I Fell In Love With A Girl Who Died Before I Was Even Born

I shifted against the ropes, wincing as the bite of the cord dug into my wrists.

"Yuki," I whispered. "Can you find anything in here that might help me out of this?"

She drifted away, her pale glow barely lighting the dirt-walled room. I heard her mumbling as she floated through the shadows.

"Broom… straw mat… something that might've be a dead rat once… there's a surprising number of cobwebs in here."

Somehow, I wasn't surprised.

"So, nothing useful," I muttered.

She floated back, hands folded like she was reporting to a boss she didn't want to disappoint.

"Nothing sharp, Ryu."

I sighed.

"This place reeks of herbs. What're they storing them in?"

Yuki shook her head.

"They're not. They just use this place to dry herbs. There's a bunch of dried plants hanging from the beams above your head, but nothing that'll help."

I groan in frustration.

Then, I tilted my head toward the door.

The hinges caught my eye.

Metal.

And metal expands when it's cold, which wasn't much, but it gave me an idea.

I scooted over until my back was against the hinge corner, the rope pulling tight around my wrists.

"What in the world are you up to?" Yuki asked.

"Come here. I need you to freeze this hinge right here."

I gestured towards the lowest hinge on the door with my head.

She perked up immediately.

"Ooh, a plan?" she asked, floating beside me.

"Something like that," I said.

She swirled into a small, focused whirlwind, her chill brushing over my skin. The air by the hinge crackled as frost spread across the metal.

I twisted my wrists, pressing the rope hard against the frozen edge, sawing back and forth.

Fibers bit into my skin, but I kept going.

"Stop for a second," I told her.

She let the cold fade.

I repositioned the rope, then nodded.

"Again."

Another blast of icy wind. More sawing.

We repeated this until the hinge screws started to wiggle loose.

One popped free, clinking to the dirt floor.

"Yes!" I muttered to myself, victoriously.

My fingers wiggled along the floor until I grabbed it.

Then, I started working it awkwardly between my bound hands until the sharp end was digging into the cord.

A few minutes of grunting, swearing under my breath, and sawing eventually began to loosen the cords.

Snap.

The rope fell away.

I grinned, flexing my hands.

"Oh… damn, my wrists are sore."

Yuki made a happy squeal when she saw.

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"You did it!"

I nodded.

"Step one, right?"

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wand. The cool wood felt exactly like it had in the dream.

Yuki's eyes went wide.

"Gracious, Ryu! Where did you get that?"

I couldn't help laughing.

"I got it from a dream, Yuki. You helped me find it."

Her expression shifted, realization dawning.

"Oh… it came from the Nightlands! Can you do anything with it?"

I wasn't sure. But I could feel something thrumming in my chest, like the wand was waiting for me to try.

"We're about to find out," I said.

Yuki tilted her head.

"You should probably try casting a spell first. That way you know what you're doing before it's an emergency."

I pointed my wand at the door.

"That's exactly the plan. Worst case scenario? Tt fizzles, and I kick it off the hinges anyway."

She narrowed her eyes.

"No. If your spell fails, then you buck it up and try again. You're not fighting your way out of a ninja dojo. Hold on. I'll check if anyone's out there."

"Careful," I warned. "Pretty sure most shinobi can see ghosts."

She leaned her head through the wall like she was testing bathwater. A second later she snapped back.

"The coast is clear. For now."

I adjusted my grip on the wand like I'd seen Inego do, then froze.

I didn't have his gross AirPods.

"Yuki," I said, deadly serious. "I don't have the magic AirPods that let me listen to the rhythm of the universe."

She looked at me like I'd just told her I lost my pet alien, and I couldn't blame her. On reflection, that sentence I'd just told her sounded ridiculous.

"Your what?"

Right.

She died in '68.

Way before Bluetooth and bad Wi-Fi connections.

"The little things Inego crams in his ears."

She shook her head, blank as ever.

Then it hit me, Hibana cast a counterspell without AirPods.

Maybe they were just like the Nintendo Power Glove the little shit-neighbor growing up next to me had.

Cool as hell in theory, but you didn't need one to play.

