Another Disciple
1 week later, Misato, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan…
Crow eventually returned to Japan after completing his mission. He arrested one of the Chinese triad leaders for crimes against humanity. A whole week went by at that time. However, Omani wanted to speak with him at her home. Urenna was slowly recovering from the intense training, but by the time Crow arrived at Omani's home, the girl was sound asleep.
Doorbell rings…
Omani: "Hide! You're back finally!"
Crow: "It's Crow." (Omani doesn't care) "Gah. Whatever." (Walks in the house)
Omani: "Are you here to get Urenna?"
Crow: "Hai. I'm sorry it took so long to come back. How is she holding up?"
Omani: "Well…you certainly worked her to death on her first month of training. She is just now starting to walk around without any pain anymore. You should be more aware of how much the little girl can take in training."
Crow: "We didn't complain back then. You and I were cramping just as bad back then and we still trained Omani."
Omani: "I passed out too you know. And don't act so tough! I've seen you cry before! And if you want me to expose that in front of Urenna, then I will!"
Crow (Wide eyed): "Ok! Ok! Don't do it Omani!"
Omani (Laughing): "I know you are trying your best to be like our master but that man was a one of kind. He could tap into our minds like nobody else when it came to our lifestyles as ninja. We can take our time with our future successor. Just don't kill her ok?"
Crow: "Fine. I promise I won't."
So with that settled, Crow patiently waited for his student to wake up. When Urenna finally did, Crow took the initiative by apologizing for taking all of that time in coming back from his mission. Omani reassured Urenna that she would contact the compound every day to check up on her progress. The girl herself was determined not to let her body give up on her again. Though it would be easier said than done.
Two years later…
Two years pass by since Urenna lived in Japan. She became more accustomed to her environment while training as a ninja. No longer passing out from mile runs and falling off tripwires, Urenna was getting better week by week. Soon it would be time to perform her first test as a genin ninja.
Then one day during as Urenna was practicing cross jumps over the creek, Crow was called by his CO once again for another mission. This time in the country of Honduras. After the call was over, Crow summoned his student over at the temple which was finally renovated after grueling months of work. Crow even had Urenna repair the temple whenever he left for mission as a way to keep her busy, but not making the child do anything super hard.
Crow took a good look at the 9 year old Urenna as she bowed in his presence. Her hair was getting more and more wild by the weeks. Omani kept Urenna's hair in one big fluffy ponytail ever since the girl arrived in Japan. She no longer had her traditional braided hairstyle. Even Crow had to admit, Urenna was getting more rugged by the head. Maybe it was time to send her to New York so something could be done about it while he investigated in Honduras.
Crow: "Urenna once again I must leave for another mission. However…"
Urenna: "Hai master!"
Crow: "I will send you back to New York City for a brief time off."
Urenna (Shocked): "Really? I can take a break?"
Crow: "Just until I finish my mission in Honduras. That is where I will be. Besides, my commanding officer wants to see you again. You remember her do you not?"
Urenna (Thinks): "Oh…that woman I stayed with back then. Her name was uh…"
Crow: "Kari."
Urenna: "Kari! Right!"
Crow: "Your training ends early today. We will leave from the compound in 30 minutes. Oh and do take a bath first."
Urenna: "Hai!"
United Nations HQ, New York City, NY, USA…
After the long hovercraft ride back to the United States, Crow was greeted by Kari at the helipad on the top floor of the UN building. Kari had a big smile on her face as she viewed Urenna coming out of the vehicle. She noticed the girl grew taller and was in above average shape for a mere kid. However, Urenna's hair was complete mess, even with it tied on the back of her head.
Kari: "You guys made it! Urenna! It's been too long!"
Urenna (Embarrassed): "Hi Kari!"
Crow (Cuts the reunion short.): "Ladies let us continue the greeting inside. I can't believe it's still cold in this city!"
Kari (Shivering): "Yeah you're right. C'mon!"
Inside a conference room…
Kari: "Crow! I'm proud of you for first off bringing Urenna back to come stay with me while you fight in Honduras. Second, I see she has been taken well care of! How did you manage to juggle such a responsibility while doing this job?"
Crow: "Are you serious? Giving the girl to me was your idea."
Kari: "I know. I only suggested it because your clan really needed new recruits. You and I both know it is not easy to find quality spies, let alone ninjas."
