The next morning, as usual Rocky was the first to get out of bed. He pushed
Colt who was immediately awake. Together they woke Tum Tum by slowly
pulling of his blanket. Tum Tum, half-awake, tried to grab his blanket but
when he realised it was gone he was suddenly wide awake.
"Good morning Tum! Colt yelled, when he ran of the stairs behind Rocky. Suddenly Rocky stopped in the middle of the stairs and Colt bumped into him.
"Aw! Watch where you're going!" Rocky ignored him.
"Where's Nick?"
They realised their brother hadn't been there when they woke up. They looked around. Slowly they walked into the living room. Tum Tum followed closely behind them. Rocky put a finger on his mouth, then he carefully sneaked to the backdoor. He slowly raised his head to see. He grinned.
"He's outside. He's probably waiting for us, like Grandpa each morning." Rocky whispered.
"So, let's get outside! We'll teach him who's the best!" Colt laughed.
"Yea! Let's kick butts" Tum Tum said.
"Hold it guys! We have to think of a plan!" Rocky said.
"Rock, where is he?"
"Next to Grandpa's bench. He's holding a wooden box or something like that."
"Easy! Let's…"
Colt lowered his voice. They joined heads and after a minute they al started to laugh.
"All right! That's a plan and a half!"
Slowly the back door crept open. Rocky came outside and covered his eyes with his hand, like he came right out of bed.
"Morning Grandpa." He said when he caught the bow with one hand while he made with the other a kick move towards Grandpa's stomach.
"Morning Rocky." he laughed.
Rocky went on, pretending he hadn't seen his brother who was hiding behind the bench with the flowers. He walked past the porch when suddenly he saw something flickering where Nick was. But Nick couldn't attack him now! He was way too far! But when he thought that, he suddenly felt something pull at his shoulder. It felt like his shirt had got stuck to the wall.
"Damned!" He tried to pull it, but suddenly he saw the thing that held it to the wooden wall. It was a shiny black star. His mouth fell open in surprise.
Meanwhile Colt had come outside through the front door. He turned left and ran around Grandpa's cabin. He crept under some bushes so Grandpa would not see him.
"You can wait all you want Grandpa." Colt grinned. He proceeded and reached the large tree. Now he could see the back of Nick who suddenly came out of his hiding place and made a movement towards Rocky. Colt couldn't see why.
"Good morning Grandpa." Tum Tum said when he looked out of the window behind Grandpa, in each hand holding a box of cereals.
"Good morning Tum Tum." Grandpa said. Then he turned to the window "Tum Tum??"
But he didn't see anything. He raised his eyes to heaven and sighed.
"I wonder what they are up to now."
"Where is he waiting for?" Colt whispered when he still didn't see a move of Rocky. Rocky was supposed to challenge Nick, and then Colt would attack him from behind. Tum Tum would then come out of the house and help them.
"But that won't be necessary" Colt had said. "We'll have taken him out by the time you get out of the door."
Rocky had managed to pull the star out of his sleeve and free himself from the wall. He slowly walked towards the benches. Suddenly he saw Colt behind the tree, coming to the attack.
"Colt, no! Don't!" Rocky tried to warn him but it was too late. Colt ran towards Nick, who had turned around when he heard Rocky shout. He grinned.
Fast as wind Colt approached him and made a high-kick. Nick blocked the kick with one hand while the other searched something in his belt. Suddenly he pushed Colt towards the bench and swayed his arm. Colt saw something flicker and yelled. Suddenly he felt how something pulled him by his shirt and nailed him to the bench.
Nick turned around quickly and threw a star towards Tum Tum who came to help, as in the plan. One star hit the box of cereals which flew out of Tum Tums hand. The other cut the wire of a hanging plant. It fell on the ground and Tum Tum tripped over it.
Nick laughed when he saw the three boys in their difficult situations.
"Nice try guys! I'm sorry to do this to do you, but so now you know what your training is gonna be like!"
"Are you gonna train us??" Rocky asked?
"Yea of course. You think I'm gonna let you fight with me if you haven't completed your training? Actually that was the first thing I came for. To teach you how to use this." He showed them one of the black stars. "Grandpa doesn't want to weir glasses, so he can't throw these anymore. That's why he asked me." He laughed.
"I heard that." Grandpa came near.
"But what Nick says is right boys. If you're going to combat, you need to know everything. I have taught you everything I know. But I want you to be the best you can be when you will fight like a true ninja."
"You mean you're gonna let us?" Colt asked.
"I have no other choice, have I?" Grandpa smiled.
"Wow thanks Grandpa!" Rocky said.
"Yea, we will kick their butts" Tum Tum added!
