Chapter Seven
Friday, 11:50 PM
Buster pulled the minivan into the parking lot of the high school building. Jamie climbed out of the vehicle, his feet crunching on the loose gravel of the lot. He pulled his glasses case from a pocket in his vest and opened it, making sure he had remembered to put his glasses inside when he had changed into his contacts at Tanemura’s.
Dave walked up to stand next to his cousin as the young ninja slid the case back into his vest. The big teen sniffed the air playfully and declared, “I smell a majorly AWESOME BATTLE comin’, dudes!”
Yoshi walked up to the two boys and sighed. “I wish that we could have reached Uncle Tanemura,” she said.
Jamie put his mask on. “Surely he’s heard the news by now. He’s probably on his way here as we speak.”
“Jamie’s right,” agreed Dave. “I’m sure B.J. and Zack’ve told him everything by now.”
* * *
Tanemura Funakoshi hung his car keys on the rack next to the back door. He walked to the refrigerator and opened the door. Reaching in, he grabbed a can of V8 and opened it.
Taking a swig, he thought about his trip home from the Bluff. An accident had blocked traffic on Highway 67. An eighteen wheeler had wrecked, falling onto its side and stretching out the width of the road. The old ninja didn’t know what had caused the accident, as his car had blown a fuse earlier during the day and the radio would not turn on.
He walked past Yoshi’s room, noting that the light within was off and the door was ajar. Apparently, she had decided to sleep at Jamie’s that evening. “Your father would never have approved of you spending the night with a bunch of boys,” he whispered. But he was too exhausted to be angry. He would just need to speak to her about what was proper the next day.
He stepped into his bedroom and closed the door. Had he bothered to look in the living room, he would have found Yoshi’s half-finished note on the television. He would have also found the two boys, sleeping peacefully on the couch and loveseat.
* * *
The group of teens moved silently through the shadows surrounding the school building. Jamie strained to hear anything out of the ordinary, but all he could hear were the feet of his friends, crunching on the autumn leaves that had settled upon the sidewalk.
“Why aren’t we tryin’ the front door?” whispered Dave.
“They’ll have it well-guarded,” responded Jamie.
“As if they would leave any path clear,” commented Yoshi.
“True,” returned Jamie, “but they went through an awful lot to get us here just to keep us from getting in.”
They came to the set of metal doors on the west side of the building. On either side of them were two large, glass windows. Pete cupped his hands over his eyes and leaned his face up to the glass.
“Pete!” whispered Yoshi harshly. “You would make an excellent target for anyone inside!”
“Relax,” he returned. “I don’t see anybody in there.”
Dave grabbed the metal door handle and pulled. The door opened. “This is too easy, dudes.”
Jamie walked past him and entered the dark corridor of the building that ran along one side of the gym, moving a few feet to peer into the windows of one exit to the large room. He saw about twenty black-clothed figures walking around the gym, talking with each other. Two more stood guarding the door to the girls’ locker room. Looking down, he could barely see a thick chain and padlock locking these doors. He groaned under his breath and looked back up and into the room.
His heart jumped into his throat. Max, Jeremy, Steve, George and Shawna were seated on the stage, separated from the rest of the students. He caught his breath and turned away from the door. The Warui must have been spying on him for quite some time. They had easily picked out his friends, and even his crush. Looking back into the window, he noted two ninja, one wearing the necklace of a chunin, approaching the five. The other started to reach for Steve, but the chunin stopped him and grabbed Max instead. Jamie looked quickly at his watch, which read 11:55 PM.
Looking up at the clock on the opposite wall of the gym, he read the time as midnight. He almost swore. “It’s five minutes fast!” he exclaimed, despite himself.
Yoshi was at his side in an instant. “What?”
Jamie looked at her frantically. “They’re going to kill Max Adams!”
Dave looked at the doors. “Don’t think I can break these down.”
“There’s another way in,” suggested Jamie and he turned and lunged down the hall.
