World Class: A New Beginning, Part 4


    Sean Morrison glanced at his sleeping passenger for the drive back to Garden City, an Asian girl named Keiko.  A Kunoichi, a female ninja.  He felt very attracted to her, since he had a fantasy about knowing a female ninja as far back as he can remember.  But there was a dark side to knowing a real one...he knew she had secrets.  Awful, terrible secrets.

    He couldn’t bring himself to bother her about it, though.  She had been sleeping and oversleeping a lot since he met her.  And he knew it was more than the physical injuries from her escape.  She was exhausting herself psychologically too.  Maybe she could never stop thinking and worrying.

    Finally, Keiko awakened slowly.  She opened her eyes, and looked out the window, and then at Sean.  “How long was I asleep?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“A few hours,”  he replied.  “You missed the last rest stop, the next one’s a few miles away.”

    Keiko sighed.  “Okay.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Meanwhile,”  Sean said, bringing up a subject that’s been eating at him all night, “Tell me more about your Ninja training, and how you ended up here.”

    Her expression darkened.  She didn’t want to talk about it anymore.  It was something she was trying to leave behind.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Please?”  he begged pleasantly.

    She sighed again, and leaned back in her seat.  There were a dozen ways she could try to change the subject or distract him, but she didn’t think any of them were worth it at this point.  He was so focused, he would never let it go.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I suppose I have nobody but myself to blame for my situation,”  she replied in a lightly accented voice.  

    Her accent tended to creep in again when she paid more attention to what she was saying rather than how she was saying it.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I too was enamored with the ways of Ninjitsu, when I was young.  I took martial arts training in high school, and joined a...special martial arts school I went to after classes.  My parents thought I was in cram school.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Cram school?”  Sean asked.

    She nodded.  “Some Japanese students take school after school in order to improve their grades and test scores, or to get ahead of everyone else.  Anyway, my parents started to ask questions after I started to come home bruised.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I was in a...confused time, Sean,”  she said, “Not unlike many other teenagers.  Only I was confused about what was good for me.  Ninjitsu training is a rough place.  I made a terrible mistake leaving my home and my parents to join that school full time.  It’s like joining a war before you really understand it.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I was in a war,”  Sean contributed.  But then he shook his head and said, “Never mind that now, though, continue.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Five nine-person cells were being trained at once,”  she continued calmly.  “Each one with a master.  We were taught to be tough by fighting our own cell members.  We were taught to be a team by fighting other cells.  Really fighting other cells.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That sounds bad,”  Sean said.

    Keiko leaned forward, her voice a creepy sort of calm as she tried to control both anger and sadness.  “The school began with five cells.  They did not tell us the goal was for only one cell to graduate.  That the rest would die.”

    Sean took that opportunity to exit the highway before he lost control of the car.  His hands were shaking a little as he started to anticipate where this was headed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“One cell, Sean.  I was the only female.  Over half the cell were former military gaijin like you.  No offense.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“None taken.  Why were there so many?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The school had a contract with the Agency to train top assassins.  The school recruited in Japan, and when they did, they recruited young.  The trainees the agency sent were older, and much more prepared.  So they slaughtered us.  But they did not count on a young girl with a fascination for martial arts, who trained since eleven years old.”

    She looked at Sean, who was staring at the steering wheel, not really reacting visibly.  So she continued.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The winning cell was sent to San Diego, where we were sent for specialized training along with other graduating cells from other schools.  It was different than the school in Japan.  There, we respected each other.  In San Diego, I was taunted by the only other two females, and the males bullied and threatened me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Did they harm you?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They didn’t have the chance,”  she replied.  “I learned quickly that the school I came from was the best in the world for a reason.  These other trainees in San Diego were slow and clumsy in comparison.  I was quickly given World Class designation.  They were not allowed to touch me.  I was taught English and how to speak it well.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Before I saw action,”  she continued, “The other graduating cells had been condensed to one again.  Nine assassins total out of countless dozens, and the others are all dead.  Of my original cell, only I lived.  And today, my cell has two females, and seven males.  Five of those males were killed or captured in the line of duty.  So it’s just me, and the two males, and a female pursuing me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why haven’t they given up chasing you?”  Sean asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s the dark side of Ninja, Sean,”  Keiko explained.  “Nine people who are family.  We protect each other, but we also punish our own.  Usually with death.  There is no escape, there is no retirement.”

