My Ninja Girl 4 by Gideon Caldwell (latest novels to read .TXT) 📕

Dare I say, a destination wedding? How nice would it be to have one here?”  She smiled at her grandson, her gaze aimed just slightly over his shoulder as always. “Speaking of destinations, someone needs to take me to town today,” she said, switching subjects. “I’m ready to see what Muryane has to offer. Choro?”

“Why would I be the one that took you to town?”

“Because the others are going to be busy training. You’re not going to do any training, are you?” she asked just a little too harshly.

“I have other things to do.”

“Nonsense. You’re taking me to town, and maybe we will bring one of these monks or nuns to carry our bags.”

“A shopping trip?” Bunni chimed in. Yuri sat down at the table on Micah’s other side, the leader of the Royal Star Ninjas joined by Milsung, who looked as if she had just gotten out of the shower, her hair combed back, her eyelashes still a bit wet.

Micah’s grandmother shrugged. “Why not? For booze and other things. And don’t worry, you greedy fuckers, I’ll bring back something for everyone. We’ll make a day out of it,” she told Choro as the food came.

It was quite the spread, just as the meal had been last night, Soraya revealing that she had gone to a local market earlier in the morning with one of Youseg’s attendants, and that everything was fresh. They all had new clothes available for them now, Micah, Liza, and the ninjas in robes, Choro in civilian clothing along with Micah’s grandmother. There were other options as well, but because they would be training, Youseg, who had stopped by right before breakfast, had suggested the robes.

Micah didn’t know exactly what training would look like, and they speculated about it after their meal, as their food digested. He knew at some point he would have contact with an industria seed, which was something he was looking forward to. But he didn’t know how well he would be able to move objects as Youseg had back at the hotel.

The time came, and two monks with veils over their faces came to the table and let them know that Youseg was ready for them.

“I will see you all later,” Micah’s grandmother called to them, a big smile on her face as she turned to Choro. “I hope you’re ready to shop until you drop.”

Micah heard Choro groan, and he was looking back to offer his friend some support when Bunni hooked her arm into his. “Training, training,” she said in a singsong way. “Always training.”

“What else is there to do?” Soraya asked.

“There’s always something to do, my favorite little fox.”

Soraya slowed, and Bunni moved past her, the kitsune whipping Micah with her tail. Milsung and Yuri walked together, and Liza kept at the back of the group, all of them now with their weapons. They were led into the main temple, which was four stories high, topped by rabbit ear pagodas accented in gold paint. From there it was through a side door that led to an inner courtyard, where Youseg stood next to the industria seed.

“Before we get started, you will all need to activate the power. Unlike other trials, you won’t be able to attempt what we are about to do before you’ve activated the power. It requires activation first. Let’s begin.”

Youseg stepped aside and motioned toward the glowing green industria seed, which was kept inside an elaborately detailed case that reminded Micah of a birdcage. First up was Yuri, who held onto the seed for much longer than Micah knew he would be able to. She was followed by Soraya, then Bunni, Milsung, Liza, and finally Micah. Sticking his hand into the expertly crafted metal casing, he felt the seed’s energy almost immediately, yet it was different than what he had experienced before, the seed akin to a vortex, Micah feeling his life force was sucked forward in a way.

He stumbled backward and was caught by Bunni.

“Easy there,” she said as she slapped him on the butt.

“Maybe I held it for too long,” Micah told her.

“Not any longer than any of us…”

“It is time for the test to begin,” Youseg announced. “Before we get started, you should know that these are the same that were given to me many years ago. They can be a little frustrating.” The bearded monk motioned them forward, his attendants coming to grab the industria seed. Micah couldn’t help but feel drawn to the seed even as it left, almost as if a part of him was still attached to it in some way. Was this actually the case? Did a small part of him get left behind with each seed he interacted with?

They moved into a different courtyard where a platform had been erected, a space cleared in front of it. A pile of bricks had been stacked on the platform. Before any of them could comment on the set up, Youseg took a ladder to the top.

“Why do I feel like you’re going to start throwing those bricks at us?” Soraya asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

Youseg ignored her remark. “Who wants to go first?”

Yuri stepped up. “I will.” The others cleared back, the leader of the Royal Star Ninjas standing about fifteen feet away from where Youseg was perched.

“Wonderful. Please prepare yourself: I’m going to throw bricks at you. Your job will be to repel them by latching on to the industria that they are putting off and hurtling them to the side. If the brick comes to close to you, you can try to absorb it and redistribute the hit. Feel free to also cut it down with your blade, if you’d like, but I wouldn’t recommend that. The point in this exercise is to learn to latch onto a moving object. Are you ready?”

Yuri nodded.

Youseg lifted a