by Alex Ko
“Yoshida-san,” Granny Murata said, her voice perfectly calm, stepping forwards. “It is admirable that a grandfather should help his granddaughter achieve her dreams. But, like everything you do, you have gone about this the wrong way. Now, you will let Kiki go and take her rightful place at the recording.” Yoshida and Granny Murata locked eyes. Then Yoshida walked up to her, getting much too close for Josh’s liking.
“Mimi Murata,” he said. “I should have guessed I would run into you again someday. How long has it been?”
“Not long enough, Noboru,” said Granny.
Josh realized that these two must have a history. He wondered what secrets lay in Granny Murata’s hidden ninja past.
“What a shame our reunion, like your friends, will be so very short-lived.” Yoshida turned and walked back to his goons. “We need the singer alive for now,” he said, strolling to the back of the group. “Her death must be made to look like an accident. Kill the rest how you like.”
“Kiki, stay back,” Granny ordered. “We will deal with this.” Josh glanced back at Kiki. She nodded and backed up against the wall, half-hiding behind the waxwork of a famous girl band.
The goons moved forwards, drawing samurai swords from their belts. There was a deathly hush. Josh half-saw, half-felt Jessica tense beside him.
With a flourish, Granny Murata threw her arms out and two gleaming lengths of steel unfolded from her sleeves, clicking together to form two samurai swords. She threw them into the air in front of the twins – Josh caught one, Jessica the other.
“A present from Mimasu-san,” she said, a grin spreading across her face. “Stay close, and watch your back!” Then with a cry she somersaulted into the middle of the group of Yakuza and caught two of them under the chin with her elbows. Mr. Yamamoto leaped after her, pulling a pair of nunchackus from the pocket of his overalls. They made a whum whum whum noise as he twirled them over his head, and then a satisfying thunk as they connected with one of the goons’ knees.
“Josh, look out!” Kiki cried, as a thug with a jagged scar over his cheek raised his sword and sliced it through the air towards him. Josh brought his sword up just in time to block it.
“Split up,” he said to Jessica. “Now!” He and Jessica threw themselves aside, one to the man’s left and one to his right. The thug hesitated, not sure which of them to follow. Josh and Jessica dropped to the ground and rolled, coming up behind the man’s back, and then spun into their twin-kick move and got a good blow in on the back of his head. He stumbled into the Britney Spears waxwork and they both crashed to the floor in a pile of cracked wax and blonde wig.
“He’ll have another nasty scar,” Jessica grinned.
Josh looked around. Granny was leaping from shoulder to shoulder across Yoshida’s minions, avoiding swiping sword blades, while Mr. Yamamoto’s nunchackus swung and smacked into the head of a man with bright blue hair, knocking him unconscious.
Josh grinned and turned to see how Kiki was doing, only to come face-to-face with the giant fist of a Yakuza thug coming straight towards him. He ducked, and as he came back up, Josh spotted a flash of grey out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Yoshida dart past him and grab Kiki’s arm, dragging her out from behind the waxwork.
“Granny, watc— argk!” A giant arm wrapped around Josh’s throat and pulled tight across his windpipe. Bright white dots flashed in front of his face as he watched Yoshida drag Kiki towards the door. The thug was going to pull his head right off his shoulders! Josh reached for his little finger and tried to pull it...but it didn’t work. His grip didn’t loosen a millimetre. What had Granny said? There is always a slack place... Josh felt all along the goon’s arm. Desperately, he grabbed at the man’s wrist and pulled.
“Argh!” the thug yelped. His arm fell away, and Josh grabbed the closest heavy object, a waxwork singer’s microphone stand, and swung it at the man’s head as hard as he could.
“You...little...” he began to say. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.
“Granny!” Josh yelled, sprinting after the disappearing Yoshida and Kiki. “He’s got Kiki!”
Granny Murata looked around, placed a spinning high kick into the chest of a minion who had raised his sword to cut her in two, and followed.
