Kunoichi: Book 1: Chapter 4

One trip back to Sensei Wu's Academy later, the new headmaster was keeping his word about tea and story time... whether Ali was interested or not.

The rest of the team, despite protesting, was shoo'd off to perform their teaching duties; now that Wu had a grasp on his ability to handle Ali in a fight, he figured she might be more comfortable opening up without several suspicious young men staring her down.

He could tell that the ninja has instead opted to listen in from the other side of the door, but since Ali didn't seem to notice he decided to deal with them later.

A plate with a mix of sweet manjuu and savory dim sum sat in the middle of a small table. Ali stared at it incredulously while Wu poured generous portions of dragonwell tea into both of their cups, which Ali also stared at without partaking. At the least, Ali now felt comfortable enough to let her hood down.

"So tell me," Wu said after he had sat back down across from her, lifting his teacup to his lips, "where are you running from?"

"I..." Ali watched Wu take a sip of his tea before finally picking up her own cup, "came here from the mountains. Not many people know about the settlement hidden there."

"I've heard rumors, but that is all," he took a sip of his tea. "Are you an outlaw there?"

Wu's voice held no notes of judgment as he asked this. He sounded more like an executive performing a job interview than a ninja interrogating a potential threat.

"No! Well... I might be hunted once they notice I'm gone."

He took another sip. "Oh?"

"Most of us in the clan are trained to fight once we're old enough to walk, and... every so often, a few are chosen to be trained as assassins. I don't want to be responsible for killing someone, but it's not my choice to make, so..."

"I see. What do you plan to do now?"

"They'll come looking for me... I just need to keep moving."

"That doesn't sound like a plan with any end except death." Despite the dark turn of the discussion, Wu's voice remained collected, but a bit friendlier than before. Like two acquaintances planning a weekend get-together.

Ali's tone, on the other hand, was becoming more and more hopeless. "It's the only option I have..."

"It's the only option you have considered."

"...What are you saying?"

"What is he saying?" Jay whispered to the others outside the door. If Wu noticed the growing commotion from his oh-so-sneaky students he totally knew were there, he didn't acknowledge it.

"This is not just a ninja headquarters, but also a school. A school badly in need of more faculty, in fact." Wu took one last sip of his tea and put the empty cup down. "I believe it would be best for you to stay here - you would also have to train with my students, but you would have a roof over your head and allies to protect you."

And the door to Wu's office shot open.

"Woah woah woah!" Jay shouted, first to fumble into the room. "Wait, wasn't anyone gonna ask us about this?!"

"Jay's right," Kai said, "is this really a good idea?"

With that, all five of the ninja broke out into a cacophony of questions and protests. None of this surprised Wu in the slightest, but he was still irritated. "Was eavesdropping when I specifically asked you to work on next week's lesson plans until I came out 'really a good idea?'"

"And we're sorry for not listening to you," Cole said, "but the 'trained assassin' part isn't setting any alarms off?"

"Under normal circumstances," Wu explained, "I would agree. However…" He looked towards the floor, his hat covering his expression from his pupils' view, "something else is setting off more 'alarms' for me." He looked over at Ali, making sure she knew he hadn't forgotten she was right there. "I also sense a similar potential to what I felt in the five of you."

"Sensei," Zane said, "you don't mean…?"

"I do. I believe this girl is capable of learning spinjitzu."

Wu's response hung in the air for a little bit before every ninja in the room responded in unison.

"…What."