And I always kicked his ass at Double Dragon without one.

"Okay," I muttered, squaring up. "Here goes nothing."

I wanted to blow the door clean off in one shot.

The trick was finding the right fuel for it, so I tried thinking of a song that'd be useful for conjuring a fireball.

Or at least making me an unstoppable force.

"Girl on Fire"?

No.

"Fire Down Below"?

Nah.

Then the dumbest, most perfect song in existence kicked into my head.

Not good or glamorous. But perfect.

I aimed the wand, felt the phantom beat, and started to move.

My shoulders loosened, and I tapped my foot, feeling the rhythm as it moved through me.

I didn't care how dumb it looked. I imagined I was listening to the song in my head as clear as if it were playing on speakers in the same room.

"Stop the rock," I growled.

"Stop the rock… Stop the rock… Can't stop the rock!"

Something surged—from the ground, through my chest, into the wand.

The door rattled.

"You can't stop the rock!"

Almost. I was so close.

I leaned harder.

"Shaky my paranoia, can't stop the rock!"

The door shuddered, then exploded backwards off its hinges.

"Oh my goodness!" Yuki gasped. "Ryu, you did it!"

I kept swaying in time to the phantom beat, knowing if I stopped for an instant that I'd lose it.

But I'd done it, and I was grinning like a lunatic.

"We're about to have company," I said.

And somehow, I knew the door wasn't the only thing off its hinges anymore.

The reaction outside my small room was immediate.

Yuki and I heard several voices yelling at once, and I could feel the vibrations of at least half a dozen people running our way.

I slipped into the hallway with Yuki right behind me.

And I froze.

This wasn't the grim ninja dungeon I'd been expecting.

No torches guttering in the dark, no cobwebs dripping in the corners, no sinister hideout carved into stone.

Nope. It was… clean.

Brick walls with fresh paint, bright fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, even a faint smell of lemon cleaner.

If I didn't know better, I'd swear I was back in the basement of my old college gymnasium.

All that was missing was a water fountain that didn't work and a motivational poster about abs or never quitting.

Except, instead of sweaty undergrads, two dudes in karate gi were standing at the end of the hallway.

I grinned, still moving in time to the song in my head.

"Stop the rock. Can't stop the rock!" I bellowed, charging down the hall like an idiot with a mission.

One of them panicked.

"Oh hell, he's enchanted!"

The other squared up, bringing his arms up in a block.

But when my fist connected, it was like punching through Saran Wrap.

His guard folded, and my punch launched him backwards three feet.

My fist had never felt like that before, like my bones were made of thunder and spite. No wonder I was grinning like a maniac.

He slammed to the floor on his ass and stayed there, groaning and crying about his back.

More. I wanted even more.

The second guy looked at his buddy, looked at me, and bolted the other way.

I didn't even slow down.

I burst into the next room, still singing under my breath.

But that was when my stomach dropped as I saw who was standing in that room waiting for me.

At least a dozen members of the Asuka clan were waiting, all in their crisp karate gi.

Hotaru and Hibana were front and center.

Arms folded and frowning like I'd just walked in on their slumber party.

And in the middle of it all sat an old woman with long silver hair tied in a neat braid, her presence radiating command like a general at parade rest.

She didn't so much as flinch when I barreled in.

She just lifted one hand, calm and unshakable.

"Stand back!" she shouted. "Let our star pupils handle this one. I want to see if he's as capable as Hiban claims."

Hibana's lips curled in a sharp smile as she stepped forward, wand appearing in her hand like it had been waiting for this exact moment.

"Apollo 440? Oh my god," she muttered. "Enough of that hokey shit, Ryu."

Hotaru slid her own wand from her sleeve, eyes glinting.

"You can't just come in here and act like you're some hot shot! We'll show you what can't be stopped."

Then Hibana slammed her foot down, her voice ringing out like a battle cry.

"Can't stop addicted to the shindig!"

Hotaru echoed, grinning wild.

"Chop top, he says I'm gonna win big!"

Even Yuki looked concerned.

"Oh no, Ryu! They're harmonizing!"

I heard their voices echoing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and that's when I knew I was absolutely, spectacularly screwed.