Relax, I'm A Ninja Read online

  Amy rolled her eyes, and her mom glared back. She obviously wanted Amy to be that popular, fashionable girl, but Amy liked books, video games, and karate. They couldn’t have been more different. No wonder she avoided talking about home.

  Amy put on some music, and we started on the food. It was comical how the lines were drawn. The girls sat on one couch in the living room, so the boys took the other. Amy sat in a chair between us. I ended up the farthest from Amy. Eddie was closest, staring at her as he stuffed a meatball in his mouth. All was silent as we ate and blanked on conversation topics. This was why nerds didn’t have co-ed parties.

  “So quiet!” Amy’s mom came in from the kitchen. “How about you kids play a game? I can get a bottle.”

  “Mom!” Amy blushed, and I’m pretty sure the rest of us did too. Nothing like an adult suggesting you play spin the bottle to make it the last thing anyone wanted to do. Was she going to pull out a keg to show us what a “cool” mom she was?

  I had to help Amy save this. “Do you have Scrabble?”

  “Oh, Scrabble, yeah! I love that game,” Eva said as she played with her long brown braid. Eva Gonzalez would have been attractive were it not for her serious unibrow. “You can be on my team, Todd.”

  Todd beamed. “Okay.”

  “I think we have it.” Amy’s mom went to get the game while we paired up. Stu got Maddie, and his hands shook as he sat by her. I prepared to catch him if he fainted. Eddie jumped at the chance to be with Amy, so I got stuck with Sarah Parkins, who was nice, but had an odor problem that no one had the guts to tell her about.

  Once everything was set up, we had the birthday girl go first. She inspected the letters she and Eddie got.

  “Ninja.” She glanced at me as she placed her squares. All my friends looked at Todd—except for Eddie, who looked at me because Amy did. I forced my hands to stay still, but my breath caught. How could she do that? It might have been subtle, but sometimes that was all it took for someone to get it. Eddie was already extra-observant lately because of all her flirting. I had to warn her about being so reckless.

  “Alluring,” Maddie said.

  Eddie grumbled about her using all their letters in one turn. Had he really not noticed? I couldn’t be sure.

  “Good one!” Stu said. Maddie blushed.

  Maddie and Stu ended up winning. That girl was a living dictionary. Stu even loosened up enough to stay close to her when we went back to the kitchen for cake. We sang, and Amy put on her happy face. She even sang with us and pointed to herself when we said “to you.” I might have believed her act if she hadn’t told me it was one. Now it broke my heart. I knew a different Amy, like she knew a different me.

  “Time for presents!” Amy’s mom said. We went back to the living room, and everyone piled their presents on Amy.

  “Let’s see, which one first?” She tapped her fingers together.

  “Mine!” Eddie handed her a small box.

  “Okay.” She seemed apprehensive despite the smile. Eddie’s present looked suspiciously like a jewelry box. His parents were big-time programmers. Like, they helped start the internet or something. Amy ripped the wrapping paper and cracked open the black velvet box. “Oh, a necklace! Thanks, Eddie.”

  “You like it?” Eddie twitched with excitement.

  “I do, very elegant.” She took it out of the box to show everyone. The girls ooohed over the gold chain and what looked suspiciously like a diamond.

  “I thought you could wear it to the Winter Ball…you know, if you want to come with me,” Eddie blurted out.

  Amy’s mouth dropped open. Mine did too. By now I was planning to take her and forget about the “male code” crap. I was a ninja—I broke rules.

  “Oh…ummm …”

  “So, what do you think?” Eddie had asked her in front of everyone. She’d look like a jerk if she said no. She glanced at me, and I tried to say without a word that it was okay.

  “Sure, that sounds fun. Dances with friends are always fun.” She took a deep breath and closed the box.

  “Cool.” Eddie leaned back into the couch, a huge smile on his face.

  Amy made sure to thank everyone for the things she’d never use. At least she laughed out loud at the gold skater shoes I brought from Marty. She saved mine for last, pulling off the paper so slowly it made my palms sweat. I wanted her to flash a real smile when she saw what was in the box. I relaxed when she squealed. “No way!”

