My Ninja Girl 4 Gideon Caldwell (motivational books for students .TXT) 📖

“Don’t patronize me!”

“What the fuck happened?” Choro asked as he reached the door that led outside. It became clear to him what had taken place, his hands going over his mouth as he took in Kami and Milsung’s forms. “How?” he asked, echoing what Liza had said just moments ago.

“Come on,” Liza told Micah’s grandmother as she guided her back into their home. She also placed her hand on Choro’s shoulder. “You too. Inside.”

“We will get this cleaned up.” This voice took Micah off guard. As he turned to the right, he found Youseg standing there, the man floating with his arms crossed behind his back, a troubled look on his bearded face. “Such tragedy.”

“How come you didn’t know about this?” Yuri asked Youseg.

“Why would I know about something like this?” the older monk asked her.

“Your prophecy. You must have known something like this would happen—how can we even trust you?” Yuri cried. She turned back to the residence and stormed inside, Micah thinking she was going to cool off for a moment. She returned moments later with her blade drawn, the tip of her weapon pointed at Youseg.

“He’s not the enemy,” Bunni said as she stepped in front of her.

“Out of my way.”

“Lower your weapon, take a few deep breaths. We will figure this out,” Bunni told Yuri.

“I said out of my way. That’s an order!”

Bunni hesitated, and in her moment of hesitation Soraya stepped up as well, her hand on the hilt of her weapon. “This isn’t his fault,” Soraya said, gritting her teeth. “You need to calm yourself.”

“Do I need to remind you that this is an order? Out of my way!” Yuri lifted her blade and charged forward. Bunni blocked her strike, while Soraya went low, taking Yuri’s legs out from beneath her. They scrambled on top of her, and got her weapon away from her, Yuri crying out, Micah once again shocked to the point that it was hard to move. He’d never seen Yuri this way, with so much emotion. He could only imagine how terrible she felt at that moment. It was the ultimate tragedy. He also felt utterly useless, like he could have prevented it somehow.

Eventually, Yuri came to her senses, and Bunni and Soraya helped her up, both offering her support, yet keeping her away from her weapon for the time being.

“I haven’t seen everything,” Youseg finally said, answering her question. “As I’ve said. Certain small details…” He swallowed hard. “Certain details, I should say, are unclear to me. We have reached the end of what I saw back then anyway. The rest of this is up to you and your team, as you know. My attendants will take care of their bodies, and we will have a proper funeral tomorrow. Please try to calm yourself.” Youseg looked to Bunni. “Perhaps one of the herbal teas would help her relax.”

“I don’t want an herbal tea,” Yuri said, her lip curling. “I want my sister.”

Micah didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know how to comfort Yuri, and he didn’t know what to say to make things better. Soraya had collected her weapon, the kitsune standing near enough to her that she would be supportive, but also far enough away that if Yuri tried to do something, she would be able to stop her. Liza continued to care for Micah’s grandmother, and Bunni had just about the guiltiest look on her face that Micah had ever seen. He could tell that she was blaming herself for some of this, even though it wasn’t her fault. It was really no one’s fault, at least no one still alive.

Youseg’s attendants arrived on the scene to get the bodies, and Yuri came forward again, shoving one of the veiled Plains Dwellers away.

“Please, relax,” Youseg told her, his words measured. “We will bury them here in an honorable way.”

“Here?” Yuri asked, shaking her head. “But I’m from Neo-Hokkaido.”

“I understand that, but it won’t be easy for you to get back across the border carrying two…” Youseg considered his next words carefully. “Two deceased Royal Star Ninjas.”

“I don’t care,” Yuri said. “They cannot be buried here.”

“Kami was from Jokamatchi,” Soraya said, “but from what I remember, she rarely visited home, nor did she care much for our mother country. She was born in Neo-Hokkaido, raised like the rest of us.”

“That’s right,” Bunni added.

One of things that Micah had noticed over the last few minutes was that Yuri didn’t seem to be angry at Kami. She didn’t do anything like he would have done if he’d had a brother and someone had killed his sibling before his very eyes. She didn’t make her way over to the body and kick it, or demand that it be burned, or simply treat the body of her sister, and honor that she wanted to bestow upon it, differently than the body of her sister’s killer.

In this gesture, Micah truly understood what it meant to be a Royal Star Ninja, and the bond that they shared. He also recognized just how much of an outsider he was to them, and how remarkable it was that they seemed to like him, that two of them had actually married him. Why does it feel like I’m only now beginning to understand all of this? he thought as Yuri remained steadfast in her opinion that the bodies must be returned to her country.

Bunni stepped up again. “I agree with her; we must be buried in Neo-Hokkaido.”

“I understand your wishes here, but to get back to the country, you’re going to have to either go the way you came, or use the fake identifications I have procured for you, which will not be easy considering your country is in lockdown, and they aren’t letting people across the border. Of course, I