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

“Yes, I would like to add that I believe Heian is an excellent place for you to escape to for the time being; that said, one of you is going to draw attention.”

Micah assumed that was him, but then he saw several of the women turn to Soraya, who continued to hack away at the deer carcass. She placed slices of meat on a slab of metal she had picked up in the area, scavenged from what looked to be a former village.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” Soraya asked, still cutting away at flesh.

“Heian is at war with Jokamatchi, and it has been for some time. Your presence there will certainly be noticed,” Liza said. “By certainly, I mean most assuredly. You’re going to be a target.”

“We could get her some rabbit ears?” Bunni suggested. “She sure would look totally ridiculous, the little fox with rabbit ears and a big fluffy tail.”

“Yuck. It would be a betrayal to my race to wear rabbit ears,” Soraya told the Plains Dweller flatly. “I can wear something over my head, and figure out what to do with my stupid tail.”

“Your tail isn’t stupid, it’s fluffy.”

“Unless…” Micah stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked to Bunni, and from there to the pile of mecha that Bobi was currently using as a host. “Maybe there’s a way around all of this, a way we can con ourselves into a nice place for the night. You said it was in the diplomatic area, where we will be coming out, right?”

“That’s right,” Bobi said.

Micah nodded. “I don’t know. It may or may not work, but it’s certainly worth a shot, especially because we won’t have any money when we get there. How about this?” Micah proceeded to tell them his idea, not able to hide the excitement in his voice.

At first, Soraya was skeptical, but Bunni and the others seemed to agree that it would work, or at least that it was worth a shot.

“As long as I’m treated like some sort of dignitary, I like this idea,” Micah’s grandmother said, seemingly ending the conversation. “Now, chop chop. Let’s eat this fancy venison and get the hell on with it. I’m getting grouchy.”

The forest floor rumbled as one of Bobi’s mechas touched down. He had waited until night to deploy it, the enormous robot landing with one knee down as compartments on its chest began to move, the sound loud enough that Soraya and Bunni placed their hands over their ear holes.

They’d eaten the meat that Soraya had prepared, and while it was gamey, she’d also found some herbs in the forest to season it with, giving it a touch of flavor, Choro predictably going back for seconds. Micah was certainly full, and he was glad for the after-dinner walk through whatever tunnel Bobi knew of, just to expend some energy.

Cha-chunk… chuh… chuh…

The crate that fell out of the robot’s chest hit the ground hard, the commotion causing Milsung to hop back and nearly draw her flail. The metal box started to shake, and as it did, the door popped open and a three-wheeled vehicle drove out.

“For your grandmother,” one of the speakers on the vehicle informed them. “I figured it would help her get around, especially through the tunnel we’re about to go through.”

“Finally,” his grandmother said she hobbled over to the three-wheeled vehicle, its tires thick and textured, clearly all-terrain. Micah didn’t know where Bobi got all the parts, but he assumed that there were plenty of pieces for him to work with in hidden chambers at the Temple of Healing, where the servers for the AI were housed, at least as far as he knew.

“Got one of those bad boys for me?” Choro asked.

“Fat chance.” His grandmother sat down on a flat cushion and got into position. A compartment on the front of the small all-terrain vehicle opened and a cylinder began to emerge from it, which caused Micah’s grandmother to laugh out loud.

“I didn’t know this was that kind of machine…” she said as she eyed the cylinder.

“The grip is for you to place your hands on to stabilize your ride.”

“What if I don’t want to stabilize my ride?” she asked Bobi, the AI not picking up on her sexual innuendo. “What if I want to let my hair hang down?”

Bunni did, however, the Plains Dweller roaring with laughter. The tall woman stood across from them, her large eyes reflecting some of the lights that Bobi had used to illuminate the abandoned village, a place once powered by industria and offering up a soft neon green glow.

“Shall we?” Soraya asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice. “The sooner we get to Heian, the sooner we can see if your little plan works.” She strolled past Micah and slapped him with her tail. “Well?”

“Let’s do it,” he said as he went for his backpack.

It wasn’t long before the vehicle was leading them forward, Bobi using it as their directional guide. The craft truly was built for this kind of environment, the compact vehicle even going over a small stream as it headed toward a copse of trees with trunks as large as transport slings. The vehicle came to a stop, Micah, Liza, Choro, and the ninjas pausing behind it. Once again, the ground began to rumble as a passageway emerged from the soil, tearing roots and rocks away in the process.

“Hold onto my handle,” the three-wheeled vehicle said, Micah’s grandmother snickering as she asked if Bobi preferred to use one or two hands. “Two hands is preferred, but one hand does the trick.”

His grandmother snorted with laughter, again. “I’ve heard that one before!”

The door on the passageway slid open and Bobi’s vehicle entered, the neon green glow of industria once