Crow (Sighs in annoyance.): "Anyway I brought the girl as ordered. How is the situation in Honduras?"
Kari: "Not good. The Cobras Verdes Faction is ransacking the villages in the Northwestern part of Honduras. Now San Pedro Sula is already battered with crime, so if these guys somehow were to take over that city then it will become a humanitarian crisis. Their leader goes by name of Salchicha. Yeah I know it sounds silly, but I hear he's a real monster. The guy is like 210cm tall weighing over 140 kg! So do be careful out there Crow!"
Crow: "Roger that. I better be on my way then."
Kari: "And do not worry! Urenna will be in good hands with me alright!"
Crow: "Understood."
Crow nods his head and bid farewell to both ladies as he walked out of the conference room. When he was a good distance away from the room, Kari had to know just how Urenna was doing health wise. The girl looked just fine despite hearing about the stressful training Crow had to deal with during his younger days. Maybe the girl was hungry since she flew halfway around the world.
Kari: "Urenna, I know you must be hungry, but are you really okay? I mean staying in Japan all of that time by yourself."
Urenna: "It was tough at first, but I was used to the training all thanks to Omani."
Kari: "Huh? Who is that?"
Urenna: "She is a friend of Crow's. And she's a ninja too."
Kari (Eyebrow raises up): "Really now? Crow never mentioned this woman to me before. I knew he couldn't watch you all by himself. So what is she like?"
Urenna: "She's very smart and nice. And she can cook almost anything and make it tasty. Crow is bad at cooking." (Laughs)
Kari (Laughing too): "Is that a fact! Well…maybe I can match Omani's cooking skills after my shift is over. But first let's get some lunch downstairs. What do you say?"
Urenna: "Yeah I'm really hungry."
While the women were eating lunch, Kari did notice Urenna's hygiene was bad off. Especially her clothes and hair. By the time Kari's shift ended, later in the afternoon, Kari took Urenna home with her to first shower and then take her to the neighborhood barber shop for a haircut. It had been 2 years since Urenna even had a haircut. Her hair grew very long, eventually the ponytail was dropping over the back. When Kari took her to the barbershop/salon, Urenna found it odd that some of the customers there looked similar to her in features. Kari introduced Urenna to her hairdresser, Max (A nickname short for Maxine).
Kari: "Hey girlfriend!"
Max: "Kari hey girl!" (Looks at Urenna) "Who is this here?"
Kari: "This is a special guest. She is staying with me until one of my agents comes back from his mission."
Max: "You sure have some weird people working at your job, but this is a first seeing you bringing a little girl. Where is she from?"
Kari: "She is from Nigeria, but now my agent is raising her in Japan."
Max: "Really? Why over there?"
Kari: "It's classified."
Max: "Oh…okay. But the little girl sure needs a haircut! Look at that hair! It's so thick wow!" (Touching Urenna's wild hair.)
Max's loud talking causes a stir amongst the other people in the shop. Urenna felt kind of embarrassed by it since she gotten used to being by herself back in Japan. Sitting on the tall chair with Maxime tending to her hair, did remind the girl about her mother back in Calabar. Urenna's hair was cut down to near shoulder length and then rebraided in a cornrow style.
Kari: "Thank you so much Max! Urenna looks soooo much better!"
Max: "She sure does!" (Laughing)
Urenna gets embarrassed…
Max: "When will I see her again Kari?"
Kari: "Whenever she comes back. My agent would get mad if she were to be snatched away by someone else."
Max: "Is this his daughter? He single?"
Kari (Laughing): "No, he's just raising her in his homeland. I don't think he has time to date Max."
Max: "I see…well Urenna I hope I get to see to you again."
Urenna: "Thanks for doing my hair uh."
Max: "Call me Max."
Urenna: "Max. I'll come back here again whenever I make it back to New York again."
Max: "Ohhh! That's wonderful! I look forward to seeing you again!"
On the way back to Kari Grady's house…
Kari: "So Urenna…that was your first visit to an American hair salon. You like your new hair style?"
Urenna: "Yeah. Japan doesn't have hair salons like that here or in Calabar."
Kari: "No but that's fine. When your hair gets out of control again now you have a place to come to and have it all fixed up again!"
Urenna: "I hope Crow is alright with it. I wonder if he is okay."
