Call It Whatever

Chapter 12

I wake up to the sound of someone yelling "KIYA!" at the top of their lungs. I sit up, and realize that I'm still hugging the teddy bear that Zac gave me last night. I set it next to me on my bed, and force myself to stand up. Once I'm dressed and all of that, I head downstairs into the dojo.

Ren Wu and Yugo are sparring. I stand on the sidelines, watching amusedly. Yugo looks like he's fighting with everything he has, and Ren Wu is barely breaking a sweat.

It's hilarious.

Soon enough, the fight is over. Ren Wu clearly won. He takes off his sparring gear and shakes out his hair. He undoes his braid to fix it, and I find myself staring at him again. I watch as he weaves the strands together, and I sigh. I envy how beautiful his hair is. It's so thick, and voluminous, and the exact color of caramel. I want to eat it but I know it's hair.

Okay, that was weird. Even for me. I apologize.

Ren Wu finishes braiding his hair. I watch him wrap his hair tie around the end of it. All the while he's doing this, Xander is talking. I don't catch a single word Xander says. My eyes are locked on Ren Wu.

"Hey!" Xander says, catching my attention. "Did you hear a word I said?"

Before I can answer, Yugo does it for me. "Nah, he was too busy staring at Ren Wu."

I swat his arm. He laughs. "That was a baby hit!" he teases.

"KI-YA!" I jump kick him right in the chest. He stumbles backwards into the wall. I give a huff and turn away. "What did you say, Xander?"

"I said, Valt's having a going-away party this Saturday." Xander laughs. "More accurately, Zac is throwing Valt a going-away party this Saturday. With the world league starting, I think the entire Bey Club is splitting off and going places again. I know I am."

Xander is off to Brazil again. Go figure. And I'm off to nowhere. Of course. I'm nowhere near good enough to get scouted for any sort of team besides this one. The idea of anyone giving me a call saying 'hey, you wanna join our team for the world tournament?' is enough to give me a heartache. Unless there's a team of ninjas running around, I highly doubt I'll ever get scouted for anything.

At least I'll be here with Yugo and Quon. My best friend and my boyfriend aren't going anywhere, as far as I know. I don't think Zac is leaving either, which is also nice. Lui is probably not leaving. It's not like he's joining a team. Lui doesn't believe in team battles.

"Do you have to go?" Yugo asks.

I snicker. "Aw... you gonna miss him?"

"You. Shut up." Yugo looks up at Xander. "So, do you have to?"

Xander laughs. "Yeah, I have to. I got scouted for the Brazilian team again. I can't let them down."

"No, you can't," Ren Wu says. "I can't either."

Xander looks down at him. "We'll see which one of us they value more."

"It's clearly me."

"We'll see about that."

I stare at them. I can sense their rivalry. The air makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I look down to see that my arms are covered in goosebumps. Just the tension surrounding them is enough to make adrenaline flow through my system.

I'm suddenly itching for a battle.

"Ren Wu," I say. "Wanna spar?"

He looks at me. "Sure."

Soon enough, we're both in sparring gear standing on a mat that Xander threw on the floor. The match starts, and our fighting begins.

I'm fast and calm. I'm fast and calm. I let the adrenaline turn me into the ninja that I am. I'm a silent assassin, one with the night, one with the shadows. My speed is unmatched, my precision unrivaled.