Chapter 5
The ninjas were all wearing the same black clothes as Kakashi Kama, fighting bandages wrapped around their various limbs, hands, and feet. While some of them wore black fighting boots, and others wore army sandals; they all wore black masks and head-coverings, not showing anything except for their determined, flashing eyes, of various shades and colors.
Kama became serious, "Stand down, people!"
All of the ninjas dropped their arms and sheathed their weapons, then stood at attention, their hands behind their backs.
Kama turned back to the monks, a smile on his face, "Your fellow teammates, Dragons."
The four looked around, only slightly relieved. They had never really had teammates their own age (other than themselves). Seeing all these others here, was at the very least, overwhelming.
Kama went into all business mode again, "You call yourselves practicing ninjitsu? That was the most pathetic display of ninja skills, I have EVER seen! If you had ever made that much noise out in the field, you'd be dead before you even had time to think about your mistake! I should make you go through the entire exercise again! I aught to…"
Kimiko sat down listening to the guy lecture his students. Was that what she was in for? A sudden feeling of nervousness came over her, What if I don't measure up?
"Onna-sama Daijobu desu", a strong, enigmatic voice, whispered behind her. Startled, she turned around to see, that one of the ninjas had somehow snuck behind her! How had he done that! She had been on her guard since Kama had called his trainees down! How had he managed get behind her without her hearing or seeing him! She—
That's when his words dawned on her. He hadn't spoken in English, but in flawless Japanese! He had said, 'It's alright, my lady.' A blush came to her cheeks; did he know what I was thinking!
Glancing again towards him, she saw he was very tall and muscular underneath his black uniform, but other than that, nothing else was revealed. He held an air of mystique, which seemed to cloak his very persona. It was almost intoxicating…
She shook her head. You don't know anything about him. He could be a narcissistic snob, for all you know! So handsome on the outside, but black to the core on the insi—
Then, she noticed his eyes. They were almost black for the most part, but had bright, reflective, sea green flecks in them. They reminded her of a cool garden pool at midnight, with magical carps swimming around gracefully. They were magical. They were mystical. They were looking straight at her!
While he still stood at attention, he spoke again. "Irrasshaimase wa Konnichiwa" (--Hello and welcome)
She bowed her head at his greeting, and responded back with her own. "Konnichiwa…Watashi no namae wa Asukura Kimiko desu" (--Hello…my name is Kimiko Asukura.)
His eyes looked at her calculatingly, "Wakatte-imasu" (--I know)
Her whole face began to heat up so much, that she had to turn back around. Who was this mystery man!
Looking around at her friends, she noticed that they hadn't seen a thing, but were hanging onto every word of Master Kama. Which she also noticed, was ending his tirade! If her mystery guy were caught talking to her, he could be punished! And it would be her fault!
Turning around quickly to warn him, she saw, that the place where he had stood—was totally empty! Where did he go, just that fast? Looking around, she saw he was nowhere in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief, if anyone was as quick and fleeting as a shadow, it was this guy.
In the back of her head, she thought to herself, I wish I could have at least gotten his name, or looked at his face…
"… is all I have to say. Two more hours of practice before dinner, and I'll be watching. At dinner, I'll introduce your new teammates and you can get to know them, rather than whisper about them in the rafters. You are dismissed to your duties." Kama finished.
The students all bowed at the waist, and then began to walk away in their own separate directions, talking and laughing amongst themselves. They started taking off their head-coverings and masks, showing that they were young men, between the ages of 12 to the mid-20's, of all colors and nationalities, all congregating together in utter harmony.
Kakashi turned back to them smiling, "Sorry about that. It's just that, they know I expect better. Humph, soon you'll know it too, but for right now, I'll let you get situated in your new rooms first, and freshen up before dinner."
Clay put in, "We still need to bring in our luggage. It's still sittin' outside, as dusty as my boots after a rodeo contest."
