by Alex Ko
“Your...” Josh croaked.
“Your mission?” Jessica asked.
Granny Murata sighed. “You think I do this for my health?” she said. She glanced around, checking for eavesdroppers. “We can’t talk about it here.” She unzipped her black jacket, took it off and turned it inside out. Josh was amazed to see that the lining was made of light blue silk with a pattern of white flowers. She shrugged the jacket back on, and suddenly she was no longer a secret ninja – she was just an elderly lady, dressed in a modern blue silk jacket over a black vest and black trousers. “Right. Home.”
When they got back to the apartment Granny led them straight to Josh’s room. He was a bit embarrassed that he’d left books scattered over the floor. Granny stepped neatly over them and approached the bookshelf. If she was surprised to see that he’d already found the secret safe, she didn’t show it.
“Move these, please, and stand back,” she said, gesturing to the books. Josh and Jessica scrambled to pick up the books. Granny Murata reached over the shelf and tapped out a code on the keypad. Josh saw the red light go out and the green light flicker on, and then there was an enormous clang and the whole bookshelf started to swing outwards. Josh and Jessica watched as the secret door revealed an elevator with shiny silver panelling and a set of gleaming multicoloured buttons.
Granny entered the elevator and stood there, eyebrow raised and arms crossed.
“Come along, then,” she ordered. Josh hurried in and Jessica followed, hastily dumping the books. The bookcase door swung back and the elevator started to descend.
An illuminated map of the building was etched into a glass panel on one wall. As Josh watched, a floating blue light travelled down the map from Granny’s third floor apartment. One floor, two, three...they were beside the lobby now but the elevator kept on falling, down below the basement and the car park level. The light kept moving too, into the unknown blank space under the Sakura Apartments where there was nothing marked on the glass.
“This is amazing, obaasan,” said Jessica. “Where does it go?”
“You’ll see,” Granny said. Josh saw her cheek twitch as if she was trying not to smile at some private joke.
The light reached the bottom of the glass panel and the elevator stopped. The door swung open, and in front of them...
“Now that,” Josh said, “is incredible.”
The room looked like it had been designed by a manga artist. Giant screens showed infrared and 3D views of Tokyo buildings, swish black leather chairs were pulled up to glittering control panels, and the far wall was filled with racks of weapons – gleaming katana, polished tonfa and pairs of elaborately painted nunchaku.
A figure was standing in front of the racks. He slotted a sword into its place on the wall, and turned around. It was Mr. Yamamoto. He was standing perfectly straight, looking fit and healthy and definitely not bedridden! His eyes met Josh’s, and he grinned. He picked up a long wooden staff and rolled it in his hands before twirling it over his shoulder and around his waist so fast it became a blur. The old man with the junk collection looked like he could do some serious damage!
Josh felt his face go bright red. “I suppose he can probably feed himself his own rice, then,” he muttered.
“Ah, Josh-kun,” Mr. Yamamoto said, with a theatrical wink at Granny Murata. He finished his display and put the staff back on the rack. “Mimi, a pleasure as always,” he said to Granny, bowing low. “But perhaps your age is showing, being unmasked by a child.”
Granny rolled her eyes. “Yamamoto-san is my weapons expert,” she said, steering Josh and Jessica into the room.
Josh remembered the weapons he found in Mr. Yamamoto’s apartment.
“And this is Sachiko-san,” Granny said, indicating the grey-haired lady seated in front of a bank of CCTV screens with a massive, complex selection of buttons and slides at her fingertips.
Sachiko-san was the little old lady from the parking garage. She looked different now – she had one arm draped over the back of her chair in a very un-grandmotherly way, and where the bandages had been wrapped around her arms the wrinkled skin was covered in ancient tattoos. She grinned at them with a set of sparkling false teeth.
“Sachiko-san is my disguise technician and an aikido master,” said Granny. “Are the others out on a mission, Sachiko?”
“Others?” Josh said, still confused.
