My Ninja Girl 4 Read online

  My

  Ninja

  Girl

  (Volume Four)

  By Gideon Caldwell

  Copyright © 2021 by Gideon Caldwell/Harmon Cooper

  Copyright © 2021 Boycott Books

  Edited by Adam Luopa

  Audiobook narrated by Tess Irondale, produced by Podium Audio

  www.harmoncooper.com

  All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Volume Three Recap

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Back of the Book Content

  Volume Three Recap

  (Contains spoilers!!!)

  My Ninja Girl Volume Three centers around Micah figuring out his role and what the growing politics are between the rebel group known as the Hermetics and his small team, as well as their role in what should happen next with the iniquitous Society of Monks.

  Distracted by a trip to Jokamatchi to have a hidden message translated, and his grandmother, Bunni, and Yuri’s capture, Micah doesn’t spend as much time learning to cycle industria as he would like… Micah is able to perform three unique tasks by the end of the third volume. He can activate something using his own industria, such as the helmet he wears and mechas in the forest of Woodsaka; he can absorb a strike and redistribute it; and he can heal others, but doing so requires him to take on the sickness or injury.

  Throughout the third volume, Micah also grows closer to Liza, the nun who is a member of the splinter group known as the Monks of Repose. New enemies have arrived on the scene, including clan hunters, who they appear to have killed off in the last battle, as well as two other Royal Star Ninjas from the past, Kami, a kitsune fond of flails, and Milsung, who is Yuri’s younger sister.

  At the end of the third volume, Micah, Liza, and Soraya rescue his grandmother, Yuri, and Bunni after Soraya learns to break mind control through a mantra, a power she activates at a temple run by a young rebel nun named Ahmey. Able to free Milsung from the spell keeping her on the side of the Society of Monks, their team escapes alongside Micah’s old friend Choro to Woodsaka, to regroup and hide out with Bobi the AI.

  Choro informed Micah just before he came for him that the Hermetics were planning to take Micah and his group into custody, leaving him in a situation where he now has enemies on all sides, the Hermetics and the Society of Monks both gunning for Micah and his companions.

  Chapter One

  Micah Regent was not at all surprised to see Soraya step out of the woods with a small deer slung over her shoulders, the kitsune in a pair of athletic shorts and a tight top accented by a neon yellow line, her midriff showing. Unfortunately, in his mad dash to rescue them, Choro had grabbed the first bag of clothing he could find, which happened to be one that contained solely exercise gear.

  This left Bunni, Yuri, Micah, Liza, and Soraya the option of what they were wearing earlier, which, depending on the person, ranged from monk robes to black Hermetics clothing, or workout gear. They had chosen the latter, Micah now in a pair of shorts and a shirt that was tight enough to show his muscles. It was an odd visual, one made even odder with Micah’s grandmother with a floral scarf wrapped around her head, in a sweater and a long skirt, and Yuri’s sister, Milsung, who wore black ninja attire, rippled bits of armor visible on her arms and legs.

  If there ever was a motley crew, it was the people Micah had surrounded himself with.

  It was warm out, and there was a breeze moving through the trees, Bunni standing outside the group with her glaive in her hand, taking her turn at guard for now. They were in a part of Woodsaka that had once been a village, a different one than they’d visited before, Micah not quite sure of their actual location. He didn’t know if they were closer to the Jokamatchi border, or perhaps the livable part of Woodsaka, with its ancient cobblestone streets and pagoda-topped temples. There really was no telling, the forest stretching in every direction and obscuring any recognizable landmarks.

  Regardless of how well they had hidden, Micah and his crew had been extra cautious over the last couple hours; they didn’t know if they had been tracked by the monks or the Hermetics, and they weren’t taking any chances. If that were the case, at least one of them would be ready, which was why Bunni stood guard.

  “What are we supposed to do with that thing?” Choro asked Soraya, an eyebrow raising as he watched the kitsune manhandle the deer.

  “This thing?” Soraya replied. “We are supposed to eat this thing.” She began dealing with the carcass using one of her kunai. “Milsung, I could use your help.”

  Milsung, who was the spitting image of Yuri with her dark hair and fit frame, began assisting the kitsune while Yuri gathered wood for a fire. Micah soon joined the leader of the Royal Star Ninjas, finally getting a moment to catch up with her.

  “How are things?” he asked, noticing a hint of exhaustion in Yuri’s eyes. He didn’t blame her; up until a few hours ago she had been held prisoner.

  “They’re better,” she said. “It has been a rough couple of days.”

  “I’ll never be able to forgive them for taking you. I know that sounds stupid, but… I just can’t believe… I’m so glad they didn’t hurt you. Wherever we settle next, I want to spend some time with just you and me,” Micah began to tell her, which was something that had been on his mind ever since they reached Woodsaka. “I don’t feel like we’ve lost touch or anything, but you being kidnapped, and me being away from you, I just want to, I just need to…” He cleared his throat. “I just want to be closer to you. Maybe I’m saying too much right now…”

  “No, it would be nice,” she said, a softness taking shape on her face, her fondness for Micah clear as day. “Help me gather wood. At least we can do that together.”

  “It’s a start, right?”