The man shook his head, "They're already inside. I had some guys bring them in during our little 'fight'." He looked over to a group of boys standing by a window, "Hans, did you and your team get everything in?"
A fifteen-year-old, brown-haired German boy, looked back at him, "Yes, sir."
Turning back to them, Kama grinned, crossing his arms in front of him. "I'll talk to you guys later, but now I have to attend to other things. I'm going to have one of my top students, take you to your rooms and answer any questions you might have."
They all nodded, Rai smiling in gratitude, "Thanks, Kakashi. I think we're all going to do fine here."
The teacher nodded back, then, looking up, "Kusinagi?"
A dark streak darted from a ceiling crossbeam and down to the floor. Slinking faster than a shadow, the streak appeared quietly and suddenly behind them. Turning around, they saw, that it wasn't a shadow, but a young man! Kimiko immediately recognized her mystery man, still dressed in full uniform, mask, coverings, and all. She felt a familiar flutter as he spoke in perfect English, "I'll take care of things, Kama-sensei."
Nodding in confirmation, the teacher turned and walked away. The four turned to look at their new guide. He also looked over them, as if studying them. Finally, he walked away, going to one of the hallways that led away from the foyer, indicating that they should follow him.
He began talking as he went, "Welcome to your new surrogate home. My name is Kusinagi, Kyōto Kusinagi. I'm from Kyoto, Japan, ironically. You may ask me any questions, at any time."
Omi spoke up, "I have one: where are we going?"
He stopped at a wall panel, carved with intricate painted carvings of a Japanese garden, kanji symbols were engraved randomly in black, the whole thing was like a beautiful mural. "Here."
They looked around bewildered. Clay said sarcastically, "Don't tell me ya'll sleep in the hallways."
Kyōto turned, "Not exactly…"
Taking off his right glove, he put his hand on the Japanese kanji symbol for air, carved on the panel, right above a small pastel gazebo. A small light flickered within the symbol, followed by the sound of a small motor starting up, causing the entire panel to shift, and slide swiftly upward; revealing a twisted hidden staircase, lit up by florescent, halogen torches!
"Now you don't see that everyday. I wouldn't even have thought of there being a secret door disguised like that." Rai commented, as he followed Kyōto up the stairs.
Omi jumped up in front of him, "I knew it all the time! You probably didn't see it, because you were blinded by your inferior skills."
Rai smiled wryly, as he picked the boy up by the scruff of his neck, and promptly, threw him down the stairs.
Because of his round head and short stature, Omi went down the first twist of stairs like a yellowish ball, finally rolling to a stop in between the panel door entrance.
"Sure you did, little brother. Sure you did…" Rai called after him, sardonically.
Omi laid on his back, looking up at the door and ceiling. He had to remember to think before he spoke, next time.
Suddenly, the sound of the motor started up again. Omi looked up above him, wondering what that sound meant.
A hand grabbed his foot, pulling him backward, JUST as the panel went sliding down with a bang!
Omi sat up in surprise, seeing that it had been Clay who had pulled him to safety.
"You've gotta watch out for ev'rythin' in this place, hombre." Clay said, shaking his head at him.
The Chinese boy went into a large grin, embarrassed as ever.
The two had to run to catch up with the other three, who had already reached the top of the staircase, which led to a metal door with no doorknob.
"Now what?" Kimiko asked, watching with interest.
Turning to the left, Kyōto grabbed the second to the last torch and twisted it 45 degrees to the right, and then 90 degrees to the left. This caused the small light switch by the door to sink in, and then slide up, displaying a numerical keypad.
They watched as his fingers danced over the buttons, as he punched in a number code, "I hope you've been watching. If you don't do this right, you'll be stuck in here and an alarm will go off, sending in knockout gas that'll put you out for hours. It'd be very embarrassing, when your fellow teammates find you."
