Cam had convinced his grandfather to talk to Mei Lien some more; she was visibly shaken by her ordeal, for good reason. He had to break away to retrieve the scroll. It hadn’t taken long to find the exact spot he had first seen Skritches, er – Mei Lien. He was able to track his way back to the nearest Indian mound. Right on top of the mound rested the missing scroll. Cam swiftly claimed it and darted back to Ops. After replacing the scroll, he had dashed into his room long enough to gather his thoughts. And then the phone rang.
“Cam. Haven’t left for Japan yet?”
“Nope, still haven’t gotten downtown to get a visa yet.”
“You know that usually takes a few days.”
“How would you know?”
“Blake and I always plan our escapes. So, anything new?”
“Funny you should ask. Do you remember that cat I mentioned that I found on the road?”
“No.”
“Well, it was hit by a truck? Turns out, it’s a student we didn’t know was missing.”
“Wait a minute, you have students missing at the Wind Academy and you don’t even know?”
“Just the one. I’m going to do a head count to make sure in a few, though.”
“So your student was a cat?”
“Dustin’s student.”
“So you’re blaming Dustin?”
“How’s Blake?”
“Nice try…”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Call me when you want to talk about your sanity.”
Cam hung up the phone. He strolled back out to the living room. Hiro sat across from Mei Lien. Both had a cup of tea. There was a third cup, empty, sitting by the pot. Cam sat down and filled it. Hiro stood up.
“I’ll let the two of you talk. We’ll forgo training today.” Hiro looked from Mei Lien to Cam and then back to Mei Lien. At that, the old man walked out with his teacup.
“So?” Cam broke the new silence.
“So… your grandfather is nice. Not that your father isn’t, he’s nice too.”
“Yes.” Cam nodded.
Mei Lien set her teacup down. She gazed at the doorway that Hiro had passed through. She quietly sighed.
“He brought me tuna while you were gone the other day. He kept telling me he knew something was different about me. That I wasn’t just a cat. It helped me center. It helped me remember who I was.”
“It’s lucky he did, then.”
“Yes.” She looked at Cam again, then looked down. “I have always wanted to see what kind of system you had. I was always afraid you wouldn’t want to show me. You always seemed so closed off from the students. It’s funny that turning into a cat, as scary as it was, allowed me to live out my dream.”
Cam chuckled, and then he heard what she had said… “Closed off? You make it sound like I keep people out.”
“You do.”
“You make it sound like you have been watching me for some time.”
“Well, I took a year off to hang in a bubble.”
Cam looked at Mei Lien, he tried to puzzle out what she was trying to say. She was skirting around the truth. Mei Lien seemed to notice, because she suddenly blushed again.
“Look. I have a secret. I would be shattered if anyone else were to know. I’m not sure how I can deal with you knowing, but you deserve to know. Especially after all of the loving care you gave me when I was injured… it still hurts, but I’m sure it’ll heal.” She paused and sighed, as if to give herself strength, “I have had a crush on you since I first saw you, since I first came to the academy.”
Cam blinked. He nodded, not because he agreed… but because he felt she deserved a response, to prove he was listening. He barely knew her, but she seemed to know him. Had he not been avoiding everyone all of these years? And yet he was still seen by her?
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say.” She smiled weakly. “I know you have no feelings for me. Until today, I was just a face, a member of the academy. I don’t expect anything. I would only ask to be your friend.”
Cam drew in a breath. “Ok. Consider us friends.” Yeah. Friends. He could do that. He’s had friends before.
“And friends can talk about coding, right?”
“Absolutely,” Cam smiled.
Cam had chatted with Mei Lien for awhile. He then escorted her to Dustin’s class, and informed Dustin that he would fill him in on the details but that Mei Lien was back from a sordid ordeal. Dustin was nonplussed. But then, that’s Dustin. On the way back to his home, Cam stumbled upon the unexpected. Hunter was standing near the practice field, talking to Hiro.
“Cameron. I was just telling Hunter to not trouble himself with the negative, as per our breakfast discussion. He was proceeding to not tell me any information about his brother’s accident.”
“What more do you need to know? It’s happened. He’s fine. That’s all the review board will tell me, at this point, so I’m guessing that’s all anyone needs to know.” Hunter was definitely beside himself with sarcasm, so Cam noted. “I came to explain to your grandpa that you’re needed here.” Cam coughed.
“He’s very adamant about how your presence is vital to the operation of not only the Wind Academy, but also the Thunder Academy, though I don’t quite see how.”
“He’s the one who keeps us all in the know.” Hunter instantly turned toward Hiro, his eyes were sparking. Cam was amused that Hunter seemed so emotional about his leaving, until it dawned on him that Hunter might actually do something rash.
“Hunter, I’m not going. Don’t worry.” Cam stepped up closer so he’d have a chance to interfere if the Thunder ninja did something, though Cam wasn’t sure what he could do that wouldn’t gain Hunter’s ire. “Grandfather, I can’t go. I must stay here. You are welcome to visit as long as you like, but I can not leave, because we do not know when the academies might need to be on the alert again.”
Hunter added a growl of agreement.
“Cameron, I agree. And not because your friend is persuasive.”
Hunter growled. His point had been missed. And even though the argument was in his favor… he hadn’t let it slip that his point had indeed been missed.
“Kanoi and I had a long talk after you fled to your room last night. We worked out many years of aggressions. If only we had done this, and this calmly, back when your mother could have witnessed it. We came to a resolution, and your father invited me to stay and teach Samurai at the Wind Academy. I told him I would consider it and get back to him with my decision.
“I realized that Kanoi relied on your administrations, Cameron. I also realized by your knowledge and skills, you were needed to maintain vigilance and troubleshoot incidents, as proved by your assistance to Mei Lien.
“But to have classes at the Academy, as Kanoi had suggested? My concern was that there might not be much interest to have samurai learning beside ninja. And then where would I obtain a student base? After conversing with Mei Lien, I feel that this will not be an issue. She has agreed to be my second student. She wishes to learn the ways of the samurai. Cameron, I was considering you as my first student, for you are never too old or too advanced to learn.”
Hunter smiled. He reached over and struck Cam’s back brusquely. Cam swayed with Hunter’s friendly affection and grew a smile himself.
“Grandfather. I would be honored to be your student.”
“Then, it is settled. I will inform Kanoi, upon his return today that I will be staying on and starting classes, as of tomorrow. We will work around Mei Lien’s class schedule, of course.”
“And you were worried.” Hunter chuckled.
“And you weren’t?" Cam released a sigh of relief. Once again, having family had proved to be an adventure in itself.