    Sean sighed.  The car had been parked and stopped for a while now, but he was still gripping the steering wheel as if it was about to go out of control.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Now tell me about your war, and why you didn’t tell me you were married.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Uh--”  Sean tried to speak, but he drew a complete blank.  “Um...maybe after we have dinner.”  He pointed through the windshield at a restaurant they stopped in front of.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay,”  Keiko agreed.  “I think I’m hungry from skipping lunch.  That’s why I’m extra cranky.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.  Cranky.”  Sean agreed distantly as he got out of the car.  As he walked to the door of the establishment, he finally had to ask Keiko, “How much of that story did you embellish?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You mean make up?”  she asked.

    He shrugged, but tried not to say yes.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“None,”  she replied, and she reached for the door.  Then she stopped and turned around.  “Am I...going to lose you over this?”  she asked.  “Am I going to wake up tomorrow and find you gone?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is that what you’d expect?”  he asked in return.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes,”  she replied sadly.  “Because I would.  This is why I’ve been keeping all of that secret.”

    Sean opened the door to the restaurant and led Keiko inside.  They were given a seat in a booth.  

    Both of them spent most of the short meal alternately staring out the window, and then at each other, except when they were ordering food.

    Finally, Sean spoke up first.  “You gave me a lot to think about, Keiko.  I mean, I was in a war, and...I thought I had horrible stories.  Why did you decide to tell me?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because I like you,”  she replied quietly while looking at the table.  “I like you a lot.  And I don’t want you to die because of me without ever knowing why.”

    Her eyes shut then, and she turned toward the window.  He could see that they were tearing up.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Dammit, why did I have to find someone I really like to take me away from danger?”  she whispered, her voice cracking a little.

    Sean reached over and took her hand gently, and he smiled a little.  “I think we’ve driven far enough today.  Let’s find somewhere to stay and get some rest, so we can leave early tomorrow and stay ahead of your ‘pursuers’.”

    The fact that he echoed her own words and drive surprised and amused Keiko, and she smiled, if briefly.  “Yes,”  she agreed.  “Let’s do that.”


---


    Sean resisted the temptation to ask for a single room while Keiko was distracted looking out the front door of the hotel.  He followed her eyes, and could tell she was genuinely worried that her lack of attentiveness might mean they had been followed without her realizing it.  He resisted that temptation, and instead surprised her with two single rooms with a door connecting the two.

    What was even more evidence of her silent distraction was that she followed him all the way upstairs to his room, and dropped her two bags on the floor upon entering.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Your room is next door,”  he corrected her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know,”  she replied.  “But I want to talk to you first.  You never answered my question.  Am I going to lose you over this?  Over what I told you?”

    Sean leaned over the duffel bags and kissed her once on the lips, gently.  He then pulled her closer, forcing her to hop over the bags to avoid falling over them, and he kissed her longer this time as he caressed her smooth, long black hair.

    He tipped backwards and gently landed on his back on the bed, carrying her with him, as he transitioned from a series of kisses to caressing her face and neck with his lips.

    Finally, she took a severe, deep breath and propped herself up on her elbows to create some distance, though he kept his hands on the small of her back.  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wait, stop,”  she protested.  “You’re married, remember?  I...I...can’t destroy your family.  I know I used to destroy lives, but I...can’t.  I like you too much.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah, well, if you like me...”  He shrugged and smiled.  “Besides, I bet you’re an amazing Ninja lover.”  When she giggled at that last part, he rewarded her with another series of kisses on her lips.

    She sighed deeply and loudly as she moved a little farther away again, and she pulled herself free of his hands.  “You’ve got to stop kissing me, it’s keeping me from thinking straight.  And I’m not a Ninja lover at all.  Or any kind.”

