Chapter 33: Broken Trust and Hearts

Ever since Kappei became the Ninjala Champion, his popularity grew to the point that Coral and her friends invited him more often to hang out with them. He still sticks with his peers but all this is making Emma more worried about him and herself.

Right now, class is on and Sensei Tatsu has some news for the class.

"Firstly, congrats Kappei for winning the tournament and for earning the class victory for the whole class. By now, the whole class should have received the credit deposits." He announced as all cheered for him. "Victree! Victree!" Gumchi cheered also as Sensei Tatsu continued on. "All that is left is the homecoming dance. Everyone is to attend unless you have a serious and personal issue going on."

This made the boys excited especially Kappei as his mind thought of Coral. "During the weekend, the school had you do a survey right?"

"About which boy is the perfect candidate for Homecoming King and which girl is the perfect candidate for Homecoming Queen, correct?"

"Correct Colette. The results are that 5 nominees from each of the respective genders are selected already. Kappei, you're one of them for the boys and Emma, you're one of them for the girls."

Everyone got more excited and cheered loudly for them and Gumchi jumped up and down happily. They couldn't help but smile shyly about being nominated.

"Now here's something all of you might want to know. This coming summer vacation on June, we have something called, the Ninjala Summer Sports Olympic Games."

"WOW! Is it like the Sports Festival?" Kolton asked.

"Something like that. Now it'll be on live TV and if you guys wanna travel to the location to watch it, also can. If you guys wanna participate in the sporting events, you can check out the school bulletin board outside the principal's office to sign up. Sporting activities are listed there and it'll be up after school." Sensei Tatsu explained as he took out some papers and had Gumchi pass one to each student. "On these papers are extra subjects for you all to take for the next school year. Many options but you can only choose one. Also, pick another 2 more just in case you might not get the first option."

All went to read the papers for the extra subjects.

Design and Technology
Food & Nutrition
Art
Music
Foreign Languages
Accounting
Literature
Drama

As everyone read through, "Kappei, have you decided what to choose?"

"Don't know Emma. I'm deciding whether I should choose Food & Nutrition or any other subject that I can try to gain some skills on." He replied.

"Your grandfather can cook right? And you did pick a bit of his cooking." Emma brought up. "Maybe you can go the extra mile and learn some new skills. Since you enjoy eating your favourite foods, you can try cooking your own and sampling them for a taste test. Even so, you can enhance them for better taste and flavour."

"Yeah...you're absolutely right on this one! I've made a decision now!" Kappei ticked the box beside the Food & Nutrition option and surprisingly, Emma also ticked the same thing as him. For the other 2 options, they randomize.

A while later, Gumchi collected the papers and handed them back to the teacher. "Excellent. Alright students. Let's head to the dojo and practice on some ninja arts. After that, the rest of the afternoon is yours."

All complied, packed up and left the classroom following their sensei.

In the afternoon...

"Ah...breakdancing with Jordan and the other club members was invigorating." Emma thought as she fixed her locker when her extreme hearing became active and it sent a chill down to her spine.

"Hey Kinner...are you sure about this?"

"Of course Lunky! We're promised to be part of her inner circle once she initiates her master plan on this school!"

"Master plan? You mean..."

"Yeah. But not here, we're meeting with some others at the back of the school under the bleachers tonight at 9pm."

"Why at this timing?"

"Because no one would be around at this timing and that way, we can discuss without being spied upon."

This made Emma worried but knowing that some evil scheme is being cooked up, she decided to investigate.

At the same time, "Whoa...there's basketball, dodgeball, beach volleyball, track and field and archery." Kappei read.

"There's also close combat and swordplay." Davis read and the 2 of them smiled and wrote their names under the swordplay event for Summer Olympics.

At the back of the school that night...

"It's almost 9pm and I have to know what is going on..." As stealthy as a ninja, she crouched carefully to one of the bleachers and there, she saw Kinner, Lunky, Bogs and Frenk waiting there and then, Speedster, Lasher and Dennis showed up followed by Peggy, Jannie and Opal as the 10 sophomores gathered together for some briefing.

"Okay. Everything is still going according to plan." Peggy began. "In a recent update, Coral has successfully rallied all available Expelled members to be part of the plan."

"Even the ones that went to jail?" Jannie asked.

"Yes. She was able to bail them out." Peggy revealed.

"Nice. What else should we know?" Opal asked.

"Okay. On her orders, I need brief you all one more time on her master plan since Kinner, Lunky, Bogs and Frenk have joined our cause."

"Boring. But whatever, I might forget a bit so proceed on." Lasher told her.

"Good. On the night of the homecoming, Coral will secretly bring in all the Expelled to the school and secure. Nobody goes out of this school. Not even one ninja." Peggy told them. "And when all of us are in position, she'll make her move and all we have to do is seal off the access points of the gymnasium while the Expelled will smokebomb inside and apprehend everyone inside!"

"What about that Kappei dude?" Lasher asked.

"Leave him to Coral. She wants to make 'use' of him. I wish I knew what she'll do but orders are orders." Peggy replied and hearing that name made Kinner and his thugs pissed them off.

Emma gasped at the plan as she decided to leave when she stepped onto an empty can and then, "Hey...you hear something?" Dennis asked.

