The Unfinished Story by Char Marie Adles (best books to read in your 20s .TXT) 📕

I was and she had long black hair like mine to but she had a thin streak of brown form her left temple. She was thin like me and she had a chest to rival my own, but I was still prettier.
“Nice try,” I said hopping from the tree. “But you might want to try and not snap a twig under your foot next time.
She sighed. “I should have known. Anyway I came to get you. Miu wants you at the meeting for the next mission of our best group. Maybe she’ll make you one of us.” she smiled.
I smiled back, but it was a dry smile. Since I have gotten here I still had my wish, but I lived for the moment when fate would show me why I was still alive.
“Maybe,” I said and followed her. She led me back to the village and I walked off to the biggest house of
Them all. Miu was the leader of the village and the master of all the ninjas. She was sitting in the room where the twins still where. One was sitting up and the other laying down, but they were both awake. Their names where Jnii and the other was Kii. The only way to tell them apart was from the beauty mark under Kii’s left eye.
Quick footsteps came up behind me and thin muscled arms wrapped around me waist. Rin’s face popped around my shoulder.
“Hey big sister! You came back. Arrow said you ran away,” he said in his sweet young tenor.
I patted his head. “No I did not and it seems that now I’m fully healed I am going to have to kill him,” I said lightheartedly as I could. Arrow hadn’t come near me since that night.
He placed his head on my shoulder. “Not if I do first. Anyway I heard you’re going to be one of us! Good luck, we’ll have to see if you’re up to it.”
“Sure thing kid, now let me do my job.” he let go and followed me in. Kii didn’t talk, so Jnii talked for him.
“Good to see you here, “Jnii said with a grin. Kii smiled at me. He was very shy. He hid behind his brother the first week I took care of them. I sat over them and put on the medicine on their wounds. They were nearly healed.
“Looks good, you’ll be up and running in no time.” I said to him and then I went to his brother. I stared to pull back Kii’s blanket, but he tried to keep it up. “Let go I have to tend to them,” I said with a smile to ease him.
He shook his head.
I looked around. His brother was in the room Miu was cleaning up some stuff, and then there was Rin.
I looked back to him one eyebrow rose in question. He nodded.
“Can I have you guys leave for now?” I asked.
“Again,” they all asked at once.
I nodded. They sighed and left. Rin helping Jnii. When the door closed he let me pull down the sheet. The others were almost scars, but the one on his left shoulder was still deep and bloody. He looked at it and then away.
“It will heal. But I’m sorry, but you may not ever be able to hold anything heavier than a small knife ever again. I think it may be best if you stop being a ninja.”
His eyes snapped to my face, wide with distress.
“I know how you feel. This is all you know and you are scared at what will happen to you. So I will tell you a true story. The story of my life and how everything changed for me. I started at the same place you are now,” and so in a gentle voice I told him my story. His expression never changed from that unreadable mask till I was done. As I told him of Kail and the last time I had seen him, tear fill from my eyes and he lift a hand to brush them away. When I was done I was full out crying for the first time in weeks. I sobbed and sprayed my tears everywhere, but I tried to be quite about it.
When I was done I took a deep breath and smiled at him. “You see?” I asked.
His look said he understood, but that he didn’t buy my smile.
My smile slipped off, like water.
“It's painful, but it gets easier with time. Instead of being a ninja I can teach you medicine and you can be a doctor. Would you like that?”
He thought and nodded.
I smiled at him this time real and put on the new ointment I made. He hissed out a breath, but laid still. When I was done I looked him over. Both his back and his front were covered in g ugly scars, some he shouldn’t have survived. I touched one.
“You are very young. You should not have been hurt like this. You and your brother can’t be that much older than me.” I said, and pulled the sheet back up.
He gave me a strange look. And looked like he was trying hard to do something. Then he opened his mouth.
“…Se…ven…te…en…,” he said. His voice was dry and whispery, but he had one. I fell back in surprise and looked at him through my tangles of hair.
He laughed softly.
“Y-you just talked!” I said sounding like a moron.
His smiled turned into a grin and he nodded.
I sat back where I was before.
“So you’re seventeen?”
He nodded.
“And I’m guessing you’ve never talked to anyone before have you?” I asked.
He nodded.
“No even you’re brother?”
He looked sheepish, but shook his head.
“I think somehow I feel special,” I grinned at him, “I guess I’ll start teaching you when you’re better. I’ll tell the other for you, okay?”
He nodded.
“You’re just a bit older than me. My birthday is in a month, and then I’ll be seventeen,” I said with a smile.
He smiled back.
“Well I think I best go the meeting is soon,” I said standing, “I’ll be back later with supper.”
He smiled as a left.
When I was outside his brother stood up and went back in the room. I went to find Miu. She was up it the tree. I jumped up and sat down next to her.
“I heard something about joining one of your teams,” I said as I plopped down beside her.
“Yeah,” she leaned her hands on my knees, hunching over, “We’re going to need you. You’re a specialist in everything, and even thing we don’t know about. Your fighting skills are unbelievable; your senses are sharper than any of us has seen before.”
“You know,” I said leaning back and staring up, “It sounds like just what I need. I need something to vent all of my hate and anger. Plus Kii won’t ever be able to use his arm again for anything like that again. I think it’s for the best.”
“I know,” she whispered, “I’m the one who sent him on the mission, I’m the one that sent him knowing he would die, just like Rin.” she had her hands in her head.
“It is not your fault they told me everything. They came back.”
“If you had not been here all of them would have died! I put on that face that night, so you could know! I hate it! I hate being the Clan Leader! All I can do is make mistakes!”
“Then quit,” I said.
She looked up her tears gone, “What?”
“Give up then," I said with a shrug.
“But I can’t! I’m the only one who could do this for all of them! They need me!”
I smiled, and she stopped, getting my point.
“Oh,” she said.
“Yeah. You see, not only do they need you, you need them.”
She nodded.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then come on you have a meeting to start.” I said jumping out of the tree.
She followed and we went into the meeting room. Everyone was already there.
“Tonight I give you your next mission. The new emperor is being crowned in four days, Prince Ryuuko will be the next emperor and he will either start another fight in the war against the other Empire or he will end it. Since we don’t know it will be our job to kill him. We can’t have the risk of him adding more to the war. Too many people have died meaninglessly and we name to stop it before everyone die. Ash will lead the mission and kill him. We need him dead!” she slammed her fist on the table.
Everyone looked to me a nodded. Some smiled and others just stared.
Ryuu! I heard his ideas of how to improve the country and help it people! What am I to do?!
I nodded. I would have to find away to start the war and save Ryuu. He doesn’t deserve to die.
I touched the silver chain around my neck and the ring under my shirt. I was never able to give it to Kail.
“When do we leave?” I asked.
“Whenever you think is right.” Miu said.
I gripped the necklace. “We leave tonight.”
Everyone said, “Yes Leader!” and then when to get things ready.
As I tied the last black cloth around my head, we set out.
It took us three days of running to get to the camp where the army was waiting. We only had one day till the army was to move. Beyond the river the separated the two armies I saw just how bit the other one was. It was about the same size. Everything had to go the right way or everything would be lost.
“Shit,” I hissed. I turned to the other ninjas. “All of you are to go to the place I told you about and stay there till I call out to you, understand?”
They all nodded, and I slipped out of the trees and forest to run swiftly and silently into the camp. It was already night as the fires burned to light the camp. I hid in the shadows till I found the largest tent.
Two guards walked past the tent and I hide behind a poll. When they passed I slipped into the tent. In the far back of the tent, a form slept under covers on