"I'm sure you will Tum Tum." Grandpa said. "But before you all leave this place, I want you to succeed in our ultimate test Nick and I will subject you to. And that means the next two days you're gonna train the hardest you can."
The tree boys nodded.
"It's up to you Nick."
"The first thing you have to know about the sirtaken, is when to use them." Nick said, when they were all seated in the grass at the training spot.
"A ninja is never allowed to use the sirtaken when your enemy is so near to you, you could fight him with your hands. They are only made to throw, not to stab. Got that?"
They all nodded.
"Now there are several things you could do when throwing them. Either you could try to hit your enemy, either you try to cut or make trip something that can help you to defeat your enemy. You all saw this morning. Got that?"
They all nodded again.
"Okay, that's the basic part."
"That's it?" Colt asked in surprise.
"Yea Colt, that's it." Nick said.
"Okay, so now can we throw?" Colt jumped to his feet.
"No Colt not yet. I haven't even shown it to you."
"It can't be that hard." Colt murmured when he sat down.
"What did you say?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Either way, I heard you. Get up."
Colt stood up.
"Take this and try to hit the tree there in front of you."
Colt took the shiny sirtaken from his hand and weighed in his palm. He felt at the angles. He took the star by one of the angles and threw it towards the tree. Though the tree was only a few metres away, Colt missed it. The sirtaken made a sudden turn, flew high and missed the tree.
Colt turned red when he saw he had missed.
"You missed…" Tum Tum started but immediately became silent when he saw Nick's eyes.
"Wanna be next?"
He turned back to Colt
"Okay Colt, you can sit down."
Colt sat down next to Rocky who shot him an angry look.
"The next part," Nick proceeded, like nothing had happened, "is the throw. It might seem easy, but for those between you already have had the opportunity to try, it might be clear it certainly is not.
In the test you will be asked to do three things. One, hit the bull's eye. Two, you will have to be in constant movement and, when the sign is given, throw the sirtaken and hit the bull's eye. And three, you will have to hit a moving object.
But first, let's see how to throw them. You can get up now."
"Very good Rock" he said when he saw Rocky throwing the sirtaken while making a high jump. The sirtaken swirled around and pinned itself into the tree.
Rocky looked proud and shot a look at his brothers. Colt was turning around very fast and suddenly stood still and threw the sirtaken. It cut a branch of the tree which fell to the ground, only half a metre in front of Nick. Colt hurried to him to apologise, but when he saw Nick's face his mood changed. Nick looked very angry.
"If you do that just one more time…" he started but suddenly started to laugh. "Colt don't worry! That was great! If you continue like that you will pass easily!"
He saw him shot a look at Rocky who turned away. Suddenly he remembered.
"Oh by the way Colt, don't forget to bring me back the sirtaken you used this morning?" He grinned.
The sun started to lower and their shadows became longer on the grass. They had been training almost whole day now.
"Okay guys cut it. That's enough for today." Nick said
He started to gather things. His brothers joined him.
"Why don't we show you what've learnt today?" Rocky asked.
"Yea, why not?" Tum Tum asked.
"Yea indeed, why not," Nick said, "after all tomorrow we're gonna train something else.
"Okay, show me what you've learnt."
Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum joined and faced the tree with the painted bull's eye. Rocky slowly focused on the red dot in the middle and threw. The sirtaken swirled, flew and pinned dead on target. Two seconds later Colt's sirtaken hit the red paint and almost together with it the third one pinned right next to it.
"What can I say? Perfect." Nick said. He pulled the three sirtakens out of the tree.
The boys laughed.
"Okay, next one!" Rocky said. He walked a few steps backwards.
"Ready?" Nick asked.
Rocky nodded.
"When you're ready." Nick said.
Rocky took a deep breath and made two back flips. He started to fight an imagined enemy. Suddenly when he made a high kick, he fell to the ground on his back. He heard Nick shout and didn't waste a moment. He grabbed the sirtaken out of his belt, jumped to his feet and in one movement threw the sirtaken to the tree. It was like the extension of his arm. The sirtaken made a turn and pinned into the tree.
"Yes!" Rocky clapped his hands. "Okay Colt, you're up!"
Colt, who had seen the perfect throw of his brother started to feel unsure. But he pushed away the feeling and like his brother made a few steps backward. He closed his eyes and said:
"Ready."
He started to turn around like he did when he was training. He turned faster and faster and was in perfect balance. He made a kick, stepped back and made a backflip. The sirtaken flew out of his hand and pinned dead on target, two seconds after Nick had said: "Now."
"Very good Colt. I'm impressed." Rocky said.
Colt laughed shyly. He wasn't used to compliments from his brother.