    Sean sat up too.  “Does that mean what I think it does?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m woefully inexperienced, let’s just call it that.”  Keiko replied, sounding a little embarrassed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“But...how?  In a cell with eight males?”  he asked.

    Keiko sighed.  “I suppose once I learned a lot of them were going to die, I didn’t want to get attached.  So none of them were more than friends.  And those cruel men in San Diego...no way.  No.”  She shook her head.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So I’m the first man you’ve even considered?”  he asked, feeling a little proud for that.

    She nodded.  “You are the first man I allowed to kiss me.”  Then she smiled widely and added, “And it was a...very rewarding experience.  But it’s a shame you’re already taken.  I don’t wish to be a home wrecker.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay,”  Sean agreed with a nod.  “You’ve been through a lot, I don’t want to pile more worries on your plate.  If you sleep with me, I want it to be for you, not for me.”

    Keiko slid off the bed and stood, and picked up her two bags.  She looked over at the door connecting the two rooms.  “Keep yours open,”  she teased.  “You never know.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah, yeah,”  Sean teased back, “I know you mean I never know if someone might attack.  Silly Ninja.”

    She walked out the door, dragging her two bags, and he sighed.

    Keiko entered her own room, threw the bags onto the dresser, and she sighed too.  She then sat on the edge of the bed, and marveled at how dead quiet and lonely it was in there.  She never had that problem before, she always valued her solitude.  But now, it bothered her so much that she wondered if she would be able to sleep.

    But the alternative...her heart still raced with the combined excitement of finding out what it would be like to make love, and sharing a very dangerous secret with him at the same time.  She was interested, but also terrified.  Those feelings too, would make it difficult for her to sleep.

    She stood again and walked slowly, almost zombie-like, to the door connecting to Sean’s room.  She knocked gingerly on the door, half hoping that he would be asleep so that would make the decision for her.

    No such luck, though.  He opened the door, and he smiled widely, and moved backwards as Keiko walked toward him.  Then she sidestepped, and quickly sat cross-legged on his bed.

    He approached her, but he could tell something wasn’t quite right, so he sat down beside her.

    Keiko lowered her head and explained.  “My...conscience is very broken.  I know it is.  I make all my decisions based on how they benefit or harm me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s not true, Keiko.  You ran from the Agency, which means it works.  You stopped me, which means your conscience works better than mine.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I can’t trust it though, Sean.  I’ve been through a lot of stuff that damaged it.”

    Sean placed his arm across her shoulders.  “So what do you want to do?  I said I wanted you to decide what’s best for you, and I meant it.  I want you to be left smiling, not crying.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Keiko smiled slightly.  “And I thank you sincerely for that.  But do you know what I really need for me?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“To let you decide,”  she whispered.

    Sean’s smile disappeared.  Suddenly Keiko seemed less like the exciting professional Kunoichi, and more like the frightened girl that joined a Ninjitsu school and had no idea what kind of hell she was in for.  Her eyes looked lost and empty, and he so much wanted to take that feeling away from her.

    He would have liked to make love with her all night, to show her pleasure and happiness like she’d never experienced.  But that was just it...he wasn’t sure that’s what she would get from it.  What if it was only temporary, and tomorrow she would be even more miserable and depressed than before?

    No, he had to make this decision carefully.  It was one that could separate yet another worthless one night stand of his from winning a friend for life.  But at the same time, he didn’t feel like she wanted to be alone.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Keiko,”  Sean whispered carefully.  “I want you to stay with me tonight, but just to sleep beside me.  Have you done that before?”

    She shook her head slowly.

    He smiled, and slipped her boots off, and then peeled back the bed covers.  She eyed him suspiciously as she slid between them, and to the far end of the bed.

    Sean climbed into the bed too, and slid backward to the center.  “Put your arm over me,”  he said.

    She shrugged and slid closer to him, and then wrapped her arms around his waist, lying her head next to his.  Then she smiled.  “This is kind of nice.”

    And that was all she said before she drifted off to sleep.


TO BE CONTINUED?
    


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2012 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- World Class and all characters therein are property of 
--    Strike Two and Jason Froikin.

...to make sure it doesn't become too formulaic from chapter to chapter. That would be bad.