~Chapter 2~
Nya's pov
The door opened to a small, old lady.
"Oh, hello, I've been expecting you, girl" She said, giving me a really creepy, wrinkly smile. Ah, youth, why do you leave everyone eventually? I thought sadly.
"Looks may be deceiving, girl" she continued, eyeing me.
"Oh, yes…. I'm looking for a…" I stuttered, for some reason this lady gave me the creeps. I looked at the piece of paper Sensei gave me. "A Tara, Lost?" I asked, hoping I had gotten the wrong address.
"Oh, yes that's me!" Came a little voice from behind the old lady. "Thank you Ms. We" She said, the old lady left after looking me over one more time. Ms. We? Hmm, I'll ask Sensei about her later, how did she know I'd come? Had Sensei already called?
"Yes, how may I help you?" asked the same voice, but now I could see who, whom I guessed was Tara, was like.
She wasn't short, but wasn't tall. She had wavy long light brown hair that was out and reached passed her shoulders, dark brown eyes and was wearing black flats, a short, plain short-sleeved black dress with a frilly waist-apron on, maid's clothes. This is definitely the girl I was sent to take back to the bounty.
"Oh, yes Tara. I was sent to guide you to the bounty, see my Sensei-". But she didn't let me finish.
"The bounty? Oh, yes I knew this day would come. I-", this time I cut her off. Does she think we want her as a ninja?
"We would like to hire you as our housemaid, for we don't have the kind of time to clean, and some of us can't cook." I wasn't about to let the 'Duck Chowder Accident' happen again.
"Why yes, of course! When shall I start?" she eagerly responded quickly, eyes widening in anticipation. I don't quite know why, but I kind of liked her already.
"I'll have to take you to back to the bounty, first. To meet the great Sensei-" She interjected. She appears to have a habit of that. "Wu. I know, well here are the essential cleaning tools, I'll leave them on the bounty overnight." She said grabbing a full cardboard box.
Kai's pov
Where was Nya? I noticed her and Jay returning from their date, but I hadn't spoken to either of them, I was too busy playing 'Foot-To-Face: Finish The Feud'.
Well, I'd looked in her bedroom, the deck, the games room, and even the kitchen, and still hadn't found her. So, I went to find Sensei, he did know everything, after all.
After I entered his quarters, and asked him the question that plagued my mind, he didn't even open his eyes he answered.
"Actually, she is out on an errand for me. She will be back soon enough," That was all it took me to leave. Why didn't someone tell me that when I began looking for her?
Nya's pov
"So, who was that woman at the door?" I asked Tara, trying to spark conversation.
"Oh, Ms. We? She is the land lord, and likes to stay over; she's actually quite nice and wise when you get to know her," She sure seemed wise… but nice? No, I don't think so.
"Well, we're here!" I tried to sound excited, motioning towards the landed ship before walking on board, preparing to give her a quick quiet tour as to not wake the hopefully sleeping ninja up.
I didn't get any sleep.
I had to guide Tara back to her place after our little tour and discussion. I was the last one to go to bed, Sensei have headed in for the night after we both left, before I returned.
Just as I expected, when Tara and I arrived at the bounty, the guys were already in their bedrooms, fast asleep. They were resting, preparing for Monday, the hardest training day of the week. When Sensei really pushed them.
The little 'talk' we had with Tara was a little strange. I couldn't help but think about it over and over again.
I gave her a quick tour, nothing too detailed, just enough so she got the idea of how much work it would be if she were to accept our offer. Though we never really asked…
And when we went to Sensei's room, he was sitting on the floor waiting for us, just as he always is. Sitting and waiting.
And for once, I didn't see him as Sensei, I saw him as a wise and powerful being. In that awestruck moment, I was just glad that he was on the right side. The good side.
Tara's pov
"Ah, you're here. Now, let's talk business." Sensei Wu's voice was wise, like Ms We's, yet kind.
"We cannot pay you, but will give you accommodation, and food. That you will cook. I know you are not used to sitting, and eating with your employer, but you will be a 24/7 maid."He had said it as if he knew I would say yes, I don't know why, but, I was drawn to that place. A connection I knew I couldn't break.
Even if I wanted to more than anything.
Zane's pov
I am still confused about last night. I am not quite sure if what I saw was a vision or not.
After I, and my brothers, went to bed I could not quite find my sleep mode.
I felt another presence, a new presence, so I got up and looked around. Knowing something was going on, something I had not been informed about prior to that moment.