"Come on Tum! You can do it!" he said while he patted his shoulder.
"Okay Tum Tum! You know, when you're ready!" Nick said.
Tum Tum faced the tree. The red dot looked like a jelly bean to him. He started imagining the sirtaken as his hand which tried to catch the candy. He turned his back to the tree and started to fight an imagined enemy. Suddenly he heard the signal, turned around, drew the sirtaken and threw it towards the tree. He didn't have a chance to aim. But a second later the sirtaken pinned right in the middle of the red dot.
"Awesome!" Tum Tum whispered and put his candy bar back into his mouth.
Nick pulled out the sirtaken and put it carefully in the box, while his brothers joined him.
"I'm not sure what words to use. I'm thinking in terms of great, grand, awesome, perfect,…" Nick laughed.
"So, now the last test!" Colt said and started to run back.
"Let's save that for the real Test, shall we? I'm sure you'll manage just fine."
"Fine." Rocky said before Colt could react.
"As a matter of fact you still have to look for that sirtaken, don't you Colt?" Tum Tum asked.
"Shut up spaz!" Colt said. "Mind your own business."
"Guys don't fight! We'll look together." Rocky said.
Nick sat on the bench when he saw his three brothers starting to look around in the direction Colt had thrown the sirtaken. He was very proud of them. Rocky, who knew no better he was the oldest, was always there to solve fights. A cool responsible fighter, very self-confident. And when he thought of Colt he smiled. Colt, who was always the eager one to try everything, and who could be in fact very unsure about himself, really trained hard. He was eager to learn, and he will always be the one who knows the stuff best. And Tum Tum, well, his candy must be an unstoppable source of energy. His very down-to-earth way of thinking and acting made the youngest of the three the most energetic part of them. He'll never give up, Nick thought.
Today they had proven to be worth it.
Grandpa came to sit next to Nick.
"How did they do?"
"Fine. In fact, they did great."
"And how did you do?"
Nick became silent for a moment.
"If I knew I had such wonderful brothers, I would have never left. Parish could go to hell."
"Don't talk about him anymore."
"I won't. So, how did your day go?" Nick asked, eager to change subject.
"Very good. I watered my orchids and cut some of my bonsais. Valuable time." He smiled.
"You know Nick, whatever they do, they will always reach what they want." He said, when he saw the three boys coming out of the bush, Colt holding a flickering star.
"Reminds me of you." Grandpa added and slowly walked back to the cabin.
"Good morning Tum! Colt yelled, when he ran of the stairs behind Rocky. Suddenly Rocky stopped in the middle of the stairs and Colt bumped into him.
"Aw! Watch where you're going!" Rocky ignored him.
"Where's Nick?"
They realised their brother hadn't been there when they woke up. They looked around. Slowly they walked into the living room. Tum Tum followed closely behind them. Rocky put a finger on his mouth, then he carefully sneaked to the backdoor. He slowly raised his head to see. He grinned.
"He's outside. He's probably waiting for us, like Grandpa each morning." Rocky whispered.
"So, let's get outside! We'll teach him who's the best!" Colt laughed.
"Yea! Let's kick butts" Tum Tum said.
"Hold it guys! We have to think of a plan!" Rocky said.
"Rock, where is he?"
"Next to Grandpa's bench. He's holding a wooden box or something like that."
"Easy! Let's…"
Colt lowered his voice. They joined heads and after a minute they al started to laugh.
"All right! That's a plan and a half!"
Slowly the back door crept open. Rocky came outside and covered his eyes with his hand, like he came right out of bed.
"Morning Grandpa." He said when he caught the bow with one hand while he made with the other a kick move towards Grandpa's stomach.
"Morning Rocky." he laughed.
Rocky went on, pretending he hadn't seen his brother who was hiding behind the bench with the flowers. He walked past the porch when suddenly he saw something flickering where Nick was. But Nick couldn't attack him now! He was way too far! But when he thought that, he suddenly felt something pull at his shoulder. It felt like his shirt had got stuck to the wall.
"Damned!" He tried to pull it, but suddenly he saw the thing that held it to the wooden wall. It was a shiny black star. His mouth fell open in surprise.
Meanwhile Colt had come outside through the front door. He turned left and ran around Grandpa's cabin. He crept under some bushes so Grandpa would not see him.
"You can wait all you want Grandpa." Colt grinned. He proceeded and reached the large tree. Now he could see the back of Nick who suddenly came out of his hiding place and made a movement towards Rocky. Colt couldn't see why.
"Good morning Grandpa." Tum Tum said when he looked out of the window behind Grandpa, in each hand holding a box of cereals.
