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

change how they react in a situation, which could very well push the prophecy closer to truth, ironically enough. There has been enough loss for now. It is a tragedy what happened last night, but this is the way of our world, especially when the stakes are as high as they are now.”

“And you really didn’t perceive this?” Micah asked. “Nothing like a battle between the ninjas or death of one of them?”

Youseg thought long and hard about this question. He bit his bottom lip and looked back up at the statue, finally shaking his head. “No. No, I didn’t, and I wish I had. When I first saw the blood last night, I thought it had been you, that your death had come early. You just need to be ready when the time comes.”

“I’ll be ready to the best of my ability,” Micah said, trying not to sound unsure of himself. He definitely was. No one liked to be told that they would die as part of some prophecy.

“Good, good. I’m sorry to bring this up, truly I am. But I wanted you to know everything, all of it. Better to be transparent than get blindsided later.”

“Thank you.”

Youseg rubbed his hands together. “Now, let’s have a light breakfast with the others, and then prepare for the ceremony. It will be a simple affair, one meant to push their industria on. Then the five of you will need to train more, if it’s a possibility. There is no moon tonight, so tonight likely would be the best time for you all to return to your country. Yes,” he said with a short nod as he squinted up at the sky. “We are racing toward the future faster than I originally anticipated. Let’s try to make the best of it until then, shall we?”

Chapter Eight

The funeral procession was brief. Everyone, including Micah’s grandmother, dressed in all white while Youseg chanted a few words in an ancient language, one that Micah hadn’t heard before. Micah didn’t even pretend to recognize the language that Youseg spoke, but he did notice it was different than the mantra he had learned, which led him to believe that it was an ancient Heian dialect.

Near the end of the funeral, as some of Youseg’s attendants burnt incense, Micah noticed a hint of green energy puff into the air, the butterflies hovering around the garden earlier gravitating toward it. They formed columns over both of the caskets, and while the event was utterly magical, no one said anything about it once it passed and the butterflies had fluttered away. Everyone who had witnessed it took it to mean something individually to them, that magic existed and all of it was linked to industria.

Or so Micah assumed.

Once again, Yuri showed no signs of emotion as she paused before her sister’s casket. The leader of the Royal Star Ninjas got down onto her knees and placed one hand on the casket, bowing her head forward. She did the same to Kami, and that was the end of it.

It was over almost as soon as it started.

“I’ve reached out to Bobi,” Choro told Micah once the funeral had officially closed, which was marked by Youseg releasing a pair of doves into the air. “He wanted to check in with you. Especially now that you are planning to leave tonight.”

“Not a bad idea.”

They returned to the residence. Both were still in their white robes, which draped long past their wrists and ankles. “We have training scheduled, but Youseg wants to give everyone a little time to reflect on Kami and Milsung’s deaths.”

“Makes sense. Even your grandmother has behaved herself today, which tells me everyone is…” Choro searched for the word. “Off? Not going to lie: this has been hard. I guess that’s what I’m trying to say here. I wasn’t close with Milsung; we never even spoke, really. But seeing the expressions on the others’ faces affected me in a way I didn’t expect it to. It would be like if you suddenly died, or something. Not that that’s going to happen…”

Micah didn’t answer as they climbed the stairs to Choro’s bedroom, vowing never to mention the prophecy to his friend. Choro had already relocated some of the items from Youseg’s tech room to the bedroom, Micah glad to see that it had plenty of space for him to stretch out. He seemed right at home here, and as he sat down in his chair, Micah remembered how Choro had been living back in Neo-Hokkaido, the cramped basement apartment in the Golden Trash District.

He placed his helmet on, which had been hanging on a coat rack in Choro’s room, mostly because Choro was running tests on the helmets they currently possessed, cords currently hooked up to Liza’s bucket. After the piece powered on, Micah said the not-so magic words, “Call Bobi.”

He was instantly greeted by the chipper AI. “I heard what happened from Choro. How incredibly horrible! Loss of human life is something that is so tragic to me. Is there anything I can do? Perhaps I can have some flowers gathered here in Woodsaka, although my mechas picking flowers does lead to a rather strange visual, and I don’t know what it would look like if they were delivered to your current location. People may not like that in Heian.”

“I’ll make it easy for you: we are coming tonight,” Micah told Bobi. “We will need to bury the two bodies somewhere. Any ideas?”

“I absolutely have an idea, one that I believe those that remain of the Royal Star Ninjas will agree upon. I’m assuming you would like to place them at the Tomb of the Unknown Ninja, correct?”

“The what?”

“Alas, so much of Neo-Hokkaidan history has been covered by this forest, at the same time as its people have forgotten where they come from. Not