Hey, guys! I really like the way the first chapter came out, and this has been torturing me all throughout school. So I came home and typed it all up for you! Just so you know, I'm blowing off an essay on Frankenstein and Prometheus to put this up today. But it's all good! Enjoy!
The path was hard and rocky underneath my toed sandals. I knew I should have bought that pair of close-toed shoes in town when I had the chance. Ninja shoes weren't meant for open roads. They were meant for forests and plains we were supposed to hide in, to give us a better grip on the territorial anomalies. Not this.
Glancing around, I could see the signs of life beginning to pop up. I was getting closer to a town. A merchant cried for me to buy something from his traveling store, but I ignored him.
I had no idea how far Kittou was from here. Judging by the smell of the winds it was maybe another half-day's walk. Once the city walls came into my vision, I decided I'd stop for some food.
I arrived in the small out skirted town of Jamola. Personally, I had never been here before, but my mom told about a mission she had gone on based out of the town. The town didn't have much, just a few small businesses and a restaurant based on small forest creatures.
Too hungry to really care if someone I knew saw me in there, I walked in and ordered the first thing I saw on the menu. While I waited for my food, I thought back on why I was sitting here in this town and not fighting like I should be.
My stupid mother just had to be as stubborn as she could. She said I didn't have the true mindset of an Atarian ninja. But I had had teachers back in the Capital that had told me retreating was often a wise decision. And while my mother thought she was doing what was best for them, no one liked the idea of never retreating, and dying instead.
My mom was the one without the Atarian education. She had been raised in America, where I had been born. She went to the high schools there and was educated as a normal person. I had been the one who went to the ninja schools in the Capital. I was one who had followed around the city Elders and asked all sorts of questions. I was the one who had read all the history texts about our people. Not her.
I remembered when my mom used to send me away for a month every other spring to see my dad. Whenever I got there, my dad would try to introduce me to the other kids in his town, but I never really got along with them. They weren't the same as me. They weren't as fast, or strong, or as well trained as I. I just couldn't relate.
When I was little, I used to ask my mom about why she and my dad didn't live together. She had told me that while she had loved my father, she didn't want the same things as him, so she left. She told me that when she was a baby, her parents had fled our homeland and went to the mainland for refuge, and had tried to raise my mom as a normal American girl. I guess we all know how well that turned out.
My mom didn't want the same for me. She knew I could be one the best ninjas ever born, and never know it if I were to stay with my father. But my dad couldn't come here, outsiders were strictly forbidden. Only those with ninja blood could ever step on the land, or even know about it.
So when my mom took me and herself away from the mainland, she had made up a story about living in Phoenix, Arizona, wherever that was. According to the story I was meant to have been living in Phoenix for most of my childhood life. But I really had no idea how to act like I had.
My food finally arrived, and I chewed on it absentmindedly. I was wondering what my dad would say when he saw me at the airport. My dad had never been much for words, but it wasn't like I even looked like I was from Arizona. My mom told me the sun always shone there, and people got out and played around in the light. I was a ninja, an assassin of the night. I didn't play in the sun.
Plus I had more scars than any normal person ought to have. Now, in the Capital, a ninja's abilities were based on how well they recovered from an injury, and the scar that was left behind was a trophy of that.
I left after I was done, and went on with my journey once again. Trees overtook my route, and I took to them instead of the road. Coiling up my muscles on the branch I landed on, I sprung forward, leaping over several branches before repeating. Tree travel was much faster than foot travel.
As I focusing on my springing from tree to tree, I barely heard a small rustle of leaves next to me. I glanced to the side, reaching back into my bag to pull out a knife.
"Whoa, Bella!" I heard from the voice next to me. "Easy, girl. I'd rather not get stabbed, huh?"
The instant I heard him, I knew who it was. I turned to fully face my old friend, Lucky Delmonty. He smiled brightly at me when he caught my eyes.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, still grinning like a moron. "Your mom sent me after you."
I raised my eye brow at him and landed on a steady, thick branch. "Really? Why did she do that?"
