Ninja Stars

Chapter 4

“I can’t believe you got us into this,” Ling growled. He and Mayumi were now in the middle of the rainforest. Normally, the rainforest was filled with exotic animals and plants, but today, the whole place seemed to be deserted. Not one spot of color other than green or brown had been seen all day, and they were starting to wonder if they were going in circles. Ling began to sharpen his ninja stars as they walked, but Mayumi was so focused on the map that he didn’t have time to think about much else than getting to the Americas.

“It’s not my fault, Ling. You were the one who teased me at breakfast, and gloated when you won in sword-fighting,” replied Mayumi.

“Well, I can’t help the fact that you’re a terrible sword-fighter, Mayumi. That crazy old nut for a Sensei was actually right for once. You are just like your father: terrible at sword-fighting but good at getting his superiors into sticky situations,” Ling scoffed.

Mayumi stopped dead in his tracks. He flipped around to face Ling, and bellowed, “YOU ARE NOT MY SUPERIOR! IT’S NOT MY FAULT WE’RE IN THIS JUNGLE, AND SENSEI IS NOT STUPID! EVER SINCE THE DAY WE ARRIVED AT THE DOJO I DIDN’T WANT TO QUARREL WITH YOU! IN FACT, FOR A SPLIT SECOND, I HAD ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT WE COULD BE FRIENDS! BUT NOW I KNOW I WAS WRONG, LING! ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS CRITICIZE ME, DON’T YOU?! WELL, I DON’T CARE ANYMORE! LET’S JUST GET THIS ASSIGNMENT DONE, BEFORE WE BECOME VOLCANO FOOD!” Mayumi paused for a second, panting. Ling was completely taken aback at what Mayumi had said, so much so that he didn’t even have a comeback. He just stood there in silence, while Mayumi continued, “My father wasn’t bad at sword-fighting. In fact, he was the best ninja this dojo has ever had. Yes, he ran into some tough situations, but not with his superiors, with his friends. Getting into trouble is what being a ninja is all about, Ling. Don’t you understand that?”

Ling didn’t say anything except, “Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time already.”

Mayumi and Ling walked on in silence; Mayumi was following the map, but Ling had given up sharpening his ninja stars and was now devoting his time to staring at the ground, apparently lost in thought.

Mayumi was still fuming at Ling two hours later. Ling, however had not made even the smallest noise since the argument, but Mayumi didn’t care.

“Every time Ling opens his fat mouth, only hatred comes out,” he thought, “it’s about time he learns to keep it shut.” All of a sudden, there came a small noise from behind Mayumi.

“What’s a father like?” Ling asked under his breath.

Mayumi stopped.

“You don’t know what having a father is like?” He replied.

“No.” Ling was barely at a whisper now. “My father was always on ninja missions when I was little, so I never actually got to know him. Then one day, while on a mission to the Americas, he disappeared. No one ever found him.” Then, for a second, Mayumi thought he saw a single tear trickle out of Ling’s eye.

“Ling, are you crying?” Mayumi asked tentatively.

Ling sniffed, “No, I just poked myself… in both my eyes!”

Mayumi paused before saying, “I’m so sorry about your father.” After thinking for a minute, he added, “I never knew that you had a soft side.”

“Well, don’t get used to it,” sighed Ling. “Let’s get going , before it gets dark.”