The group followed him about a hundred feet up a ramp before the wall to their right that enclosed the gym turned away from them, forming the northern wall of that large room. Jamie ran along this wall until he came to an old, brown, wooden door. Taking hold of the handle, he turned it to find that it, too, was locked. He looked up at Dave. “No time to pick it.”
The big teen moved back several spaces to give himself a little running room . . ..
* * *
“Well, young one,” commented the ninja with the strange necklace shaped like a Y. “Apparently, your life is not valued by your friend.” The other ninja held Max’s hands behind his back as the speaker pulled a knife that was a miniature version of the ninja’s sword from a sheath on his belt. “Please do not take this personally.”
“Of course not,” replied the teen, his voice cracking with terror and undermining his attempt to hide his fear with sarcasm.
George, Steve and Jeremy leapt to their feet, but several of the ninja grabbed them and pinned them back into their seats.
“Please don’t do this,” pleaded Shawna, her eyes welling with tears. “He’s just a kid.”
“Yeah,” said Max, his voice cracking. “I just crashed the dance!”
A BOOM that thundered through the gym brought everyone’s attention to the northern entrance. Standing in front of the doorway was a group of adolescents. Two familiar outfits stood out from the others as the two ninja who were with the group stepped forward.
“Funakoshi,” whispered the ninja with the dagger, his right hand tightening around the handle of the weapon in anticipation. His eyes narrowed as he called out, “Where is the other of you?”
One of the two masked warriors, a female with two swords strapped to her back, answered, “My uncle could not be reached.” Her hands grasped the handles of the two ninja-tos. “I hope that we will provide enough entertainment for you.”
“We shall see.” The attack party leader’s voice was now tinged with humor as he dropped his knife and whipped out his own sword, calling out, “Waruiyatsu! Kill them!”
Chapter Eight
Friday, 11:59 PM
Ten of the ninja charged the bleachers over which the northern door to the gym opened. Jamie reached into the vest of his ninja suit and produced two marble-sized metal balls and then hurled them into the midst of the charging shadow warriors. As they hit the floor, they exploded into clouds of smoke. Looking over the ninja throng and rising smoke, he noticed Max slam his foot down upon the foot of the ninja that was holding him. As his captor released him in shock, the young martial artist’s same foot shot backward, connecting with the ninja’s gut and sending him flying off the stage.
Jamie’s ninja-to leapt from its sheath as he plunged from the bleachers and into the fray.
Dave jumped to the floor, narrowly dodging a blade as it swung in a downward arc. He grabbed his opponent’s wrists before he could pull back for another strike. Looking into the eyes of the shadow-warrior, he good-naturedly exclaimed, “How’ya doin’, dude?” He brought his knee up forcefully into the ninja’s stomach and the sword clattered to the floor. Wrapping his massive right arm around the ninja’s neck with the top of the head facing behind him, the big teen fell backwards, slamming his captive unconscious.
Four ninja surrounded Buster, who had one pair of nunchaku ready. He eyed each of them warily, waiting for them to make a m
ove.
They all charged at once.
The kensai began swinging his nunchaku around his body, switching hands and flailing outward to the front, back and sides, the weapon moving so fast it could barely be seen. By the time he had finished the maneuver, all the warriors were laying at his feet.
Yoshi blocked the blade of a charging ninja with one of her own, swiping at his unguarded stomach with her other sword as he rushed by. Her right foot lashed out catching another in the face and knocking him from his feet. Spinning her right ninja-to to grip it underhanded, she shoved it backward, taking out another warrior who was preparing to attack her from behind.
Pete ran from two ninja, the adrenaline pumping through him making him feel as if his feet were barely touching the floor. He slid under the buffet table, which stood at the base of the stage, and leapt to his feet on the other side. The two ninja stopped on the side of the table opposite him, eyeing him cautiously.
One of them jumped over the table, but didn’t quite make it over before one of Pete’s well-placed kicks slammed into his face, knocking him backward. He slid off the table, taking the punch bowl with him and dumping its contents onto him.