"Well, she doesn't think you'd actually do what she told you." Lucky looked away, obviously hating to get between this. "She doesn't trust you."
I rolled my eyes, and shook my head. "Of course she doesn't. All because of some stupid battle where retreat was the best option we had to stay alive."
"Whoa, you convinced your mother to retreat from a battle?" Lucky's eyes shot wide. "That's unheard of. Your mom would never do that."
I looked to him, a disgruntled look in my eyes. "Yeah, I know."
He got my message and changed the subject. "So, I, uh, heard your mom is sending you to stay with your dad."
"Yeah." I muttered, continuing forward, knowing he'd follow.
"How long has been since you saw him last?"
"About five years. I was twelve last time."
"Are you excited? I mean, it's not every day one of us gets to see the mainland!" Lucky said, putting a little more spring into his step.
"Excited to see my dad, not to see the mainland. The people there are so… dysfunctional. Last time I was there, my dad took me to the biggest city near him, and there were buildings as tall as you could possibly imagine. He called them skyscrapers, and people live several stories away from the ground. There are random acts of violence outside of war zones, and crime is high. No body really works together to solve problems."
Lucky's smiled disappeared. "That doesn't sound fun at all."
"It wasn't. And then, there were so many people around, it was hard to tell who was who. Who I should look out for, who I should be kind and help, and where I should go." I shuddered at that memory. I hated that city.
Now Lucky frowned, something he never did. "I don't like the thought of your mom sending you there alone…"
"My dad lives in a small town, not there. From what I remember of it, it's pretty safe, I guess. But boring. No missions, no ninja sanctuary, nothing."
Lucky looked to me, worry etched on his warm face. "Really? No bad people?"
I stopped and smacked him over the head, causing him to lose his balance and fall from the tree. He hit the ground with a thud and groaned.
"Ow!" He yelled, glaring up at me. "What was that for?"
"I can take care of myself, Lucky." I told him, flexing my fingers. "I'm the best ninja of our generation; I can take some disillusioned person from the mainland. You don't have to worry about me and 'bad people'." I rolled my eyes, and hopped down next to him.
He stood and shook the dirt from his hair. "I know that, but still…." He frowned at me. "It's a strange land. You said it yourself. Those people aren't like us. You never know what they're gonna do."
I shrugged and looked up to see the walls of Kittou on the horizon. Lucky jumped up and shouted for joy. Laughing, I started walking to it, pulling Lucky along with me.
"Hey, Bella, you remember when we were rookies and we got in trouble for accidentally ruining Miss Heik's flowerbed?" Lucky babbled on as I dragged him along.
"Yeah, I remember. What about it?"
He laughed, acting like his usual self again. "I was just remembering the look on your face when she beat you over the head with her rolling pin. You looked as if a giant two-headed bear was eating you."
"You know what I would look like if that happened?" I raised my eyebrow at him again.
"No, but I can imagine." He laughed again, staring off into space.
I shook my head at him and turned away. Lucky had always been a goofy kind of guy. Back when we were in school together, he would trip when we were training or running scenarios. In the classroom, he would randomly shout out the last thing the teacher said, and cause the class to lose focus.
Almost groaning, I was hit with the fact I'd have to back to school in the mainland. I had graduated seven years ago, and now I had to go back. With no Lucky to distract everyone.
We arrived in town, shortly after nightbreak. The merchant stands were closing for the night and the shop windows were lighting up. People were sparsely populating the streets, lolling around talking to friends.
"So, Lucky," I started. "Any idea how to get to the port from here?"
He nodded. "Yeah." And then he looked away. "Well, not personally, but my cousin lives here and he works on the port. We can ask him!"
I sighed heavily, but followed him. I really just wanted to leave and get it over with already. Why did this have to be so drawn out?
Yay! I just got done watching Symbonic Titan with my brother, and finished this up. To every one who favorited and alerted my story, You guys effing ROCK! Heheh, anyway, hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!