Raimundo blanched white, realizing he hadn't been studying Kyōto at all! Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, love. Daddy's systems may seem intimidating, but it's easy when you're his one and only daughter." Kimiko whispered in his ear.
As Kyōto finished the code, the false switch moved back in place, followed by the torch twisting back to the way it was. The door shuddered and swung outward; from within, a bright light temporarily blinded them.
Once their eyes adjusted to the light, they found themselves in a cheery, wood-paneled, sunlit hallway. The hallway branched off into three directions: north, east, and west. At the end of each short walkway, was a large arched window; the light from the sun, spilling through from all directions. Each passage was lined with about four to six doors, equal number on each side. Each door was carved, stained oak and had a set of brass double-digit numbers bolted to them, arranged in ascending order.
The whole setup had a wood cabin-like, warm, cozy, but totally unprotected feel to it.
"Tryin' to get in this place, is like tryin' to get in Fort Knox. Yet when you finally get here, you have several different ways a person can break in. Why?" Clay asked, as he looked around the place.
Kyōto turned down the left hallway, "As Kama-sensei says, 'Looks can be deceiving'. The windows are made of a special titanium-laced glass, six and a half inches thick. The outside is dotted with hidden holographic projectors, which make the windows look like part of the walls. The entire building is protected by an anti-energy force field, which we turn on and off at will. The windows though, are also protected by an inside force field, that can only be cut off in times of emergency."
He reached the third door, numbered 16. "In your rooms, you shall find a new uniform and your luggage. Everyone here shares rooms. You shall meet your roommates later."
Kimiko had to stop him right there, "You mean I have to share my room with a guy!"
A small laugh came from him, "Not quite, Asukura-san."
Turning back to the door, he said, "Number 16, this will be—"
"It's my room, I know it! I wonder what it will look like!" Omi jumped ahead and grabbed the door handle.
Suddenly, a large electric pulse charged through the door handle, shocking Omi up and down his spine, and straight into the opposite wall!
Kyōto turned to look at him, as he slid down to the floor, coughing up smoke. "Actually, I was going to say this was Clay's room."
Kimiko helped the dazed boy up, "What did Kama tell you about patience, Omi?" "What happened to him?" Rai asked, slightly smiling at his little brother's discomfort.
The masked ninja promptly answered, "Let's say Vega, that person or persons unknown, got through all the security, and came in and took you by surprise, while you're sleep in your bed. Well of course, we thought of that. These seemingly weak wooden doors, have three inches of solid steel between its wooden façade. The doors are also vacuum sealed, making it impossible to simply fire blast through. And best of all, the doorknobs are encoded with fingerprint sensors and grip scanners. If the wrong person touches the door, you're sent a little shocking wake-up call. Somebody tries to just weld or break it off; a flash bomb will go off in your face."
Clay could only scratch his head in disbelief, "Man, oh man…you guys surely thought of everythin', didn't you?"
Reaching out hesitantly, he touched the knob. A blue light within it, lit up, followed by the sound of compressed air hissing out.
Fully confident now, he turned the handle, causing the door to slowly swing open automatically. They all looked inside.
Interestingly enough, it looked like a large dorm room inside a log cabin. There was two beds, one completely stripped, the other, neatly made, overflowing with plush, champagne-colored down comforters, embroidered throws, and full, lavish pillows. Two bureaus were in the room, one empty, the other set with ornate sliver picture frames. This was much same with everything, one whole side of the room was empty, while the other was set up in an affluent, Renaissance style. All of Clay's things were stacked neatly on the empty side, a large window above it.
"Looks like you'll be rooming with Mag." Kyōto commented.
"Meg? There are other girls here? I'm not sleepin' in the same room as an unfamiliar woman. It's just not proper. Nope, not even hogtied."
The masked man shook his head, "Mag, not Meg. Mag is a male."
Omi laughed, "Haha! What sort of name is Mag?"
An unfamiliar hand touched his shoulder, causing him to cringe. This was followed by a heavily accented voice which said from behind him, "It's short for: Charlemagne."
