.”

  “Don’t talk like that. She’ll say yes,” I said. Stu was seriously afraid of girls. That he’d gotten up the guts to think about asking her…wow.

  “What about you, Tosh?” Eddie asked.

  My stomach dropped. What was I supposed to say? Yeah, I just lied to you and I’m freaking crazy about Amy. I want to steal her away because she doesn’t even like you. “I don’t know. Dating…that’s a lot of pressure, you know? Maybe I won’t go.”

  “Oh, c’mon! You have to go!” Todd said. “Wouldn’t be right without you!”

  I sighed. “I’ll think about it, okay? I don’t know who to ask.”

  They seemed satisfied with that, but I felt sick. I’d accepted a long time ago that they’d never know about my real life, but I didn’t expect to be lying to them like this. I had to protect my cover. I had to protect Eddie. Why did doing the “right thing” feel so wrong?

  13