Josh ran down the corridor and into the room of presidents and nearly stumbled over President Lincoln, who had fallen across the doorway. Yoshida and Kiki were at the other end of the room. Yoshida chuckled and placed a spinning kick to the neck of the nearest waxwork, sending its head flying one way and its body another. The pieces cannoned into others and one by one, like dominoes, the waxworks started to topple. Through the flurry, Josh saw Yoshida haul Kiki away.
He took a run-up and vaulted over Lincoln, weaving through the room, ducking and jumping as heavy wax statues fell all around him. He threw himself into a handstand to avoid a tumbling President Washington and sprang back onto his feet. He sprinted to the end of the room.
In the doorway he paused, looking back at the devastation. Granny appeared at the other side of the room.
“Keep going,” she called, leaping up onto President Lincoln’s back. “I will be just behind you!”
Josh turned and ran after Yoshida, getting to the lobby just in time to see the door to the stairwell bang shut.
Oh good, thought Josh. Stairs again.
He threw open the door to the stairwell and looked down, but there was no sign of them. He heard a scuffle above him and Kiki gave a little cry. Josh looked up and realized Yoshida wasn’t going down and out – he was taking Kiki up, towards the roof.
“Stop!” Josh called, but Yoshida only laughed. Josh headed up after them, taking the stairs two at a time. After a few seconds he heard the stairwell door bang open again. He really hoped it was Granny.
At last, with his legs aching and his knees screaming, he reached the door to the roof and threw it open. A gust of cold wind ruffled his hair and he heard the sounds of traffic carrying up from the street below.
The roof of the building at the foot of Tokyo Tower had been converted into a giant playground. Massive metal statues of animals and cartoon characters loomed over swings and see-saws, and above it all sat the orange and white metal beams of the Tokyo Tower, lit by floodlights from below. Josh spotted Kiki’s flailing arms disappearing behind a towering purple crocodile and sprinted after her. As he rounded the crocodile, Granny caught up to him and overtook – and then stopped so suddenly that Josh almost ran into her.
“Ah-ah-ah – I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you, Mimi.”
Yoshida had Kiki balanced precariously on the edge of the roof, holding her by the wrists so she couldn’t grab onto him to stop herself from falling. His gun was trained on Granny. Kiki was sobbing, eyeliner running down her cheeks.
“Help me!” she cried. Josh’s stomach turned over at the sight of Kiki in danger. He couldn’t just stand there. He nearly started forwards but Granny put a firm hand on his shoulder.
“You won’t do this, Noboru,” said Granny. She started walking towards him, very slowly but very calmly.
“Oh, you think not?”
“I think not. It’s not your style,” Granny said. “Everything was always about money with you. Where is the benefit for you in killing an innocent singer?”
“Perhaps I’m branching out in my old age,” Yoshida grinned. Granny kept on walking towards him. Yoshida glanced at Kiki, and Granny took the opportunity to look at Josh and nod slightly. Josh started to inch forwards, sure that Granny was about to make her move – whatever that was going to be. “I can drop her,” Yoshida continued, pleasantly. “It’ll look like she jumped – probably depressed because she was beaten to the TV show job by my granddaughter.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Granny said. She was nearly within reach now. Yoshida laughed.
“Come now, Mimi, you know how this goes. This isn’t one of those Hollywood movies. I am the most powerful businessman in all Japan. The police can’t an
d won’t touch a hair on my head.”
“I have never liked your hair,” said Granny.
“What—?” Yoshida began, confused, and Granny chose that moment to strike, feinting to the right and reaching around with her left hand to snatch the gun from Yoshida’s hand and throw it off the roof. Josh moved forwards, but it was too late – Kiki let out an ear-piercing scream as Yoshida let go of her wrists. She was falling!
Josh sprang across the roof and grabbed for Kiki, missing her arms, but catching her by the edge of one of her long, silky sleeves. The fabric started to rip but it hit a seam and held just long enough for him to grab her hand. She was screaming with fear and her flailing limbs didn’t make Josh’s task any easier.
“Keep still!” he urged her, as his muscles trembled with the effort of holding her weight. Kiki let out a final, muffled sob and managed to calm herself. Josh reached hand over hand, grasping her arm, then hooking a hand under an armpit until – yes! She collapsed onto the tarmacked roof beside him.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I think so,” Kiki replied, her face pale.
