My Ninja Girl 4

by Gideon Caldwell

  It was triggering all the same.

  Micah ended up pulling out and it only took a few jerks from his hand to bring his seed to the top. He straddled her and finished on her painted breasts, the nun pushing them together as he did so, pinching her nipples and moaning for more. It was quite a mess in the end, her chest now a mixture of lavender paint and semen, and for a moment Micah felt foolish.

  But then Liza started laughing.

  She reached forward and squeezed the tip of his penis, transferred what was left of his semen on her chest, and smeared it across her breasts.

  “Should we get cleaned up?”

  “We probably should. Although, it would be funny to meet everyone for breakfast looking like this,” Micah suggested.

  “Ha! That would be quite the visual.”

  Their better judgment took over in the end.

  Micah and Liza washed up before heading downstairs, and from there to a long picnic table outside for a communal breakfast. While the staff at the monastery was able to cook for them, Soraya took pride in her meals, the kitsune managing most of the food. Micah couldn’t tell how long she had been up, but he assumed it had been a few hours, Soraya’s red hair tied back by a bandanna wrapped around her head. Micah took a seat next to Bunni, who gave him a playful elbow. “Someone was busy this morning.”

  “I was painting.”

  “Is that what they call that?”

  “I’m not going to say things got out of hand, but…” Micah shrugged.

  Bunni leaned her head on his shoulder, her ears pressing against the side of his face until she moved them. “When’s it going to be my turn?” she whispered to him.

  “I didn’t realize I needed to get a schedule going.”

  “If you add any more wives, you’ll need one.”

  The mention of wives sparked Micah’s grandmother’s attention, the elderly woman seated across from him and next to Choro, a scarf wrapped around her head.

  “Another wedding ceremony? Dare I say, a destination wedding? How nice would it be to have one here?” She smiled at her grandson, her gaze aimed just slightly over his shoulder as always. “Speaking of destinations, someone needs to take me to town today,” she said, switching subjects. “I’m ready to see what Muryane has to offer. Choro?”

  “Why would I be the one that took you to town?”

  “Because the others are going to be busy training. You’re not going to do any training, are you?” she asked just a little too harshly.

  “I have other things to do.”

  “Nonsense. You’re taking me to town, and maybe we will bring one of these monks or nuns to carry our bags.”

  “A shopping trip?” Bunni chimed in. Yuri sat down at the table on Micah’s other side, the leader of the Royal Star Ninjas joined by Milsung, who looked as if she had just gotten out of the shower, her hair combed back, her eyelashes still a bit wet.

  Micah’s grandmother shrugged. “Why not? For booze and other things. And don’t worry, you greedy fuckers, I’ll bring back something for everyone. We’ll make a day out of it,” she told Choro as the food came.

  It was quite the spread, just as the meal had been last night, Soraya revealing that she had gone to a local market earlier in the morning with one of Youseg’s attendants, and that everything was fresh. They all had new clothes available for them now, Micah, Liza, and the ninjas in robes, Choro in civilian clothing along with Micah’s grandmother. There were other options as well, but because they would be training, Youseg, who had stopped by right before breakfast, had suggested the robes.

  Micah didn’t know exactly what training would look like, and they speculated about it after their meal, as their food digested. He knew at some point he would have contact with an industria seed, which was something he was looking forward to. But he didn’t know how well he would be able to move objects as Youseg had back at the hotel.

  The time came, and two monks with veils over their faces came to the table and let them know that Youseg was ready for them.

  “I will see you all later,” Micah’s grandmother called to them, a big smile on her face as she turned to Choro. “I hope you’re ready to shop until you drop.”

  Micah heard Choro groan, and he was looking back to offer his friend some support when Bunni hooked her arm into his. “Training, training,” she said in a singsong way. “Always training.”

  “What else is there to do?” Soraya asked.

  “There’s always something to do, my favorite little fox.”

  Soraya slowed, and Bunni moved past her, the kitsune whipping Micah with her tail. Milsung and Yuri walked together, and Liza kept at the back of the group, all of them now with their weapons. They were led into the main temple, which was four stories high, topped by rabbit ear pagodas accented in gold paint. From there it was through a side door that led to an inner courtyard, where Youseg stood next to the industria seed.

  “Before we get started, you will all need to activate the power. Unlike other trials, you won’t be able to attempt what we are about to do before you’ve activated the power. It requires activation first. Let’s begin.”

  Youseg stepped aside and motioned toward the glowing green industria seed, which was kept inside an elaborately detailed case that reminded Micah of a birdcage. First up was Yuri, who held onto the seed for much longer than Micah knew he would be able to. She was followed by Soraya, then Bunni, Milsung, Liza, and finally Micah. Sticking his hand into the expertly crafted metal casing, he felt the seed’s energy almost immediately, yet it was different than what he had experienced before, the seed akin to a vortex, Micah feeling his life force was sucked forward in a way.

  He stumbled backward and was caught by Bunni.

  “Easy there,” she said as she slapped him on the butt.

  “Maybe I held it for too long,” Micah told her.