“They’re sparring next door,” said Sachiko, punching a few buttons on the control panel. “I’ll ask them to come in – I’m sure they’re dying to meet your grandchildren.”
“My grandchildren who may have compromised our mission,” Granny said.
Josh swallowed hard.
“Sachiko, please show us the footage,” Granny ordered.
“Hai,” said Sachiko and in an instant, up on three of the screens was a view of the crowd outside Kiki’s apartment building.
Jessica nudged Josh in the ribs. “It’s us!” she exclaimed. The twins could be seen making their way through the people, the moment where they started following the bodyguard towards the alley.
“Imagine my surprise,” Granny said. “My team was in the middle of a criminal surveillance mission when they spotted my grandchildren – not at the shopping mall buying vegetables.”
“Um,” Josh didn’t know what to say.
A door on the opposite wall slid open. Three more elderly people entered the room through a door to their left, wearing black martial arts uniforms and each carrying a katana – long, curved Japanese swords.
“Ah – here are the members of my team you have not yet met. This is Nana-san, Mimasu-san and Nakamura-san.”
“Nana-san is my head of surveillance,” Granny said. “She is able to tap into any CCTV camera in the city.” The tall lady in the centre of the group bowed to Josh and Jessica and then slid into the seat next to Sachiko. Nana seemed a bit younger than the others, though she still couldn’t have been less than sixty-five.
“Nakamura-san is my medical expert,” Granny continued. Nakamura was the shortest and looked like he must be at least a hundred years old. He nodded smartly to the twins.
“And finally, Mimasu-san is our technology expert.” Sachiko grinned widely. “In her civilian life, she is a master chef.”
“She once killed twelve men with an electrified spatula,” Mr. Yamamoto whispered, leaning close to Josh’s ear.
“Er...ha-hajimemashite,” Josh stammered. Jessica bowed clumsily.
“Hajimemashite, kids,” said Sachiko, with a nod.
“Granny – what is this?” Jessica asked.
“I wish I did not have to show you any of this, but I had no choice once you found out who I was. This is Team Obaasan,” she told them. “Team O is an elite, undercover, intelligence-gathering and crime-fighting unit of the National Police, operating under the Japanese Government.”
Ninja spies! Josh could tell from Granny’s tone that this was very serious, and that he should try to treat it seriously and not as the most awesome thing he’d ever seen. He caught Jessica’s eye and nearly cracked up – she was trying not to grin, too.
“The Sakura Apartment complex is our cover,” Granny continued. “Nobody will ever suspect a group of elderly people of doing the work we do.”
You can say that again, Josh thought.
“What a secret!” Jessica said. “Just think, all those times we came to visit you...”
“I never would have guessed,” Josh put in.
“It has been difficult sometimes,” Granny replied. “But I must stay undercover at all costs. Team O has many enemies who would bring us down. While we may be older than your average crime fighter, I have found the most skilled, most disciplined, most loyal crew imaginable.” Josh saw each member of the group give Granny a small, grateful nod. “Today, our job is to find Chiba Mikiko,” Granny finished.
Jessica stared. “You know about Kiki?” she asked. “And the kidnapping?”
“Of course. I have all her albums,” said Granny. “Duri
ng lunch, I received a call from HQ to say she had been kidnapped – that was why I asked you to go out. I thought I might be able to keep you out of trouble,” she added pointedly.
“Um. Sorry, Granny,” said Jessica. “But we had to follow that security guard.”
“Yeah, we knew that bodyguard was lying when he said Kiki was scared by her fan mail,” Josh put in.
“How do you know this?” Granny asked. All of Team O was watching the twins.
Jessica took a deep breath. “We talked to Kiki on the plane and she was really happy. The only one who was acting weird was the bodyguard.”
Josh remembered him talking furiously on his mobile before the flight. “He must have been planning this for ages.”
The old people exchanged glances and Granny grunted.
