by Alex Ko
The black-clad figure raised its hands in challenge to the thugs, who growled and rolled up their sleeves.
“Yay! Go...mysterious ninja!” Jessica cried.
The figure executed a perfect spinning high kick to the first thug’s face, sending him reeling. The second thug tried to grab hold, but their rescuer used his momentum to bounce the man’s head off the wall.
Josh was stunned. This was a superhero. A real life, seriously for serious superhero had just rescued him!
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Sneak preview:
Secret Ninja Spies Football Frenzy
With special thanks to Rosie Best
For Jessie
First published in the UK in 2011 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House,
83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England. www.usborne.com
Series created by Working Partners Limited.
Text copyright © Working Partners Limited, 2011
Illustrations copyright © Usborne Publishing Ltd., 2011
Illustrations by Kanako and Yuzuru.
The name Usborne and the devices are Trade Marks of
Usborne Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or used in any way except
as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
epub ISBN 9781409537519
Kindle ISBN 9781409537526
Batch no. 02335-02
“Tell me where you’ve hidden the device,” Josh Murata demanded, facing his enemy as dust and broken glass settled around the devastated airport lounge.
Mr. Hamada laughed, his muscles bulging out of the torn sleeves of his shirt. “You cannot stop me, now.”
Whooosh! Smack!
Josh sent his fist flying through the air and connected with Mr. Hamada’s cheek.
Skeeeee!
Mr. Hamada’s shoes skidded on the airport floor from the impact. But he recovered quickly and grabbed Josh’s shoulders, throwing him.
CRASH!
Josh went through the final unbroken duty-free shop window, sending tiny fragments of glass spiralling. He raised his head to see Mr. Hamada sneering in triumph...
“Pardon me, Master and Miss Murata,” said the red-skirted airline attendant. “We’ve got to go to the gate now.”
“Huh?” Josh Murata said, looking up from his illustration.
The airport announcement bell chimed. “Passengers for the 10:35 Japan Jet flight to Tokyo, please assemble at Gate Three for boarding.”
Josh’s twin sister Jessica elbowed him and his pencil slipped, giving Mr. Hamada’s sneering face an unfortunately gigantic nose.
“C’mon, we’ve got to go,” she said, peering over his sketchbook, where the airport battle was laid out in six and a half comic book panels. “That looks cool,” Jessica said.
“You see them?” Josh said, pointing across the lounge. Two Japanese men in black suits and sunglasses stood in the middle of the duty-free shops. One was short and fat and grey-haired, and the other looked like he had stepped out of the pages of a comic book – Josh had hardly needed to exaggerate the muscles at all. The two men were talking, leaning together as if they didn’t want to be overheard. “They’re clearly plotting something.”
“Oh yeah,” Jessica grinned. “They’re going to go on a rampage any minute now. Just like Granny Murata’s going to go on a rampage if we miss our flight.”
“All right, I’m coming,” Josh said, packing his pencil and sketchbook away.
They grabbed their backpacks and followed their appointed guardian’s clicking high heels towards Gate Three. As they came up to the boarding area, Josh could see the plane through the big glass windows. It was one of the new double-decker ones with the red and black Japan Jet logo painted along the sides.
“Mum and Dad could have landed in Africa by now,” Jessica said. “I bet they’re saving lives already.”
“Could be,” Josh agreed. He could see them now, jetting into a war zone with only a surgeon’s tools and a Médecins Sans Frontières van for protection. He felt a swell of pride. He was sure they’d be fine, but it was still a lot braver than anything most parents did. “I hope Granny’s got some exciting stuff planned for us too. Anything other than listening to the history of the tea ceremony again!”
“I like the tea ceremony,” Jessica said. “Anyway, last time we visited Tokyo, you spent all week in the bookstore drooling over manga you couldn’t even read.”
“Yeah, but it was research for my future career as a famous comic book artist. And anyway – manga!” Josh sighed happily, visualizing Granny Murata’s local bookstore – shelves and shelves of the Japanese comics, more manga than he’d ever seen in one place. They had all the famous series he’d read in English plus hundreds never seen before...
Wham!
Josh walked head first into someone’s back, and found himself looking up into the angry face of the huge Japanese man with the sunglasses.
The man shoved Josh away so hard that he stumbled and nearly ended up on the floor. It was like being pushed aside by the Incredible Hulk’s angrier Japanese cousin. He gazed down at Josh from behind impenetrable black sunglasses. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Josh swallowed hard, taking in the sheer size of the man. He was three times as wide as Josh and much taller. He straightened up to stand face-to-face with the man – though his head only came up to the man’s enormous chest.
“Kamawanaide Kure,” the man snarled, and he stomped off, resuming his mobile phone conversation.
“Shove off yourself,” Josh muttered, brushing himself down.
“How rude!” Jessica exclaimed, helping Josh with his backpack.
Josh decided that the guy couldn’t be an evil villain – he was too much of a thug. He was a lower-level henchman at best, one that would be killed off by the hero in the first scene.