"Good morning Tum Tum." Grandpa said. Then he turned to the window "Tum Tum??"
But he didn't see anything. He raised his eyes to heaven and sighed.
"I wonder what they are up to now."
"Where is he waiting for?" Colt whispered when he still didn't see a move of Rocky. Rocky was supposed to challenge Nick, and then Colt would attack him from behind. Tum Tum would then come out of the house and help them.
"But that won't be necessary" Colt had said. "We'll have taken him out by the time you get out of the door."
Rocky had managed to pull the star out of his sleeve and free himself from the wall. He slowly walked towards the benches. Suddenly he saw Colt behind the tree, coming to the attack.
"Colt, no! Don't!" Rocky tried to warn him but it was too late. Colt ran towards Nick, who had turned around when he heard Rocky shout. He grinned.
Fast as wind Colt approached him and made a high-kick. Nick blocked the kick with one hand while the other searched something in his belt. Suddenly he pushed Colt towards the bench and swayed his arm. Colt saw something flicker and yelled. Suddenly he felt how something pulled him by his shirt and nailed him to the bench.
Nick turned around quickly and threw a star towards Tum Tum who came to help, as in the plan. One star hit the box of cereals which flew out of Tum Tums hand. The other cut the wire of a hanging plant. It fell on the ground and Tum Tum tripped over it.
Nick laughed when he saw the three boys in their difficult situations.
"Nice try guys! I'm sorry to do this to do you, but so now you know what your training is gonna be like!"
"Are you gonna train us??" Rocky asked?
"Yea of course. You think I'm gonna let you fight with me if you haven't completed your training? Actually that was the first thing I came for. To teach you how to use this." He showed them one of the black stars. "Grandpa doesn't want to weir glasses, so he can't throw these anymore. That's why he asked me." He laughed.
"I heard that." Grandpa came near.
"But what Nick says is right boys. If you're going to combat, you need to know everything. I have taught you everything I know. But I want you to be the best you can be when you will fight like a true ninja."
"You mean you're gonna let us?" Colt asked.
"I have no other choice, have I?" Grandpa smiled.
"Wow thanks Grandpa!" Rocky said.
"Yea, we will kick their butts" Tum Tum added!
"I'm sure you will Tum Tum." Grandpa said. "But before you all leave this place, I want you to succeed in our ultimate test Nick and I will subject you to. And that means the next two days you're gonna train the hardest you can."
The tree boys nodded.
"It's up to you Nick."
"The first thing you have to know about the sirtaken, is when to use them." Nick said, when they were all seated in the grass at the training spot.
"A ninja is never allowed to use the sirtaken when your enemy is so near to you, you could fight him with your hands. They are only made to throw, not to stab. Got that?"
They all nodded.
"Now there are several things you could do when throwing them. Either you could try to hit your enemy, either you try to cut or make trip something that can help you to defeat your enemy. You all saw this morning. Got that?"
They all nodded again.
"Okay, that's the basic part."
"That's it?" Colt asked in surprise.
"Yea Colt, that's it." Nick said.
"Okay, so now can we throw?" Colt jumped to his feet.
"No Colt not yet. I haven't even shown it to you."
"It can't be that hard." Colt murmured when he sat down.
"What did you say?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Either way, I heard you. Get up."
Colt stood up.
"Take this and try to hit the tree there in front of you."
Colt took the shiny sirtaken from his hand and weighed in his palm. He felt at the angles. He took the star by one of the angles and threw it towards the tree. Though the tree was only a few metres away, Colt missed it. The sirtaken made a sudden turn, flew high and missed the tree.
Colt turned red when he saw he had missed.
"You missed…" Tum Tum started but immediately became silent when he saw Nick's eyes.
"Wanna be next?"
He turned back to Colt
"Okay Colt, you can sit down."
Colt sat down next to Rocky who shot him an angry look.
"The next part," Nick proceeded, like nothing had happened, "is the throw. It might seem easy, but for those between you already have had the opportunity to try, it might be clear it certainly is not.
In the test you will be asked to do three things. One, hit the bull's eye. Two, you will have to be in constant movement and, when the sign is given, throw the sirtaken and hit the bull's eye. And three, you will have to hit a moving object.
But first, let's see how to throw them. You can get up now."
"Very good Rock" he said when he saw Rocky throwing the sirtaken while making a high jump. The sirtaken swirled around and pinned itself into the tree.
Rocky looked proud and shot a look at his brothers. Colt was turning around very fast and suddenly stood still and threw the sirtaken. It cut a branch of the tree which fell to the ground, only half a metre in front of Nick. Colt hurried to him to apologise, but when he saw Nick's face his mood changed. Nick looked very angry.