  “Look at you two going off into the forest to fuck like a pair of horny little Plains Dwellers,” Micah’s grandmother said once they stepped away from the group. She sat on a stump, her feet on the ground, arms crossed over her chest. Over the last hour, she had mostly bitched about their current location, and didn’t seem too keen on possibly staying in the woods that night, something she continually let them know.

  “We are just collecting wood for a fire,” Micah reminded her. “To cook the deer. Remember the deer? The one that Soraya just killed for us?”

  Micah’s grandmother grunted. “Can’t you get on the horn or something with that robot friend of yours and find us a place to stay that’s better than this? How about an actual hot meal? Not one served up over a campfire. Look, I’m not asking for a three-star hotel that comes complete with a manservant who has a thing for sexy older women, but there has to be a better place than this uniquely damp and dirty forest floor.”

  An ancient mecha nearby, which was collapsed into a pile of corroded metal, came alive, its head swiveling, a single light turning on. “Hello, Micah’s grandmother, I am Bobi,” it said in a voice that oscillated between different pitches. “To answer your question, I brought you to this region because it is secluded. It’s been years since someone has been this close to the woodland border between Heian and Neo-Hokkaido. You are safe here.”

  Micah’s grandmother grabbed a stick and pointed it at the anci
ent mecha. “Don’t scare me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack, and if I died, all would be lost. What would this group do without their leader? Fearless leader, I may add.”

  Bunni laughed. “You really are definitely our fearless leader, Granny. I believe it if you do.”

  “You bet your rabbit ears and cute little cottontail tush I am. Now, since we’ve had a vote…”

  A vote? Micah thought. Rather than contest what his grandmother was rambling on about, he continued gathering sticks to be used as kindling. As he searched for wood alongside Yuri, his grandmother heatedly explained why they would not be staying in the forest tonight, Bobi listening intently and not interrupting her once.

  “I didn’t expect you to stay here,” the AI finally said after she finished her colorful diatribe on her disdain for camping. “I figured you would eat, and then I would show you the back way into Heian. That is a viable option, is it not?”

  “So that’s the plan?” Soraya asked as she continued working on the deer carcass. “That’s where we are going? Because I don’t remember us ever deciding on where we would go next. I figured we would camp out here for a few days.”

  “You figured wrong, fox,” said Bunni.

  “There’s nothing wrong with camping…”

  “I don’t see a spa around here for me to soak in, nor do I see a comfortable bed. I’d say that’s two things wrong with it.”

  “I’m with her,” Micah’s grandmother chimed in. “We aren’t staying in this forest, that’s for damn sure. I may be poor, but I’m not that poor.”

  “Did someone say Heian?” Milsung asked. Yuri’s sister almost smudged a bit of deer blood on her head but stopped herself just in time, wiping her arm against the deer’s carcass instead. “Aren’t we at war with the Plains Dwellers?”

  “No, that’s not this time period,” Yuri said.

  “Yay, we aren’t at war with me!” said Bunni.

  “We’re not really at war with anyone, aside from a continued cold war with Jokamatchi, who happens to be at war with Heian,” Micah told her. “Mostly, it seems that Neo-Hokkaido is at war with itself, the Society of Monks a big part of it, and the other countries are just on the outer rim of our own civil conflict.”

  “That sounded smart,” Micah’s grandmother said. “Maybe you should figure your way back to college once this is all over. I’m not saying you got what it takes to be a doctor, but you could go for a liberal arts degree, something to pump up the knowledge you seem to like sharing.”

  “Don’t forget the Hermetics, they may be hunting for us as well,” Liza added. The nun stood near Micah’s grandmother with her hands on her hips. She had just finished a patrol around their temporary camp, and had both her swords sheathed on her back. Her helmet was still on her head, which looked odd with her athletic gear, Micah seeing himself in the reflection as she turned to him.

  “How far are we?” he asked aloud, figuring Bobi would pick up on his query.

  “We are precisely two hours away via an underground passage to Muryane, Heian’s sprawling ground district,” the AI informed them, his voice still oscillating tones. “As you all know, or maybe you don’t, there are three main districts in Heian, one of them on the ground and two in the sky, Lepus and Tapeti. Because Muryane is the size of all of the land area available in Neo-Hokkaido, don’t be fooled by the fact that there are only three districts. It is quite large, and the area that we are going into is near the diplomatic blocks, which makes sense considering its proximity to the border.”

  “Anything else you would like to add before you let the adults talk?” Micah’s grandmother asked the AI.

  “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 gr
een 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 again lighting their pathway forward, the corridor wide enough for them to be able to walk three people abreast if they wanted to. It was damp inside, and it smelled of wet metal, but the space seemed safe enough, many of the surfaces smooth with small grooves in them to provide better traction.

  At the back of the group now, Micah kept his backpack on the front of his body, his upgraded bucket helmet inside, as well as his prosthetic gatling gun, wrist shield, and several charge packs. He had used the energy weapon to light the fire earlier, Micah well aware that once he ran out of charge packs that he would need to figure something else out. There was always Liza’s stash, but the heat was currently on, and it was going to be increasingly difficult for them to travel in public in Neo-Hokkaido, especially now that they were most certainly on the Hermetics’ radar.