I walked around a corner and saw two young women whispering, the one on the right I recognised as Nya, but the other was the interesting one. My servers told me she was special, but I did not know how. She had frizzy, light brown hair, dark brown eyes. I felt no physical attraction toward her, I felt like I should protect her, like Kai over Nya, yes…I felt like her brother. And I knew,
she was to be my sister.
And I would do anything to protect her.
~Next day~
Tara's pov
Well, let me rewind.
So, I woke up really excited about my new job. As soon as I had gotten home from the bounty last night, I had packed-up all my things. Somehow, Ms. We knew I was moving out. She's so wise, I don't know what I'll do without her.
She and my sister are the only ones who know about 'my weirdness' as my sister calls it. Oh, I'll tell you about it later.
As soon as I got there Nya was waiting for me. We went inside, and there was Sensei Wu. But the people behind him were the interesting things.
One was cheeky, I could tell. He was looking at Nya like she was the queen or something! Haha! Oh, love! He was wearing a blue ninja suite.
The next was watching the blue one and Nya with an amused smirk. And looked a lot like Nya. A brother. Oh, I know my similar-looking siblings, okay? He was wearing a red ninja suite.
The other one looked kind, he had a smile on his face. I know I can trust him. How? Ok, I don't know that, but I can. He was talking to Sensei Wu, and was wearing a white ninja suite.
Oh, and there was one more. He seemed blended into the shadows, or maybe it was just his black ninja suite and black hair. He was staring right at me, I felt so self-conscious. His eyebrows were in a frown. I couldn't tell if he was angry at me or if he was merely thinking, but either way, there seemed to be something on his mind.
"Oh, you're back Nya. And you have Tara. Come Tara, meet the ninja." He said in his wise and all-knowing voice. He signalled me over, so I walked up to him.
"The blue one is Jay, the ninja of lightning." He directed his hand towards Jay.
"The red one is Kai, ninja of fire," He said while motioning to Kai. He smiled.
"The white one is Zane, ninja of ice," He continued. Zane smiled sweetly, and waved.
"And the black one here is the leader of the team and ninja of earth, Cole," He said. Cole was still staring at me with a frown.
"Uh, hi, I'm Tara," I said to all of them awkwardly with a little wave and smile.
"Sensei, can I speak with you?" Cole said, giving me a glance over. Sensei nodded and all the ninja moved into the kitchen.
"So, do you want to know where your room is?" Nya asked from behind me, I turned around and gave her the sweetest smile I could muster.
"Thank you, that would be really kind of you," I replied. I was a little upset, I could tell they didn't know I'd be coming.
And I hoped they didn't mind.
"So, you and Jay, huh?" I said as Nya guided me down the halls. She stopped.
"Yeah, Sensei sent for me to get you right after a date." She said slightly bitterly. I tried not to tell her how it wasn't my fault in the most defensive manner imaginable. It was a rather difficult restraint.
"I'm really sorry, I had no idea about any of this either." I tried to soften the blow, though knew she hadn't really needed it. Nya seemed like a very capable young woman, someone who I'm sure I'll have no trouble admiring.
"Well, here's your room. You may unpack." She continued as she opened a door. She turned and left. I was alone, in the middle of a flyable ship, that I don't know my way around. Great.
All the time I spent unloading my bags and arranging where to put my belongings I couldn't help but let my brain wander to the most unexplained part of my life.
My sister likes to refer to it as my 'weirdness. 'It is a sense of sorts. When I close my eyes and concentrate, I find myself observing my surroundings through foggy glass. It has no identifiable colour, I just see where objects and people are. No, I feel them, as if I am merely an entity, constantly searching for something unknown. Sadly, I only began to notice it at the age of fifteen, well beyond the age of hide-and-seek. Though it would have been useful.
Slowly, I eventually made it back to the dining room where I heard voices in the kitchen. Not wanting to interrupt, yet having no problem with eavesdropping, I leaned closer to the door connecting the dining hall to the kitchen. They were still in there, and I could quite clearly make out their words, even if they were ninjas.
"I know and understand Sensei. She could also be helpful for staying in the bounty if all of us are required on a mission, but why weren't we notified first? I mean, she could be evil for all we know." Cole's rough voice put forth, though I knew he was exaggerating with the evil part.
"Yeah, she could be in kahootz with the serpentine!" Jay's more shrill voice exclaimed.
"Please, my students, as I aforementioned, I looked very closely to where she came from." Sensei Wu replied easily, keeping his patience, though I knew it must be wearing thin. It took me half an hour to empty my suitcase, and it appeared that they had been there the whole time. If that is correct, this conversation must have gotten tiring.
"Cole, I know you and your team deserve to know everything that goes on in the place you live in, but, not even I knew this was to happen so soon."