"If you do that just one more time…" he started but suddenly started to laugh. "Colt don't worry! That was great! If you continue like that you will pass easily!"
He saw him shot a look at Rocky who turned away. Suddenly he remembered.
"Oh by the way Colt, don't forget to bring me back the sirtaken you used this morning?" He grinned.
The sun started to lower and their shadows became longer on the grass. They had been training almost whole day now.
"Okay guys cut it. That's enough for today." Nick said
He started to gather things. His brothers joined him.
"Why don't we show you what've learnt today?" Rocky asked.
"Yea, why not?" Tum Tum asked.
"Yea indeed, why not," Nick said, "after all tomorrow we're gonna train something else.
"Okay, show me what you've learnt."
Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum joined and faced the tree with the painted bull's eye. Rocky slowly focused on the red dot in the middle and threw. The sirtaken swirled, flew and pinned dead on target. Two seconds later Colt's sirtaken hit the red paint and almost together with it the third one pinned right next to it.
"What can I say? Perfect." Nick said. He pulled the three sirtakens out of the tree.
The boys laughed.
"Okay, next one!" Rocky said. He walked a few steps backwards.
"Ready?" Nick asked.
Rocky nodded.
"When you're ready." Nick said.
Rocky took a deep breath and made two back flips. He started to fight an imagined enemy. Suddenly when he made a high kick, he fell to the ground on his back. He heard Nick shout and didn't waste a moment. He grabbed the sirtaken out of his belt, jumped to his feet and in one movement threw the sirtaken to the tree. It was like the extension of his arm. The sirtaken made a turn and pinned into the tree.
"Yes!" Rocky clapped his hands. "Okay Colt, you're up!"
Colt, who had seen the perfect throw of his brother started to feel unsure. But he pushed away the feeling and like his brother made a few steps backward. He closed his eyes and said:
"Ready."
He started to turn around like he did when he was training. He turned faster and faster and was in perfect balance. He made a kick, stepped back and made a backflip. The sirtaken flew out of his hand and pinned dead on target, two seconds after Nick had said: "Now."
"Very good Colt. I'm impressed." Rocky said.
Colt laughed shyly. He wasn't used to compliments from his brother.
"Come on Tum! You can do it!" he said while he patted his shoulder.
"Okay Tum Tum! You know, when you're ready!" Nick said.
Tum Tum faced the tree. The red dot looked like a jelly bean to him. He started imagining the sirtaken as his hand which tried to catch the candy. He turned his back to the tree and started to fight an imagined enemy. Suddenly he heard the signal, turned around, drew the sirtaken and threw it towards the tree. He didn't have a chance to aim. But a second later the sirtaken pinned right in the middle of the red dot.
"Awesome!" Tum Tum whispered and put his candy bar back into his mouth.
Nick pulled out the sirtaken and put it carefully in the box, while his brothers joined him.
"I'm not sure what words to use. I'm thinking in terms of great, grand, awesome, perfect,…" Nick laughed.
"So, now the last test!" Colt said and started to run back.
"Let's save that for the real Test, shall we? I'm sure you'll manage just fine."
"Fine." Rocky said before Colt could react.
"As a matter of fact you still have to look for that sirtaken, don't you Colt?" Tum Tum asked.
"Shut up spaz!" Colt said. "Mind your own business."
"Guys don't fight! We'll look together." Rocky said.
Nick sat on the bench when he saw his three brothers starting to look around in the direction Colt had thrown the sirtaken. He was very proud of them. Rocky, who knew no better he was the oldest, was always there to solve fights. A cool responsible fighter, very self-confident. And when he thought of Colt he smiled. Colt, who was always the eager one to try everything, and who could be in fact very unsure about himself, really trained hard. He was eager to learn, and he will always be the one who knows the stuff best. And Tum Tum, well, his candy must be an unstoppable source of energy. His very down-to-earth way of thinking and acting made the youngest of the three the most energetic part of them. He'll never give up, Nick thought.
Today they had proven to be worth it.
Grandpa came to sit next to Nick.
"How did they do?"
"Fine. In fact, they did great."
"And how did you do?"
Nick became silent for a moment.
"If I knew I had such wonderful brothers, I would have never left. Parish could go to hell."
"Don't talk about him anymore."
"I won't. So, how did your day go?" Nick asked, eager to change subject.
"Very good. I watered my orchids and cut some of my bonsais. Valuable time." He smiled.
"You know Nick, whatever they do, they will always reach what they want." He said, when he saw the three boys coming out of the bush, Colt holding a flickering star.
"Reminds me of you." Grandpa added and slowly walked back to the cabin.