Kari: "I'm sure he is fine Urenna and I know he will not complain about your new look. We are almost home, let's cook something yummy to eat ok?"
Urenna: "K."
Some days later…
Kari really enjoyed Urenna's company as the two of them lived together, going to work even, and being entertained by the young girl's new ninja techniques. Crow did an exceptional job with Urenna's progress. The girl could easily parkour over objects even bigger than her and marveled at her speed runs. The ladies time together lasted for nearly a week until Crow returned to New York City during a severe thunderstorm during midday. What was unusual is that Crow carried something small wrapped around in some thick cloth as he rushed inside the building through the emergency stairs. Crow soon made his way into Kari's control room office.
Crow: "CO…Crow here reporting as ordered."
Kari: "Good to see you again agent. Uh, was it that you are holding?" (Points at the cloth)
Crow: "You wanna look?"
Kari looks inside the cloth and sees the face of a sleeping baby boy…
Kari: "What? A baby? I don't believe it! Crow did you rescue him?"
Crow: "Yes…right after I was forced to kill Salchicha. The entire city of Puerto Cortes was in a state of chaos. I found this boy crying inside a house. It looked like his family was taken away by the gang. But since I took out their leader, the gang is in complete disarray now that the military has stepped in to restore order. I couldn't just leave the kid behind. So I brought it here."
Kari: "Oh it's so precious."
Crow: "CO, what should I do with him?"
Kari: "Honestly, I think you should take him with you Crow. Urenna could use the company and a partner."
Crow: "Huh? Take him in? Now I'll have a little baby to look after? Seriously?"
Kari: "Why not? Urenna has been so lonely since she has been in Japan. I'd say why not have another child for her to look after and share the training with you know?"
Crow: "She is still too young to look after a baby."
Kari: "What about that other woman of yours? The one who looks after Urenna when you are on missions?"
Crow: "Nani?" (Thinks) "How does she know about Omani?"
Kari: "Yep, Urenna told me all about your old classmate. She sounds like a good woman Crow."
Crow (Embarrassed.): "Children can never keep things on their own."
Kari: "Agent do not punish Urenna for speaking her mind. It's good that she is not always alone and at least there is somebody who can take care of her. Now that you saved this child's life in your arms, your clan's future will become that much brighter."
Crow (After some pause): "Where is she now?"
Kari: "Playing in the conference room. Why don't you show her the baby? I'll come too."
Crow and Kari left out of the office and walked towards the conference room where Urenna was drawing once again using paint & colored pencils. It looked like Urenna was doing a painting of Manhattan's skyline, but she was far from finished. When the door opened and Urenna saw Crow, she smiled to see that he returned from his mission. Kari was behind him now holding the baby in her arms.
Kari: "Hi Urenna! Crow and I have something to show you!"
Urenna (See a small face in the cloth.): "Who is that?"
Kari: "This baby was rescued by Crow in Honduras. We have no idea where the family is. This baby is a lot like you Urenna. If we find out anything about the family's survival then we will bring him back to Honduras. If not, then I suggested to Crow that this baby stay with you guys."
Urenna (Eyes light up): "Really? We can keep it?"
Crow: "I guess."
Urenna: "Please Crow? Please!"
Crow: "We will keep him if we cannot find his parents. Until then, don't get too excited about looking after a baby when you are still one yourself."
Urenna: "I'm not a baby master! I'm training to be strong remember?"
Kari (Laughing): "We know you are strong Urenna. Crow you should treat your prodigy with more respect."
Crow (Folding his arms in disgust): "Yeah…sure."
Kari: "Anyway. I will send additional troops over to Honduras and help with the cleanup in the ransacked cities. You are free to go. And do bring your female ninja friend to New York one day. And Urenna of course!"
Crow: "Understood…CO." (Still disappointed)
Kari: "You take care Urenna! I am so glad you are excelling in ninjitsu and I know you will be even more amazing next time I see you again."
Urenna: "I will Kari. I will!" (Hugs)
Despite the heavy rain, Crow was ready to leave the UN and return back to Japan where the weather was much calmer. However, to train one child and potentially training another right in infancy was going to be something even more daunting for the agent ninja. Crow knew that Omani would be willing to take in the refugee baby, but on a mission, how will the two children get along by themselves. He had a feeling the parents were likely dead. Even if that were true, the child's upbringing would not be any better living in another civil war land like Urenna.