  I laughed. “They’re the real thing, too.”

  “This is the best present ever!” She pulled the two sai out and gripped the leather hilts. “Are you gonna teach me how to use them?”

  “Well, my dad will.” They were extremely practical weapons, great for disarming a swordsman.

  “You use weapons in class?” Her mom sounded horrified, but I’d prepared a good excuse for giving Amy such an obviously risky present.

  “Some tournaments have weapon divisions. My dad likes us to be well-rounded. I compete in sword and nunchaku. He decided Amy would do best in sai.”

  “Thank you, Tosh!” She bounced over and wrapped her arms around my neck. I hugged her back, refusing to look in Eddie’s direction.

  “No problem.” I forced myself not to hold her too long. Surely that wouldn’t go unnoticed.

  Before she let go, she whispered in my ear. “Roof. After party.”

  ***

  I left before everyone else. I was too excited for what might happen on the roof to stick around and make small talk. I told the guys my mom wanted me home early because I hadn’t done my chores yet. As I climbed the drainpipe on Amy’s house, I hoped we might kiss. That first kiss didn’t count, since it was more out of self-defense than anything.

  Her roof was completely flat with a few lounge chairs grouped in one corner. I sat in a shadowed spot and listened to the noises of the city. The street below was relatively quiet. Only a few cars drove by as I waited. The cold breeze made the trees rustle. I swore I could hear the ocean waves. They seemed to permeate the city some nights, like they lived in every brick and road. A car honked out front—someone’s ride was there. The door opened downstairs.

  “Can’t wait for the dance!” Eddie called.

  “Sure, it’ll be fun,” Amy said. I tried not to be mad that I couldn’t go with her. Maybe I should have been straight-up with everyone, but it was too late now.

  The girls followed five minutes later. They talked a lot more when we weren’t there.

  “I think Stu likes you, Maddie!” Eva squealed.

  “What? No…no way. Why would he like me?” she said. I held in a laugh. Stu would have said the same thing.

  “Because you’re beautiful and smart, silly!” Amy said. “He was staring at you the whole night.”

  “Speaking of staring …” Eva giggled, and the others joined.

  “What?” Amy said.

  “You and Tosh? What’s going on with you guys?” Eva said. My heart stopped. Amy had to know I was still there.

  “I don’t know, he’s just so, so cute.”

  “I thought you said he was stuck up,” Sarah said. Thanks, bring that up.

  “Things…change.” I was willing to bet she bit her lip. “He’s actually really nice.”

  “You like him!” Eva said in a sing-song voice.

  “Maybe.” Meaning YES. They giggled more. “Goodnight!” Amy shut the door.

  I leaned my head back against the wall and sighed. I felt numb—a good numb—as I waited for her to come.

  The roof door swung open. Amy had traded in the dress for a thick sweater and jeans. She looked right to my shadowed spot. I stood up, unable to keep my face straight as she broke out in a run. I scooped her up so her feet weren’t touching the ground, and she ran her fingers through my hair. I shivered. She smelled so good, like citrus.

  “Thanks for saving my party. Scrabble—genius.” She pulled back and looked into my eyes. Our faces were so close. Her breath smelled like mint.

  “I guess you’re rubbi
ng off on me.” I set her on the ground, and she moved her hands from my neck to my waist. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about Eddie and the dance. I don’t know, maybe I should have—”

  She put one finger to my lips. “I should have told him to back off a long time ago. I didn’t realize he was that into me. I guess I was distracted with my awesome secret life.”

  I smiled. “Awesome, huh?”

  “Yeah, way awesome. I can be myself, beat people up, and there’s this really hot guy who might like me.” She bit her lip and looked down.

  “Hot? That’s pretty generous. You must really like him.”

  She sighed, smiling slightly. “I really, really do.”

  I probably looked like a total idiot as I processed the words. I was giddy inside. As unmanly as that sounded, that was the best way to describe the current running through me.

  “Want to know a secret?” I whispered.

  She smiled wider. “Sure.”

  “I really like you, too.”

