The next morning, I'm shaken awake by Josh. He's wearing a black shinobi shozoku, without the head wrap. "C'mon. Everyday, we get up at six, to wait for breakfast." Yawning, I sit up. "Where'd you get the uniform?" Josh reaches for a cardboard box I hadn't noticed before. Pulling out the material, he explains, "They came to measure us last night." Quickly, I undress, and put on the black uniform. Josh holds up the belt, saying, "These are different. The Eliminators have dark blue ones, while El Miedo sports a reddish-maroon color. From afar, it's hard to tell what shade the belts are, but that's the point." He tucks the head cloth into my jacket, and leads me out to stand in front of the screen. A few others are already out. One guy who isn't wearing a belt, glances down the hallway. Then, coming over to us, he introduces himself as Emilio Vasquez. "Yeah, I went to the Academy after Sanchez took over, but my sister instructed me to join you guys. Got an extra belt?" Josh ducks into his space, retrieving one for Emilio. Vasquez smiles. "Thanks." When he walks away, I whisper to Josh, "Why'd you have an another?" He swallows, and says, "Us old-timers are issued a new one each year." Nodding, I watch Skinny Asian come out of his room. It isn't long before Bonita puffs her chest into the hall. Lots of others line up in front of their spaces, none of which do anything to make themselves stand out. Suddenly, I hear the echo of dress shoes approaching. Carlos examines the hallway of people, then-quietly-saunters back to his office. Being at the end of the row of rooms, I wait patiently, until everyone ahead of me has filed out, to get to the dining hall. Josh finds his brother, Chris, and a few other members of the Eliminators, most of whom are Americans, so we sit with them at breakfast. The food-as I was to learn-proved good for your body, though it wasn't pleasing to the tongue. Feeling a little uncomfortable around these new people, I nudge Josh. "Oh, sorry. This is Carolyn, guys. She's my girlfriend, and also a new member of the clan." A blond-haired guy who looks about forty, whispers to Josh. Taking a sip of water, Josh replies, "Foster should be here soon. I'm pretty sure they didn't kidnap him. He can make it on his own." Right! I had forgotten that our leader was David Foster. David's surely the oldest one in the group, but he is quite clever. Chris Groban finishes his egg whites and stretches. "So, you found her at Juilliard?" Josh nods, swallowing. Chris eyes me. "And what makes you think she'll survive here?" Glaring at his brother, Josh replies, "Because I'm going to train her. We will not lose to El Miedo again." The younger Groban raises his eyebrows. Signaling for the others to follow, he exits through a side door. I place my hand over Josh's under the table. "You'll train me?" He smiles, nodding. His grin quickly vanishes, however, and he commands, "Let's go. We have much to do." Josh guides me out of the same door his fellow ninjas left through, into an arena. Careful not to show my amazement, I gaze around at the tournament grounds. It looks like something out of Kung Fu Panda, except the only animal here is Raphael's pet snake. There are spectator stands, and a separate viewing platform, for the masters. Pulling me along, Josh says, "The Battle will be fought there, but you will train in here." Grandly, he pushes open a set of double doors, revealing a huge gymnasium-type room. As I take it all in, I glimpse the blond guy from this morning throwing some type of weapon at a dummy. Squinting, I realize they're ninja stars. This place is alive with people, some fighting each other, some fighting dummies, and some training to master a specific obstacle. Josh drags me into a small room, adjacent to the gym. "Here is where the newbies come to learn. We'll start off with some basic combat skills." He goes through a series of moves that gives me a throwback to my karate days. I copy each technique with precision. After making sure I'm doing them right, Josh ruffles his hair, coming closer. "Now, I'm going to show you some easy defense skills. If anything comes at your throat, do this." He performs the maneuver slowly, as I follow along. Putting my left hand in front of my neck to block it, I use my right arm to force the opponents limb in another direction. Josh teaches me how to defend my chest, pelvis area and head. By the time he's done, we've both got sweat in our uniforms. I sit next to Josh, thankful for someone here who loves me. He glances at the doorway, then pulls my head to his. I'd missed his lips so much. Releasing, Josh leans his head back. "God, I've been needing that for a while. Okay, we can't let anyone from El Miedo know we are together. They'll use it as a weak spot to manipulate us." I understand, kissing him again. Afterward, he holds my head in his hands. Looking deep into my eyes, he promises, "I will not let anything happen to you here. This time, we will win." I smile, and head out to lunch, behind Josh. Now, I had one thing to focus on: help the Eliminators defeat El Miedo, or die trying.