Another boy, the one Jamie had called Max, leaped from the stage and landed on the table.
“What are you doing?!” demanded one of the older boys from the stage. “You’re going to get hurt!”
The second ninja who had been chasing Pete swiped at Max’s ankles with his ninja-to. The boy jumped over the attack, kicking the ninja in the face as he did so.
“This is our chance!” Max yelled back at the boy. He looked down at Pete and said, “You have to excuse my brother. He doesn’t like anybody to hurt me but himself.” Then Max looked toward the end of the gym and his eyes widened in shock.
Pete turned to see three more ninja at the opposite end of the gym, each pointing a loaded bow at them. He swore at the shadow warriors as Max jumped behind the table and the two turned it on its side just in time to catch the arrows in the top. The food fell onto the floor and the sound of glass shattering echoed through the gym.
The ninja with the bows charged the overturned tables. Jeremy grabbed the folding chair that he had been sitting on and slammed it shut.
“What are you doing?” demanded George.
“Those look like nice bows,” responded the young Robin Hood fan as he swung the chair with all his might, catching one of the ninja in the head as he ran by, knocking him from his feet.
The other two ninja, noticing their comrade had just fallen, tried to stop their momentum. But their feet slid in the spilled punch, they flailed their arms and fell hard on their backs.
Jeremy held the chair in front of himself and yelled, “BANZAI!!!” as he leaped off of the stage and landed on the ninja that he had struck.
Dave ran by, clothes-lining another ninja as he did so. Looking at the stage, he called out, “Where’re the rest of the students?”
A girl with glasses and bleach-blond hair pointed to the western side of the gym and responded, “They’re in the locker room!”
“Thanks!”
Another ninja, wielding a spear, rushed the big teen. Dave moved to the side, catching the weapon and tugging it out of his attacker’s hand. He dropped it, doubled over, wrapped both arms around the ninja’s waist, then stood straight and fell backward, slamming the warrior, head-first, into the floor.
Another ninja went down with one of Jamie’s well-placed cuts. He was starting to feel nauseated. Killing wasn’t exactly something that he was used to. He’d felt the same way when he’d killed that one ninja at Yoshi’s parents’ home . . ..
“RALEIGH!!!” Jamie turned to see one of the ninja, his eyes narrowed in hatred beneath his mask as the blade of his sword pointed at the teen. Judging from the necklace that he wore around his neck, a pendant that was shaped like a Y with sharpened points, he knew this opponent to be a chunin like himself. Jamie’s ninja-to moved out into a defensive stance as his eyes narrowed.
The two rushed each other, their swords meeting violently as they passed. Jamie instinctively swung his blade backwards, blocking an attack in the process. Whirling around, he pressed an attack on the other chunin with a downward swipe, which was narrowly dodged . . ..
From his position on the stage, and with all of the commotion that was going on in the gym, had Steve heard correctly? Had the leader of these ninja just yelled out the name “Raleigh?” He looked at his two companions who were still on the stage with him, the same look of puzzlement etched on their faces.
Steve looked back at the combatants. Their fight had just taken on a whole new meaning . . ..
Dave knocked on the locker-room door. “Is everyone okay in there?”
He heard a girl’s voice say, “Yeah.”
Dave called back, “We’re here ta help! Back away from the door! I’m gonna break it down!”
The same voice from inside asked, “Is there still a guard on the door?”
Dave started to back up. “No!” he yelled in answer.
He started to lunge forward but barely caught himself as the door swung outward and a pretty, blonde-haired girl peeked out, her deep-blue eyes settling on the big teen.
“Is it safe?” she asked.
A male’s voice from inside demanded, “Laura, get back in here!”
The girl called back into the room. “It’s okay! I think we’re safe!”
Dave shook his head to clear it and looked around, noting that Jamie was battling with the last of the ninja.
Their blades continued their lethal dance, the sound of metal striking metal resounding through the gymnasium. It almost seemed to Jamie as if he and the other chunin were merely watching the weapons in their battle . . . bystanders in a mindless war.