  She came up on her tiptoes, and I realized she really did want to kiss me. She wanted to kiss me. It was all I wanted, and yet I couldn’t believe it at the same time. I didn’t think I’d ever have a girlfriend, let alone one as incredible as Amy.

  As I leaned toward her lips, I worried for a split second that I’d do it wrong. I’d never seriously kissed a girl. What the hell was I supposed to do? But as far as I knew, Amy had never dated anyone either. Maybe she was just as nervous, and we could mess it up together and not even know.

  But as the slightest part of her lips touched mine, a girl’s scream hit the air. We instantly pulled apart and ran for the edge of the roof.

  15

  I knew what had to be going on, but my dad’s directions about the evil ninja were the furthest things from my mind. Some innocent girl was getting attacked. Something deep inside me couldn’t run away and let it happen. Amy must have felt the same, because she fearlessly scaled down from her roof right behind me.

  When we hit the street, we ran toward the scream. It wasn’t far, but I pushed hard. We didn’t have much time with the Dragon’s Bile. I had no idea if we could take the ninja, but maybe we could save the girl with our antidote.

  That was what mattered.

  We found them in a narrow alley. The hulking ninja, clad in black, stood over the girl’s body with his hand hovering above the crescent-shaped wound. A green, glowing light sprang from the gash like a vine. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like something straight from a video game.

  The string of light squirmed and writhed, trying to escape the evil ninja. My dad was right about dark arts, because this guy had to be some kind of demon, or at least something not entirely human. Akuma—that’s what Courtney had thought I was. That’s what this evil ninja was.

  I froze. What was I supposed to do? We would both die tonight with that girl.

  The light freed itself and zipped toward us like a snake on caffeine, but the ninja grabbed it. It let out a strange, resonating cry that rippled the air. Whipping at his arms, it fought until he had it gripped firmly in his hands. Then it went limp. He saw us watching. And laughed. It didn’t sound right. There was an animal quality to it that made my insides tremble.

  “You’re next,” he said in a deep, malicious voice. Amy shrank behind me as the ninja put the light to his mouth. He was going to eat it? I totally freaked out. Now my dad’s admonition to stay away from this guy set in. We had to run fast. I was about to push Amy back to the street when someone else showed up.

  “Yamero!” I knew that high-pitched voice. Courtney, dressed in full blue ninja gi. She kicked the Akuma in the back. The green light broke free and she pointed at it, shouting, “Modotte kite!”

  The way she spoke the Japanese words was different than I’d ever heard them said, like they carried more power and weight than a simple command. The light froze in place, then zoomed back into the girl’s body. It was hard to believe, but I was sure Courtney did that with her words…almost like a spell.

  The evil ninja was on his feet again. He snarled at Courtney, and she charged with her sword at the ready.

  If all that wasn’t weird enough, instead of fighting, he turned and ran from a five-foot-two cheerleader. Courtney stopped when she got to me. She didn’t say anything, but I knew it was her by the blue eyes. She took my hand and stuffed something into it. Then she went after the monster.

  I opened my palm—Spirit’s Grace. All ninjas knew that Spirit’s Grace countered Dragon’s Bile, so she must have assumed I’d know what to do even if she did think I was an idiot.

  We didn’t have much time left, so I sprinted toward the lifeless body in the alley. I ripped off the cap from the vial, opened the girl’s mouth, and poured it in.

  “Swallow, swallow,” I whispered. She did. But she was bleeding badly. She needed medical attention fast.

  Amy pulled out her phone, but I grabbed her hand. “No, not your phone. They’ll think we’re involved if they find us here again.”

  She nodded. “There’s an old pay phone down the street, I think.”

  “Go. I’ll catch up.”

  “Okay.” Her footsteps pounded the pavement as she went.

  I pulled off my coat and then my shirt. I ripped it into long pieces to bind the wound, hoping that would give her more time. Then I threw my coat back on and ran for Amy. She was waiting at the bus stop and grabbed on to me the second I was close.

  “What was that?” Her voice shook.

  “No clue.” I couldn’t make sense of it for myself, let alone anyone else. “My house—we need to tell my dad.”

