Ninja Stars

Chapter 6

Before long, Mayumi had made it out of the forest. He came to a halt as extensive coastline stretched for miles before him. Not far ahead, a boat dock loomed, with pirates obviously loading a ship with goods.

“Oi!” Shouted one of the pirates. “What’re you doin’ here, on this here Bay of the Black Tides! This is private property! Get off before yer fed to the sharks!”

“The Bay of the Black Tides?” thought Mayumi. “Where is that? I don’t remember seeing it on the map…”

As Mayumi scanned the map, he thought for a moment.

“If the Dojo is here, and we just passed through this forest here, then where is the Bay of the Black Tides?” Then he saw it: a small area just passed the rainforest was labeled, private property.

“Excuse me,” Mayumi asked a nearby pirate, “does this land happen to be private property?”

“Argh!” grouched the pirate. “This here land is indeed private property, and you’d better get outta here b’fore the owner sees yeh, if yeh know what’s good fer yeh!”

Mayumi looked at the map again, and saw to his delight that America was straight across the ocean from where he was. As he stared at Ling, who had slid off his back and was now in a crumpled heap on the floor, he knew what he had to do.

“Who’s the owner?” Mayumi asked curiously.

“That'll be none of yer business!” The pirate scoffed.

Mayumi knew that Ling was losing blood fast, and wouldn’t last much longer if he didn’t hurry, so he leapt at the pirate, knocking him to the floor, with Mayumi bearing down upon him. He pulled out his ninja sword and held it to the pirate’s neck.

“Get off meh!” the pirate shouted, kicking Mayumi as hard as he could and beating him with his fists. Before Mayumi could respond, one of the pirate’s fists collided with his nose, and he felt it break. Mayumi felt blood running down his face, but he didn’t care. What was important was getting Ling to safety.

“Who’s the owner?!” Mayumi fiercely shouted. “Tell me, or else!”

With nothing else the pirate could do, and nowhere else he could go, he gave in.

“There! There! He’s over there!” Screamed the pirate. “I’ll tell yeh anything! Anything yeh need to know, I’ll tell yeh! Just, please don’t hurt meh!”

“No more blood than is necessary shall be spilled today, pirate,” Mayumi said sternly. “Stay here and help my friend onto your ship. I need to go speak with the Captain.”

As Mayumi walked away, he saw the pirate pull out a piece of cloth that he tied around Ling’s arm to stop the bleeding.

“Argh!” the captain shouted at Mayumi. “Who goes there?!”

“I am Ninja Mayumi, ninja of the Shadow Clan, Son of Ninja Takeru, and I am here to speak with you!”

“Wha’ yeh be wantin’ ter know?” asked the captain sternly.

“Where’s this boat headed?”

“And why should I tell yeh?!”

“My fellow ninja and I are in desperate need of a ride to the Americas.”

“Hmm… wha’ is so importan’ tha’ yeh be bargin’ inter priva’ territory lookin’ fer a ride to the Americas?! If yeh ask meh, I’d say yeh was spyin’ on our priva’ business!”

“I am not a spy!” shouted Mayumi. “I can’t tell you exactly what we’re doing, because that would be against the Ninja Code, but I can tell you that while we were traveling, my friend here got hit in the arm by two ninja stars, and is losing blood fast! We need to get to the Americas as fast as we can, and your ship is the only thing that can get us there! Can you please give us a ride?!”

“Well, yer in luck: this here ship’s departin’ fer the Americas in a few minutes. However, I can’ jus’ give yeh a ride, ‘cause tha’ wou’ be against the Pirate’s Code. Yeh’ll be needin’ ter beat meh in a li’l sword fight!”

“Oh, no!” Mayumi thought. He had already lost to Ling in a sword fight, and he knew that he didn’t stand a chance against a seasoned pirate. But Mayumi knew it was the only way to save Ling, so he said, “You’re on!”

Before Mayumi knew what was even happening, the Captain had drawn his sword.

“Yeh ready?” the Captain asked.

“Ready to beat your sorry butt!” It was the voice of Ling. Mayumi turned and saw, to his amazement, Ling sitting on a stretcher, his arm now bandaged up and in a sling.

“What happened?!” Mayumi said in amazement.

“Charlie here saved my life,” Ling said, while gesturing to the pirate that Mayumi had just spoken to. “I was losing blood so fast that I wouldn’t have lasted much longer if he hadn’t been here. Speaking of here…. Where exactly are we?”

“Yeh’re in the Bay of Black Tides, sir,” replied Charlie, pushing him back down onto the stretcher.

“Yeh’re still weak, sir. Yeh can’t be up and about just yet, or yeh’ll black out again.”

“Fine,” Ling grumbled, “but I’m watching my friend swordfight.”

Ling had said it. The very word Mayumi had been trying to avoid saying for fear of making Ling mad again. Friend. How sweet the word sounded to Mayumi now. Friend. He had never had a friend before, and the mere thought of having an actual friend filled Mayumi with a joy he had never known.

“I can do this,” Mayumi thought, “I will do this. For Ling.”

“Well?” said the Captain impatiently. “Are we goin’ ter do this or not?”

“I’m ready whenever you are, Captain,” Mayumi replied.

“On the coun’ o’ three, then. One…two… THREE!”

Both Mayumi and the Captain leapt into action: the Captain making the first move, with the sword narrowly missing Mayumi’s head. Mayumi tried to attack, but the Captain was too fast! He lunged his sword at Mayumi multiple times, every time getting closer and closer to injuring him.

“Is tha’ the best yeh got?!” Laughed the Captain. “I coul’ beat yeh in meh sleep!”

“I believe it’s pronounced, ‘in my sleep,’ Captain, unless I am much mistaken! How can you possibly be a great swordfighter if you can’t even use correct grammar?!” Mayumi responded.

“How on Earth are sword fightin’ an’ grammar related?! If yeh -ask me, yer just afraid I’ll beat yeh!”

The Captain was right. Mayumi was very worried that he would not be able to defeat him. After all, he hadn’t been able to beat Ling, and Ling wasn’t even a real pirate, like the Captain was. Mayumi was sure that the Captain used a sword a lot more than he did, and therefore would have so much more experience. How could Mayumi have any chance at all of defeating a seasoned pirate, when he was just… Mayumi? Then he remembered.

“I am not just Mayumi!” He thought. “I am a ninja!”

Mayumi charged at the captain so fast that the Captain barely had time to duck before Mayumi leapt in the air, doing a flip. He landed silently behind the Captain, who appeared to be trying to decide what had just happened. As he turned around, he saw to his astonishment that Mayumi was standing there, but not with just one sword, with two. He stared for a minute at Mayumi, then down to his own hand. His sword was gone!

The Captain half shouted, half whined, “Hey, gimme back meh sword!”

“Sorry, Captain,” Mayumi triumphantly replied, “finders keepers.” And with that, he boarded the ship.