“We think that Kiki has been taken by the Iron Fist wing of the Yakuza,” said Nana, punching a few buttons on her console. Photographs of the criminal gang flashed up on the screens in front of them – several pictures of large men in dark suits, and blurry shots of fighters wielding swords. In the middle there was a photo of an elderly man with a gaunt face and long grey hair tied up in a ponytail, grinning at the camera, a single gold tooth glinting. “That is Mr. Yoshida. The leader of the Iron Fist.”
“But what would the Yakuza want with Kiki?” Josh asked.
“Is it money?” Jessica suggested. “They haven’t asked for a ransom yet.”
“Well-noticed, Jessica,” Nana said. “We don’t think it’s anything to do with Kiki’s millions. You might be surprised to hear that she is not the first pop idol to be targeted.”
“Really?” Josh asked. “But if other pop stars have gone missing, wouldn’t we have heard about it?”
“Ah, but they haven’t been going missing,” said Mr. Yamamoto. “Nana, if you would?” Nana pressed more buttons. Around the central photo of Mr. Yoshida, the faces of the Yakuza were replaced by a handful of Japanese pop stars who Josh vaguely recognized.
Nana pointed to each one in turn. “Saika Oshiro’s recording sessions for her new album have been plagued by power cuts and technical failure. A computer error left thousands of Tokyo Ono’s fans with invalid tickets for their tour. Takeo Kimura even had all his hair shaved off in the night!” Jessica gasped.
“We’ve traced all these ‘accidents’ to the Iron Fist,” said Granny. “Yamamoto-san scanned the scenes of the incidents and found fingerprints belonging to Mr. Yoshida’s minions. Now, it seems, they have taken their pop idol persecution a step further.”
“But why? What has this Mr. Yoshida got against pop singers?” Jessica asked.
“Unfortunately,” Granny admitted, “we don’t know that yet.” She stared at the picture of Mr. Yoshida and narrowed her eyes. “Nana, play our profile of Mr. Yoshida.” Nana punched another button and a robotic voice began to speak over a slide show of photos of the Yakuza boss.
“Yoshida Noboru, seventy-eight. Boss of the Iron Fist Yakuza group. To the outside world, he is a respectable businessman, owning chains of restaurants, karaoke bars, hotels, golf resorts, museums and tourist attractions. In reality, the Iron Fist has been linked to smuggling, high profile theft, espionage, blackmail and murder. He is divorced, and has one granddaughter.”
“Thanks to you two and your alleyway incident, we know that Kiki’s bodyguard was in league with the Iron Fist,” said Sachiko. “He must have handed her over and faked injuries to make it look like she was kidnapped – but after that, we don’t know where she was taken to.”
“We do know something,” Jessica said. Team O all turned to her. She looked at Josh, and he nodded.
“We overheard the bodyguard on the phone – he was calling someone boss, so maybe he was talking to Mr. Yoshida.”
“He said Kiki was somewhere where everyone could see her, but no one would know it was her.”
“Very interesting!” Nana said, typing something into a keyboard near her right hand.
“So,” Jessica continued, “I was thinking, she could be on top of a building somewhere, or maybe she’s been put in disguise, or they’re hiding her in a Kiki tribute band...”
“We could help—” Josh began.
But Granny put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough, both of you. I have shown you our operation because it will be easier for us all if you are aware of my work. Clearly, I cannot rely on you to keep yourselves out of trouble. But you are not to get involved with this investigation.”
“But Granny, we can help! I’m sure we can!” Jessica protested. Granny shook her head.
“As soon as you became involved with Team O, you became a target. I cannot risk your safety. Think of what your parents would say if you were hurt.” Their parents... Josh frowned suddenly, his mind flooding with questions that he’d been too stunned to think of until now – how long had Granny Murata been a secret ninja agent? Had she ever actually been a schoolteacher, like their dad had told them? And most importantly...
“Obaasan, our parents!” Josh exclaimed. “Do they know about this?”
“No, Josh. And you can never tell them. They are far happier and safer if they do not know. Now, we really must go back upstairs. The jet lag must be about to catch up with you both. You need to get straight to bed.”