"Uh-oh. I better leave!" Emma started running as Speedster dashed in. He looked around and dashed around the field with his powers active. A while later, "I don't see anything."

"Close call. We better leave too before the curfew." Peggy told the group and they split up. Once they're all gone, Emma emerged from a shadow. "Thanks to the ninja arts, I'm able to run and hide in the darkness. Now I need to tell Kappei everything that I've heard."

Meanwhile...

"Finally...I got my best suit for the dance early! Hopefully I can ask Coral out and we'll be dancing like...like...ah I have no idea to say." Kappei placed his tuxedo in his wardrobe when his phone rang. Picking it up, "Hello?"

"Kappei. We need to talk."

"Emma? Why do you sound serious?"

"We really need to talk right now!"

"Sigh...alright. Where do we meet?"

It cuts to them by the school gate and the time now is 10pm.

"So Emma...what is that you want to talk to me about?"

"Coral is not what you think she is! My hearing eavesdropped an evil scheme!" She revealed to him.

"You're kidding me?" He asked feeling dumbfounded at this.

"I'm serious! She along with all those she hangs out with and a few others have planned something disastrous during the homecoming dance!"

Kappei was greatly confused. "I...I find it hard to believe."

"And why is that?" Emma asked.

"Look Emma, I've hung out with Coral and her peers a lot and they never show any evil intentions around me."

"Maybe. But now I'm telling all this because I heard her peers talk about attacking the school during the homecoming dance with all the Expelled on their side!" Emma revealed to him.

"Impossible! The Expelled as far as I know would never associate with this school!"

"Using unknown methods, Coral was able to rally all of them under her command. We have to warn the others about it!"

"No they won't believe us. And like I said just now, Coral wouldn't show any evil intention around me. So in other words, Coral is still the nice, cute and easygoing girl in my eyes." Kappei declared and in his mind, he can't wait to ask her out to the dance.

This made Emma unhappy. "You disappoint me Kappei."

"Excuse me?"

"You disappoint me!" Emma shouted. "Ever since you won the tournament, you've been hanging out with them more than me and the others!"

"Oh come on, they just want to invite me to hang out with them. Nothing harmful has happened to me in all the times we hang out." He replied.

"They only do this to find a way to use you! They also mentioned that Coral might want to 'use' you for her so-called master plan!" She revealed some more.

"Sheesh Emma can you drop the nonsense? It's starting to get extremely annoying ever since you started blabbering all this about Coral."

"NO! I'm telling you all this for your own sake! I worry about what will happen to you once Coral and her friends make their move and even use you! It's getting more dangerous as you hang out with them more!"

"Emma can you shut up and stop trying to claim that Coral is evil."

"How can you say this to me? I'm trying to protect you from their influence! Look at you! The way you talk now is like you're becoming one of them! Please Kappei...open your eyes before it's too late..."

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! YOU KNOW WHAT? I WISH WE NEVER MET IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

That, was the last straw. And Kappei was struck with guilt over the fact that he had unintentionally did it. Emma is even trembling in shock as tears flowed from her eyes. "Emma, I-"

"PAK!"

Kappei felt that on his left cheek as he fell onto the ground. It was a pretty hard one. "FINE! BE THAT WAY! I ALSO WISH WE NEVER MET!" Emma shouted back and then, burst into tears and ran back to the female dorms crying along the way.

Getting up, "EMMA! EMMA! WAIT!" Kappei called out to her but was ignored. "Emma...I...I..." Kappei felt his heart break over his actions and her emotions as rain began to pour. Tears are now on his eyes as he walked back to his dorm slowly and with his tears now flowing down his face as the rain became heavy. "What have I done..."

(BGM and song: Only Love by Trademark)

Back at his dorm, Kappei sat on his bed and with his hands on his face, he wept.

At the same time, Emma took her pillow, covered her face and cried out her sadness.

Some time later, Kappei looked through his phone at some pictures of him and Emma. His finger twitched on deleting them but he ended up closing the app. He can't do it. He couldn't throw those memories away.

The scene shifts to Emma still crying until she stopped to check her phone. Looking at the images of herself and Kappei, she ended up crying on her pillow some more.

A while later, it's bedtime and Kappei can't sleep as he clenched his fists. He's confused, worried and feeling uncertain about himself and Emma. What will he do about it? If only he could fix it...

As for Gumchi, he just showed up and checked on Kappei. Noticing his sadness, he nudged him but was ignored. Gumchi felt concerned for him and because it's sleepy time, Gumchi ended up going to sleep.

It then cuts to Emma looking up at the ceiling still feeling the sadness. How will she ever be with him? She felt like giving up but she couldn't. In her mind, she still believes that there is a piece of him that she knows well remaining in him. If only she could fix it...

By the time it reaches 2am, both still can't sleep over what transpired just now. Truly they are broken on the inside and their pain is emotional. Will there be a piece of hope to light up the way for them to at leas reconcile? Time will tell.

Time...

Will...

Tell...

(End BGM and song)

Oh no! Their hearts are broken, their connection is severed! How will they ever patch it up?! Poor Emma...she feels hopeless in being unable to convince Kappei about Coral's true colours and worse, she lost the chance to dance with him!

What will happen next? Well, the homecoming dance is next and it will have 3 chapters for it. You all just wait and see what happens next. See ya!