The leader of Adventure ducked an attack and shoved the tip of his blade into the Warui ninja’s foot. His enemy grunted in pain as Jamie struck his sword arm with the flat of his blade, sending the other chunin’s sword flying. The teen spin-kicked his opponent across the face, bringing him to his knees. Jamie grabbed the ninja by the vest and brought the point of his ninja-to his throat.
“Do it, gai-jin,” demanded the other as he reached up and weakly removed his own mask, forcing Jamie to look him in the face. “Kill your enemy. Kill him, as our kind have always done.”
Jamie’s eyes narrowed. “I’m NOT your kind!”
The other ninja smiled bitterly, revealing bloody teeth. “The Funakoshi have blood on their hands as well. How many lives have you already taken this night?”
Jamie trembled. Anger? Guilt? “I never wanted this.” He slammed the fist that was holding his sword across the other ninja’s face and felt the warrior go limp.
“DUDE!” called Dave. “Not bad!”
Jamie looked at his cousin to see that he had freed the rest of the students. Buster stepped up to him and asked, “You okay?”
Jamie nodded, but his eyes betrayed his conscience.
His student patted him on the shoulder. “They didn't really give us a lot of choice.”
Yoshi walked up to Jamie’s other side and asked, “And what of the survivors?”
Jamie looked around, figuring that they had about six prisoners. “We killed that many?”
The kunoichi sighed. “It could not be helped.”
Jamie wiped the blood from his blade on a piece of cloth produced from his vest pocket. “Strip them and tie them up.” He looked back and forth between his two friends. “We want to make sure they don’t have any hidden weapons.
“As for the dead ones,” he shuddered, “after Buster’s said a prayer over them, we’ll clear a section of the cafeteria’s freezer to put them.” At his friends’ stunned looks, he added, “it’s a really big walk-in freezer and there should be enough room to keep them separated from the food. And we don’t want them to be rotting here in the gym.”
Yoshi gestured toward the freed prisoners and declared, “I believe
that they are awaiting an explanation.”
Jamie glanced at the group that now stood behind Dave, each regarding the young ninja and his friends curiously. Suddenly, Steve Adams stepped forward. “It can’t be!” His eyes widened. “Jamie?”
Jamie threw a glance at Dave, whose face darkened as he nodded. The young ninja let out another sigh as he slowly removed his mask.
The dead quiet of the room was palpable. Jamie looked over his Sera friends, each barely breathing with this sudden revelation. His eyes took in the other students. Each of them stared at him in shock. No one moved. No one blinked.
Then John Bowers swore. “What is this, Raleigh?”
The sea of students parted as the jock made his way toward the ninja. Jamie did not move at all as John came to stand directly in front of him. Bowers’s alcohol-laden breath filled Jamie’s nostrils.
Then John grasped Jamie by the collar. “What’ve you gotten us into?”
“John,” groaned Shawna, “I knew you lacked a brain, but this is ridiculous!”
Jamie looked at Dave, who began to step forward to play his role as Jamie’s bodyguard, but the chunin stopped him with a glare.
John ignored all of this as he continued his bravado. “Ordinarily, I’d consider it beneath me to dirty my hands on you but, this time, I’d be doing the other students a disservice if I didn’t.”
Jamie’s hand shot up, grasping the wrist that was holding him and viciously twisting until John released him. The jock let out a yelp as Jamie used his right foot to sweep both of John’s from underneath him. The bully landed with a painful THUD, staring at the young ninja in fearful amazement.
“I’m through playing games with you, Bowers,” declared Jamie, fighting to hold his anger in check. “Remember earlier today, when you asked me where I’d learned to do what I did to Freddy?”
John opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t seem to force any words out.
Jamie continued. “I learned from a man named Tanemura Funakoshi . . .,” he pointed to the kunoichi, “ . . . Yoshi’s great-uncle and the leader of the Funakoshi ninja clan.
Invasion of the Ninja Page 6