“Doesn’t matter,” Josh said. “Let’s get on the plane.”
Their seats were on the top deck. Even on the double-deckers, it was cramped. Josh nearly hit an old lady over the head with his backpack, and then had to dodge around a toddler that was dashing up and down the aisle chased by his frazzled mother. Finally they settled into their seats and Josh leaned his head against the window. As they took off, he watched the houses below shrink away to dots and disappear into the clouds.
The seat belt sign flicked off with a soft bing, and Jessica gasped. She was staring at something further up the plane, her eyes shining with excitement.
“Josh!” she hissed. “Look who it is!”
Josh looked. There was his new nemesis, standing at the curtained doorway to first class – the guy with the sunglasses.
“Oh great,” he said. “We’re on the same flight as that thug.”
Jessica gave him a look of disbelief. “Are you blind? Look who he’s talk
ing to!”
Josh looked again. The man was talking to a very pretty Japanese girl, a little older than Josh, who was wearing a cropped high-fashion pink shirt, black jeans, and an amused smile.
“It’s Kiki!” Jessica hissed. “Oh wow, we are sharing air with Chiba Mikiko! That man must be her bodyguard. I knew she was in London,” she added, straining in her seat to get a better look, “recording English language tracks for her new album.”
“Oh, that Kiki,” Josh said, as Kiki and the bodyguard disappeared through the curtain into first class. “The pop idol with all those albums clogging up your iPod. She sang that song you’ve listened to every day for months about being in love with a cloud.”
“It’s ‘Kumo no ue no ai’, you idiot,” Jessica said, still grinning. “‘Love On The Clouds’.” She took a deep breath and then dived into her bag and pulled out a notebook and pen. “I have to get an interview. Can you imagine Ellie Rowland’s face when I get it onto the front page of the school paper? She’ll just die.”
“What?” Josh stared at Jessica. “No way. Kiki will never talk to you just like that. Anyway, she’s in first class; you can’t just wander up there.”
“I have to – I’ve never been on the front page before.” She unclipped her seat belt and stood up. “Get ready to cover for me when I give you the signal.”
“Wait, Jess,” Josh said. “Come back – Jess!” But it was too late. Jessica strolled off, while Josh sank lower in his seat and tried to look invisible, wondering whether anyone would believe him if he claimed not to know her.
A flight attendant came out of the midsection cabin, pushing the refreshment cart. Josh groaned. Jessica was going to have to squeeze past her to get into first class. He felt his heart pound harder with every step Jessica took. They were on course for collision...Josh raised his hand slowly towards the Call Attendant button on his seat, but it was too late...
“I’m Kiki’s cousin,” she said in a loud, confident voice, “can I just slip past?”
Unpleasant visions of both of them being taken down by Kiki’s own personal Incredible Hulk danced before Josh’s eyes. What happened if you got in trouble on an aeroplane? He imagined being handcuffed and forced to spend the rest of the journey in the hold.
The attendant raised her eyebrows at Jessica. Josh tried to beam a warning into the back of his sister’s head by sheer force of concentration. She’s not buying it, Jess! Abort, abort!
“What are you doing back here, if your seat is in first class?” the attendant asked.
“I’ve never been on a double-decker plane before,” said Jessica. “I wanted to have a look around. Bored now.”
The attendant hesitated. Then Jessica flicked her hair dramatically over her shoulder like something out of a shampoo advert, and shot a look at Josh that said, “Help me!”
Josh sighed. She’s bailed me out hundreds of times, he thought. I suppose I can’t abandon her now.
He sucked in a deep breath and then threw his head forward and went into a spectacular coughing fit, clutching the seat in front of him with one hand and mashing the Call Attendant button with the other. He opened one watering eye and peered between the seats to see the attendant bow apologetically to Jessica and hurry towards him. Jessica gave him a thumbs up and slipped away into first class.
By the time the attendant had kneeled beside him, patted his back, made sure he wasn’t choking, offered to find a doctor, brought him water and insisted on fluffing his complimentary pillow, he felt quite guilty for tricking her. But then, the fake coughing fit made him feel a little sick, so he really was glad of the water.
After the attendant had gone and the bright spots had stopped flashing in front of his eyes, Josh let out a long sigh and slumped in his seat.
Willing Jessica to get to Kiki and back without causing any more trouble, Josh took his sketchpad and pencils out of his bag. He drew a quick sketch of a green bulging monster in a black suit with sunglasses growling into a mobile phone, then one of a cute manga-style Kiki making stupid kissy faces at a small fluffy cloud. He wrote the kanji for “love” over her head. Thanks to Granny Murata insisting on lessons whenever they would visit, Josh knew a few basic kanji. It wasn’t enough to be able to read manga in the original language yet, and he was hoping that they might get to learn from more exciting books on this trip. Who needed to know how to write “to whom it may concern” when they could be learning “robot weapons activated” instead?
A shadow fell across him and he looked up.
It was the black-suited hulk.