“Give up, Mimi!” Yoshida cried. Josh spun around to see Granny and Mr. Yoshida fighting hand to hand. Their arms and legs were moving so fast they were almost a blur. As Josh watched, neither of them looked like they’d managed to actually hit the other at all – it was punch, block, elbow, block, block, block, block. Granny lashed out and grabbed one of Yoshida’s wrists, holding it in an iron grip, but his other hand seemed to move twice as fast throwing more and more punches, and now Granny couldn’t dodge as easily. She tried to throw him over her shoulder, but he just used the force of her throw against her, rolling as he hit the floor and sending her flying.
“I tire of this,” Yoshida said. Granny was up again in seconds, but Yoshida was too fast for her, and he was off, sprinting along the edge of the roof and leaping up onto the orange metal struts of the tower. Despite the constraints of his shiny suit and slippery brogues, he was soon scrambling up them like a ladder. He sprang across to the next building.
“Granny, we have to go after him!” Josh cried, leaping to his feet and looking up to see if he could make the jump across. If he climbed higher up the tower and found some way to push himself off with enough force...
“No,” said Granny Murata, coming up to Josh and grabbing him by the shoulders before he could run after Yoshida. “We do not have time for that right now.”
Yoshida bowed and waved mockingly at Granny Murata. Then he caught Josh’s eye.
Josh stared back. This isn’t over, Yoshida, he thought. He was pretty sure this was not the first time the Murata family had seen off the Yakuza boss – and he was determined it wouldn’t be the last.
“Let’s get Kiki to this show. Are you able to go on, dear?” Granny asked, helping Kiki to her feet.
“Yes,” she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I won’t let Yoko go on in my place.”
“Good!” Granny said with a smile. Her dentures glimmered white in the glare of the floodlights. “Let’s get you to that studio.” She spoke into a device on her wrist. “Yamamoto-san, we have Kiki. Is Jessica with you? Good. Meet us at the car.” She pulled on her belt and two cords with clasps on the end spooled out. With an expert aim, she threw a small grappling hook into the air. It clamped on to one of the metal struts of the Tokyo Tower. Granny tugged it twice, then in a few swift movements she had clipped one cord onto Josh’s belt, another onto Kiki’s dress, and all three of them were moving towards the edge of the roof.
“Granny...!” Josh gasped, but barely had time to catch his breath before they had launched off the roof and into the air.
Time stood still as they hung there for a second – Josh could see the streets of Tokyo glittering all around them, and Team O’s car down below, and Mr. Yamamoto and Jessica coming out of the building and looking up...Kiki’s dress streamed out behind her in the breeze...and then they fell.
Josh’s stomach seemed to stay behind on the roof as the ground rushed up to meet them. The wind tugged at his hair and made his eyes water. The cords spooled out of Granny’s belt with a high-pitched noise – but then Josh realized that was Kiki.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeheehehehe!” She started to giggle as the cords caught them and lowered them gently to the ground beside the car. “That was great!”
Jessica was waiting at the bottom. “You okay?” Josh and Jessica chorused to each other at exactly the same time. “Of course,” they both answered.
“Let’s go,” Granny said. “We’ve got a show to catch.”
After a crazy, hyper-speed drive through Tokyo, Granny pulled the car up to the stage door of the TV studio. Josh smiled to himself, remembering that the last time they were in the car with Granny, she was scolding Kiki’s bodyguard for driving too fast!
The rest of Team O stood outside the building, waiting to greet them. Nana gave Josh and Jessica a big grandmotherly hug. Then Kiki leaped out of the car, the skirts of her now mostly ruined dress flying behind her, to gasps of amazement from the studio technicians.
“Ayumi,” someone shouted as Josh and the others followed her through into the backstage corridor. “Guess who’s back!”
“Kiki? Kiki! Oh my, is that really you?”
“It’s me,” said Kiki, running up to a woman wearing a radio mic and carrying a clipboard. “Sorry I’m a little late! Do I still have a job?”