The rest of Team O waved them off, and they got back into the lift. Josh traced the light up and up across the glass display until it reached the third floor, and then the door swung open and they were back in his room, with the desk scattered with books and pencils.
“Now, straight to bed,” said Granny. Josh didn’t feel tired. He felt like he could take on the world – with the help of his granny’s superhero ninja team, of course.
“G’night Josh,” Jessica said. “See you tomorrow.” She raised an eyebrow at him and Josh nodded back.
Who knows what we’ll see tomorrow? thought Josh.
“Night,” Josh replied. Granny ushered Jessica into the hall, and closed the door behind her.
Josh settled down on his futon and pulled his sketchbook out of his bag. He sat still for a second, composing his thoughts, and then he started drawing storyboards, mapping out an idea for a great new comic character.
My Ninja Granny...
“Josh, wake up!”
He opened his eyes. Granny was standing beside his bed, wearing her sleek black ninja outfit. Josh sat up so fast his head spun. “You have thirty seconds to get dressed,” Granny said, tapping the black and white sheath of a small katana against her leg. Josh tumbled out of bed, fumbling for his T-shirt. Granny nodded curtly and left the room.
Twenty-seven and a half seconds later, Josh hopped out of his room still pulling on his socks and nearly collided with Jessica, who was stumbling into the corridor, trying to dislodge a brush that was tangled in her hair. Granny was standing at the door, arms folded, back as straight as a steel rod. A sword hung from her belt.
“Good,” she said. “Tsuitekite.” She marched out of the apartment, stepping into her outdoor shoes and through the door in one smooth motion. Josh and Jessica scrambled to keep up with her.
Once in the lift, Granny held up one finger for their attention.
“Watch me; you may need to remember this,” she said, before moving her finger across a small black panel beside the door. A green fingerprint appeared briefly, before the panel swung aside to reveal some hidden buttons. “Your fingerprints are programmed in already,” Granny said, pressing the bottom button.
“Where did you get our prints from?” Jessica asked.
“Mr. Yamamoto lifted them from the door handles of your rooms,” Granny said, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
“Where are we going, obaasan?” said Josh.
“Are we going to help Team O find Kiki?” Jessica asked, hopefully.
“Certainly not!” Granny said. “I have not changed my mind – you are far too young to be able to help. There are Yakuza involved; these are dangerous people.”
“But we can’t just do nothing now th
at we know all about it,” Jessica protested.
“Precisely,” said Granny. The lift doors swooshed open to reveal a long corridor – another mix of the modern and traditional. It was lit with bright halogen light bulbs and floored with traditional tatami mats. “We cannot ignore the fact that you are now involved,” Granny continued, leading the way down the corridor. “As much as I would rather you had never found out about Team O. Now, because you know, you are in danger.”
Josh felt the back of his neck prickle. He wouldn’t be having this conversation with his cucumber-sandwich-eating, allotment-obsessed other grandparents back in England – or, Josh wondered, maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to assume.
They came to the end of the corridor and a flight of steep stairs. Granny took them two at a time. Josh and Jessica looked at each other and followed. Josh thought of himself as being pretty fit – he could go four rounds with Jessica in their karate class and hardly break a sweat. But he was definitely getting a bit out of breath by the time they neared the top of the stairs. Granny was totally composed, not a silver hair out of place.
They emerged inside a bare wooden room with large shuttered windows all around it. Stepping outside, Josh realized the stairs had come up in an ornamental temple in the park that was just round the corner from the Sakura Apartments. They were separated from the rest of the park by a thick line of cherry trees and a pond. Josh walked up to the edge of the pond and a glimmer of golden movement caught his eye. A shoal of koi were swimming lazily just under the surface.
Granny walked up to a tree, opened a concealed panel in the bark and pressed her finger to the pad. Josh stepped back quickly as the surface of the pond rippled and then drew back underneath the grass, carp and all, to reveal a trapdoor that swung open into a deep hole.
Josh peered down the hole. It was a sheer drop – he couldn’t tell how deep it was, but he could see something blue at the bottom.