He loomed over Josh. One enormous hand reached for his pen. Josh moved without really meaning to, one arm coming up to block the bodyguard’s hand and the other drawing back, ready to throw a punch. Then he realized what he was doing. The man could probably kill him with his little toe, and he looked like he wanted to. But the bodyguard just snorted and stepped back.
“Josh Murata,” he grumbled. “Come now.”
Josh had a very bad feeling about this, but there didn’t seem to be any alternative. He squeezed out of his seat still clutching his sketchbook and pen, his legs feeling like lead weights. What had Jessica done?
The bodyguard nudged Josh in front of him towards the first-class cabin.
The curtain parted to reveal big plushy seats that reclined all the way down, with little tables next to them, discreet reading lamps and thick, woollen blankets. If he was going to be forced to stay here for the whole flight, Josh decided it might not be so bad. But then the bodyguard shoved him forwards.
Josh looked around for his sister. To his surprise he heard two female voices giggling, and spotted Jessica sitting beside Kiki, scribbling in her notebook.
“Josh!” Jessica waved him over. “Come and meet Kiki!”
Kiki turned her 100-megawatt smile on Josh. “Hi,” she said. Josh felt a grin spread across his face. Jessica had got away with it.
As he walked down the aisle, he saw that the occupied seats were full of snoring, well-dressed business people wearing cashmere eye masks as they slept. The bodyguard loitered in the doorway. Josh was sure he could feel the bodyguard’s glare burning into the back of his head like a laser weapon.
He thought hard and finally dragged the right Japanese phrase out of a dusty drawer in his brain.
“Hajimemashite,” he said, hoping he’d pronounced it right.
Kiki grinned. “I am pleased to meet you, too,” she said. “Jessica told me you’re an artist.”
“Well, I draw a bit,” Josh said, holding the sketchbook even tighter.
“Kiki wants you to draw a manga portrait of her for my article,” Jessica said.
“Much cooler than a boring photo,” Kiki explained.
“Sure!” Josh kneeled in the empty seat in front of Kiki and set his sketchbook on the headrest. He had a good angle on Kiki, but when he looked up he found himself on eye level with the bodyguard, too. An attendant swept up to them and bowed deeply to Kiki.
“Is there anything else I can get for you, miss?” she asked. “We have a wide selection of sodas and teas available.”
“Would you two like anything?” Kiki asked.
“Um – a lemonade, thanks!” Jessica grinned. Josh asked for the same, and Kiki ordered iced tea. The attendant left and returned barely thirty seconds later with three clinking glasses and a selection of lemon and lime slices in a tiny porcelain bowl.
“So, what’s your favourite type of movie?” Jessica asked, starting a new page in her notebook.
“I like samurai epics,” Kiki said, making sweeping arm gestures as if she was wielding a sword. Josh stopped sketching for a moment to make a note to himself on another page – draw Kiki as samurai later. “The kind with beautiful women in fantastic gowns battling it out with katanas.”
She swept her arm round again and cried, “Hai!” Josh saw the bodyguard jump, before he realized Kiki was only playing. One of the passengers lifted her eye mask and glared at them, then turned over, muttering in Japanese.
“Your English is fantastic,” Jessica said.
“Arigatō, Jessica,” said Kiki, bowing in her seat. “I’ve enjoyed very much recording songs in English. I hope people like them. Many things Western are really big in Tokyo.”
“We’re staying with our granny,” said Jessica. “She’s very traditional, and she doesn’t like Western things much.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” said Kiki. “I love Hollywood and all the famous stars. I like to visit the Tokyo Tower Ro Ningyokan.” Josh pulled an uncertain face at the Japanese phrase. “The waxworks museum,” Kiki said with a smile. “They have lots of new statues this summer. Including a fabulous new one of me!” She smiled with one corner of her mouth quirked up. Josh sketched it in quickly. Yes, that was the expression he wanted, cool and happy. “You’ll have to go and see it and tell me what you think.”
“What are your plans for the future, after the new album?” Jessica asked.
“Hmm.” Kiki shifted in her seat, glancing around at the other passengers. Only a few of them were awake, and they were buried in thick Japanese newspapers or watching an in-flight movie. “You won’t publish this for a few weeks, right?” she asked Jessica.
“Right, it’s for my school paper,” said Jessica. “It’ll go out after the summer.”
“Well, I have a big secret.” Kiki leaned in to Jessica, and Josh bent his head closer to hear. “Every famous girl in Japan auditioned to present Banzai Banzai Benzaiten, a brand-new live music show, and I won the job! But nobody knows it’s me yet. It’s going to be a big surprise.”
“Wow!” said Jessica, writing this down. “That’s amazing. I can’t wait to see it.”
“I’m so excited,” whispered Kiki. “I get to present the show dressed as Benzaiten, the goddess of water and music. My costume is incredible.” Josh made another note – draw Kiki as Benzaiten: mandolin, river, etc.
“I think I’ve finished,” he said. He looked down at his sketch. It was pretty good, he thought, as he handed it to Kiki. He watched anxiously as she held up her portrait and studied it. Then she gave Josh another dazzling smile.