  “Not any longer than any of us…”

  “It is time for the test to begin,” Youseg announced. “Before we get started, you should know that these are the same that were given to me many years ago. They can be a little frustrating.” The bearded monk motioned them forward, his attendants coming to grab the industria seed. Micah couldn’t help but feel drawn to the seed even as it left, almost as if a part of him was still attached to it in some way. Was this actually the case? Did a small part of him get left behind with each seed he interacted with?

  They moved into a different courtyard where a platform had been erected, a space cleared in front of it. A pile of bricks had been stacked on the platform. Before any of them could comment on the set up, Youseg took a ladder to the top.

  “Why do I feel like you’re going to start throwing those bricks at us?” Soraya asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

  Youseg ignored her remark. “Who wants to go first?”

  Yuri stepped up. “I will.” The others cleared back, the leader of the Royal Star Ninjas standing about fifteen feet away from where Youseg was perched.

  “Wonderful. Please prepare yourself: I’m going to throw bricks at you. Your job will be to repel them by latching on to the industria that they are putting off and hurtling them to the side. If the brick comes to close to you, you can try to absorb it and redistribute the hit. Feel free to also cut it down with your blade, if you’d like, but I wouldn’t recommend that. The point in this exercise is to learn to latch onto a moving object. Are you ready?”

  Yuri nodded.

  Youseg lifted a brick, and after the confirmation from Yuri, he tossed it down at her. It was an underhand toss at first, just so she could get used to what it would be like. And she almost did it, the brick freezing in the air about a foot off the ground before finally falling at her feet.

  “Great first attempt,” Youseg told her as he went for another brick. “One more easy one, then it gets harder.”

  He tossed a second brick, and this time Yuri caught it higher in the air, and was able to swat it aside.

  “Is everyone watching? That is what this should look like. A
nd later, you will train with each other like this. The better you get at it, the more effect you will eventually have. Of course, to really grow the power, you would need to cycle your industria through both seeds and practice, but this should give you a start, a basis to work from. Let’s try a few more times, then we will switch to someone else, and one of you can throw bricks. I would like more time to contemplate our discussion from yesterday.”

  Youseg tossed another brick at Yuri and she was able to bat it out of the air. There was a split second that it looked like she had latched onto it in some way and tossed it to the side, Micah not knowing how to explain it other than that. Maybe lassoed onto it? he thought. Either way, it was going to be his turn sooner rather than later, and he didn’t think he would be as natural at it as Yuri had been.

  After a couple more bricks, Yuri stepped aside and Soraya came forward.

  “Would you like to lead the test?” Youseg asked Yuri, motioning toward the stack of bricks.

  “Sure.” She waited for the Plains Dweller to get down from the platform and then climbed up.

  Youseg, who now stood at the back of the group, placed his hands behind his back as he spoke: “I will leave you to it. Having extensively studied your histories, I am well aware that you are entirely capable of running your own training routine. That said, try to be careful, these are real bricks, you know; they are dangerous. I will join you again in a couple hours.”

  He stepped away; the kitsune returned her focus to Yuri. As soon as he was gone, Yuri waited for Soraya’s confirmation. She underhand tossed a brick at the kitsune. Soraya wasn’t able to latch onto it, but she did manage to get out of the way before it could hit the stone pavement.

  “Again,” she called up to Yuri, her ears flitting back, tail lowering in agitation.

  Yuri made like she was going to underhand toss the brick, and Soraya told her to throw it normally. Rather than check to see if the kitsune was sure, Yuri simply did as instructed, Soraya leaping out of the way at the last moment.

  “Again,” the kitsune growled.

  Yuri threw another brick at her, Soraya drawing her blade at the very last second to bat it to the side.

  “Use industria, not your weapon,” Bunni told her.

  “Don’t tell me how to do this!”

  “Little fox, you’re never going to be able to take control over a distant object with that kind of sour attitude. Watch and learn.” Bunni stepped up to the kitsune and bumped her with her hip. While this clearly upset Soraya, she didn’t say anything, the kitsune merely stepping aside with her blade still drawn.

  “Give me an easy one at first,” Bunni called up to Yuri.

  “Incoming.” Yuri underhand tossed a brick and Bunni was able to latch onto it and shifted to the side. The only thing was, the brick had already hit the ground by the point her power connected.

  “One more like that,” Bunni said in a cool and confident way.

  Yuri tossed the brick, and this time the Plains Dweller was able to latch onto it in the air. Rather than sweep it to the side, she simply held it there, the look on her face intensifying as she stared at the floating brick, one of her long ears bending forward. Finally, she cast it away.

  “Again.”

  Yuri threw a brick at Bunni and she was able to press it away long before it hit her, the Plains Dweller’s eyes lifting with astonishment. “Damn, this could be really useful.”

  “It really could,” said Micah, his mind running wild with the possibilities of what they’d be able to do. Incoming opponent? Sweep them away. Treat it like a hook during combat, whipping an enemy to the side. Were there other applications? Would they be able to do something like disrupt an energy weapon? Or something equally lethal? Like disrupt an organ by moving it around? The possibilities were endless.