  I took her by the hand and ducked into an alley. We waited for the ambulance to come to make sure the girl would be okay. There was no way I was taking the long way tonight, so after that we hopped fences and cut through alleys until we made it back to the dojo.

  Dad wasn’t home when we got there, and I didn’t know when he would be. It was past midnight, but there was no way I’d let Amy out of my sight after that. We sat on the couch in the dark. I held her tight and listened hard for any signs of trouble.

  “He’s going to come after us, isn’t he?” Amy whispered.

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t know who we are…but we saw him do…I don’t know what the hell he did.”

  She breathed hard. “I’m scared.”

  “Shh.” I stroked her hair. I wanted to be strong for her. “I’m scared too, but that other ninja went after him. Did you see how he ran? Someone’s trying to fight him, which means he can be killed.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “How come you can always calm me down when everything is so scary?”

  “Ninja powers?” I leaned my head on hers, and she laughed a little.

  “That must be it.” She slid one of her hands under my coat. When her fingers hit my stomach, I remembered I didn’t have my shirt anymore. She pulled her hand away. “Um, where did your shirt go?”

  “I used it on that girl’s wound. Let me, uh, go get another one.” I stood up, and so did she. “You’re coming?”

  “I’m not sitting out here alone.” She still looked freaked out, so I let her follow.

  She’d seen me shirtless before, so I don’t know why it embarrassed me more now that we were officially dating. Maybe it was because I was aware that it could actually go somewhere. When we came back out, a dark figure stood in the living room. I jumped in front of Amy before I realized it was Dad. We’d come out of my bedroom, and he looked like he might kill us for it.

  “What’s going on?” His voice was hard as steel.

  “It’s not…Dad, we saw him by Amy’s house.” I pulled Amy closer at the thought. The evil ninja’s voice chilled me still.

  The news only made him angrier. “Tell me.”

  I told my dad what happened, except the fact that I knew it was Courtney who saved us. I don’t know why I didn’t say it was her. Maybe I doubted myself. Maybe I was afraid he’d get even angrier because I didn’t tell him about her s
ooner.

  “Take Sato home and come right back,” he said. “I will investigate.”

  I stared at him until he disappeared behind the front door. Take her home? Why did that make me sick? I didn’t want to go back out there, leave her alone at her house, and worry all night about that evil ninja finding her.

  “Don’t make me go,” she whispered, burrowing into my chest. “Please.”

  “I won’t.” I’d never directly disobeyed my father, but the idea of that guy showing up and killing her scared me more than Dad’s wrath. Besides, he only said not to use seduction tactics in sparring. I didn’t know why he was so mad about us being close. “But what about your parents?”

  She shrugged. “I’ll text my mom and tell her I’m staying at Eva’s. I sleep over there all the time when they’re both gone.”

  Nodding, I tried not to betray how awkward I felt. I really must have been a nerd, because I already knew I wouldn’t mess around with Amy. We hadn’t even kissed. “You want my bed or the couch?”

  She pouted. “I want wherever you’re sleeping.”

  I shook my head. She had no idea what she was saying. Not that it didn’t sound great, but she had no clue what that would do to me. “Take my bed—you’ll be safe. I’m a light sleeper.”

  “But …” Her lip quivered.

  I sighed. She was killing me here. “What if I sleep on the floor?”

  She nodded into my chest.

  I rolled out a sleeping bag as she jumped into my bed. My. Bed. I didn’t know how to feel. Maybe if we hadn’t witnessed the freakiest thing I’d seen with my own eyes, I would have been happy. As it was, I was just relieved that I could look over and see that Amy was safe.

  16

  Now that we were back in school, the real charade began. I couldn’t hold Amy’s hand or hug her goodbye. I had to pretend I didn’t care, which meant even my staring had to be limited.

  “Hey, Tosh!” Eddie called as I shut my locker. The guys were with him. So was Amy, who looked beautiful even in her uniform. “Maddie and Eva said yes to Stu and Todd. You figure out who you’re taking to the dance? It’s in two weeks.” He smiled, which made me sick. He was taking my girlfriend. Did he have to push me into going so I could watch?