“Are you joking?” Ayumi gaped at her. “Someone tell Yoko Yay her services are not required. What happened? Did you escape?” she asked.
“The National Police rescued me – the thug who kidnapped me got away and I didn’t even see his face!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Josh spotted Granny Murata nod ever so slightly. Kiki had picked up her lines brilliantly, for such a short in-car briefing.
“Tell me the rest as we go,” Ayumi said. “Maybe we can work it into the show. In fact, I’ve got a great idea...” She started to lead Kiki down the corridor.
Kiki stopped her. “Wait – my friends!” she said, running back to Josh and the others. She shook hands with Nana, Sachiko, Nakamura and Mimasu, hugged Granny and Mr. Yamamoto, and bent down to give Josh and Jessica a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you all,” she whispered.
“No problem!” Josh grinned, trying not to go bright red.
“You’ll all come to the show, right?”
“Kiki, come on, we need at least ten minutes to get you into your costume,” said Ayumi. “I promise they’ll have the best seats in the house.”
Kiki let Ayumi pull her away, and a security guard appeared and escorted Josh, Jessica and the others down a corridor full of TV equipment.
A scream and a crash made them stop in their tracks. Granny’s hand went straight to her belt and Josh realized that he had already dropped into his ready stance. But then around the corner came Yoko Yay, flanked by security guards and followed by her army of squealing girls.
“You cannot do this to me!” she said, kicking out at a potted plant as she passed. “My grandfather will have something to say about this! You’ll all suffer!” She tried to seize some equipment to smash, but the security guards walked her firmly towards the exit. Josh and Jessica high-fived each other as she was frogmarched away.
Josh and the others were whisked through a door and out into a huge arena with hundreds of seats, nearly all filled. The guard found them places in a roped-off part right in the middle. A young couple passed them, carrying refreshments. Josh heard the girl say, “I wish Kiki was here. Yoko Yay’s rubbish – but I suppose at least she’s only presenting.” Josh exchanged an enormous grin with Jessica. The audience hadn’t been told! Boy, were they in for a surprise.
“Sachiko-san, thank you for the disguises,” Josh said, settling down in his chair and reaching for a complimentary drink of water. “And Mimasu-san – those fold-up katana were genius! Although I think I might have lost mine,” he added.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Mimasu with a smile. “I have
lots of other fun toys I’d love you to try out.”
Before Granny could protest a beeping sound started coming from her pocket.
“Granny!” Jessica protested. “You can’t have your mobile on during the show!”
“Do you wish me to hang up on your father?” Granny asked, showing them the caller ID. She answered the phone, and chattered away in Japanese for a few seconds, then nodded. “Oh yes, they are fine, but we cannot talk long,” she said, glancing at Josh. “We are just about to watch a show together.” Granny winked at them. “Yes, we’re getting along wonderfully. Yes? Yes, of course...I understand completely. Please give my regards to Julia.” She hung up. “It looks as if your parents will be staying in Africa for a little while longer,” she said. “And, so, that means you’ll have to stay with me a little longer. If that is agreeable to you, that is,” she asked with a smile.
Josh grinned back. Are you kidding? he thought. Spending more time with my ninja granny? Best. Summer. Ever. If only we’d caught Yoshida... It gave him the chills to think of the Yakuza and the Iron Fist still out there, causing trouble. But one day he swore the Muratas would beat the Yoshidas for good!
Suddenly the lights in the arena started to go down. A hush fell on the audience. Granny switched off her mobile phone.
A light appeared onstage. It looked as if it was being projected through rippling water. Then as the light grew brighter, Josh realized the whole stage had been turned into a river of silk that ran around three smaller stages, each set up with band equipment. A waterfall of blue gauze was hanging in front of the centre stage.
The silhouette of a girl carrying a guitar appeared, projected onto the flowing wave of blue silk. Three guitar chords rang out, and then the lights went up, the waterfall descended, and the crowd went wild. Josh and the others all leaped to their feet in applause. Kiki grinned at them all and waved.