They all turned around at the new arrival. The voice belonged to a tall, handsome young man. He was in the same uniform as those downstairs. His mask and everything was off, showing an attractive, slightly feminine face, with sharp Gaelic European features. He had long, wavy, straw-blond hair, and a pair of ultra-clear sky blue eyes.
He put out his hand towards Clay, "So you must be my new compagnon de chambre. My name is Charlemagne St. Cyr; I'm from Lille, France."
Clay liked the guy immediately, a friendly nature in his eyes. Shaking the young man's hand heartily, "I'm Clay Ranger, United States, Amarillo, Texas. You gonna be my roommate, partner?"
Mag nodded, "Tell me about the Americas, mon ami. I've been waiting to hear all about it."
The Texan chuckled, "Well you came to the right place, hombre! First, let me tell you about Texas…"
The two entered the room together, chatting away like old friends, the door hissing shut behind them.
Kyōto shook his head, "Well, going on. Omi, you're Room 18, right across the hall."
This time, Omi opened the door carefully. This room was quite like the other, the only difference, was this one was practically empty altogether. One side held the same look as Clay's side, but had Omi's stuff sitting on the empty bed. The other side didn't even have a bed, but instead, a woven bamboo mat, accompanied with a small pillow and folded blanket. That side's bureau was spotless, but empty, except for one small picture frame, which had a photo of two Asian boys; one older, the other younger, laughing and having fun.
"You're roommate is Shin-ji, from Shanghai. He's been here about half a month. You kind of have to watch him. He doesn't talk to anyone, and he can be moody, but he's an excellent fighter, and is quite a perfectionist when it comes to honing his skills."
Rai snickered, "That's perfect for Omi! They're both alike, except for the no talking part. He'll talk enough for the both of them!"
The young monk turned to him, "Why are you always making amusement of me, big brother?"
"That's 'making fun', Omi."
They left the seventeen year-old in his room, while Kyōto took Kimiko and Raimundo back to the passage center and down the north hallway. There, he stopped at the end of the hall, at the last room on the left, Room 26. "This is yours, Asukura-san."
Taking a deep breath, she opened her door, not knowing what to expect. Looking toward her roommate's side, she saw it looked very much like Clay's décor (wild and western), but with a definite female theme.
"You're roommate is the only other girl here, Vicki Cahill. I believe she's from around the same area as Ranger."
"What's that door for?" She pointed to a small door almost hidden in the wall.
"That's a washroom. Every room has a small one. That, and a pull-down kitchenette, just in case we're under siege, flood, or something."
Rai looked around, "That fits. Look, Kim-ko, you get yourself together, then meet me later."
"What's your room number?"
He looked up at Kyōto for the answer, "Room 32"
"There you go, but just meet me downstairs, okay?"
"But I could help you—"
He waved her off with irritation, "No thanks, I'll just see you later."
He said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before following Kyōto, who had already moved across the way, to the west passage.
When they reached Room 32, Raimundo opened his door hurriedly in order to see what HIS roommate was like. What he saw, made him slightly disappointed. The décor was simple, with a black and white color scheme. There were no decorations around, except for black and white oriental rugs, and the bureau had been turned into half desk. It had a silver lamp in the corner, some manila file folders stacked nicely on the side, a CD player in the back, next to group of classical music CDs, and some dog-eared classic novels: The Jungle, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Les Miserables, and War and Peace, laid on top of a closed laptop.
Flipping through one of them, he stifled a yawn. "Do you think my new roomie would mind, if I didn't unpack till later? I'm think I'll get a nap in before this dinner." He checked out his closet, seeing several changes of the new black ninja uniform inside, just his size.
Kyōto leaned inside the doorway, smiling beneath his black mask. "No, I don't think I'll mind."
Rai looked at him with new interest, before curling up in his new bed and falling fast asleep.