  After she got done showing Soraya how easy it was, the kitsune moved to the back of the group, as if she were planning to leave. As Milsung stepped up to test her power, Micah caught up with Soraya.

  “Don’t go,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

  “I don’t need her rubbing things in my face. I’m trying! I’m not bad with industria. I’m the one that broke the mind control spell, remember?”

  “No one is doubting you.”

  “She is,” Soraya said, looking over to Bunni, who was focused on Milsung’s trial.

  “Don’t let her get to you. She’s just being… herself. I’m sure I won’t be able to do it either.”

  “Great, so I am at the same level as our resident peasant.”

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “You don’t know what I mean.”

  “Come on,” he said as he lowered his hand from her shoulder. “If I can’t do it, then you and I can secretly practice together. How is that? Maybe Liza can join us. I don’t know if she will be able to do it either.”

  “She probably will.”

  “We’ll have to wait and see. Now, don’t leave.”

  Micah led Soraya back to the group. Milsung was just finishing up her first attempt, and while she was unable to float the bricks as easily as Bunni, she was able to stop them from hitting her.

  “You want to try first?” Liza asked Micah.

  “No, you should probably go ahead. Leave the worst for last.”

  This statement caused a small smile to appear on Soraya’s face; it was clear that the message was intended for her to hear.

  Liza stepped up, and when she was ready, Yuri underhanded tossed a brick to her. It hit the ground, and as it did Liza was able to connect with the brick and move it to the side.

  Yuri threw another brick, and Liza caught it in midair. While she was able to hold onto it, she wasn’t able to swipe it to the side, the brick quickly dropping to the ground. After a few more attempts, Yuri started to really pitch the bricks at the nun.

  Liza nearly got hit with one, but was able to avoid it in the end. Eventually, it became Micah’s time.

  “You are up,” Liza said, bead of sweat now on her temple which she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand.

  Here goes nothing, Micah thought as he moved into position.

  “Ready?” Yuri asked him.

  “Sure.”

  She tossed a brick at him, Micah failing miserably to do anything to it before it hit the ground. Yuri tried a few more times, Micah not able to even twitch the needle. The weirdest part for him was that he understood how it would work, and he could sense the power moving through him. But there was a disconnect in reaching out to the objects—Micah simply didn’t have the skill yet to be able to do something like affect an object’s industria to the point that he could modify its trajectory.

  “You have plenty of time to practice,” Bunni said after a few additional failed attempts. “You are up again, Yuri. I want to be the brick tosser this time.”

  Chapter Six

  The next few days passed rapidly, the focus on training and strategy overtaking the shenanigans Micah normally got into, which normally ranged from sex to dealing with kidnappings, nefarious monks, and the sudden arrival of new ninjas, and for that matter, clan hunters from the past. Things had cooled off, and it was on a crisp morning on the third day at Youseg’s monastery that Micah found Soraya standing in front of their residence, a frustrated look on her face.

  “Ready?” Micah asked her.

  “I still can’t understand why I’m not able to do it, to cycle my industria in this way,” she said, her disheveled appearance telling Micah that she had been up all night thinking about it. The Heian clothing she wore which was normally defined by sharp angles was wrinkled, and her orange hair was a mess, portions of it sticking out all over the place.

  “You’re not the only one,” he admitted to her.

  “You keep saying that, and I get your point. But you didn’t spend your life training and cycling industria. And I’m not trying to call you a peasant here, although, I suppose you could imply that by my previous statement. You realize that my first interaction with an in
dustria seed was when I was ten years old, right? What I’m trying to say here is that I should be a natural, just like the others. Even Liza seems to be getting it.”

  “These things take time,” Micah said, even though he didn’t know if that was true or not. Perhaps Soraya would never be able to use industria to physically move an object, and maybe he wouldn’t either. But the kitsune was able to use the mantra, which would allow her to control someone’s mind or break their controlled mind, whichever came first. So it wasn’t like she didn’t have any skills. “You’ll get it,” he finally said.

  “Are you always this optimistic?” Soraya asked.

  The two continued to grow closer, Micah not quite sure of how far their relationship would go. He didn’t get the same feeling that he got around the others, a sexual tension quickly remedied by time spent in each other’s arms. It was a different relationship with Soraya, one of trust and forged through bonding, and one that Micah wanted to let take its natural course, whatever that may be. It wasn’t like he needed sex to have a relationship with someone, and there was already plenty available to him, which gave him a different kind of fondness for the relationship he had with Soraya.

  And maybe she needed that. Maybe they both did.

  Micah knew that she’d had a tough life, that it was hard for her to open up to people. But he’d never felt closer to her than he had over the last several mornings, the two training together, both failing miserably but pushing forward regardless, with hope that they would one day be able to catch up to the others.

  They still had a long way to go.

  Bunni and Yuri had both reached the point where they could easily move objects as large as themselves, and while they couldn’t prevent energy blasts—they had tried—they were able to disrupt weapons relatively easily. On her first attempt, Bunni almost broke Micah’s prosthetic gatling gun, and it was clear that Yuri would be able to destroy it relatively quickly if she focused on it.