All Rights Reserved
NINJA NEEDA
A Love Story by ^Hope^
"Must be here somewhere." Miagi bent over to pick up the last of the crates. The wood felt smooth and cool beneath his hands.
"Old Man, what you doing down there?" The voice came from the top of the stairs.
"I'm looking through my Grandfather's boxes." He carried the box up the stairs and put it down carefully at his Housekeeper's feet. She shook her head and went back to drying the dishes.
Mika was a small woman in her early fifties, she had been cleaning for him for eleven years.
"Why you so worried about creating Needa? You ever hear the word 'Legend'? That mean not real, mean maybe some lazy Japanese guy have nothing better to do, but think up stupid idea and write it down."
Miagi shook his head and pried open the crate.
"You calling my Grandfather stupid? He asked.
"No, Miagi-san, just dreamer. No one ever create Needa. You see Needas in Japan? In USA? I never see no Needa."
"Ha! You seen wind before? No? It still real. My Grandfather was very wise man. He say he saw Needa, he saw Needa. As he spoke, Miagi looked through the books in the box. He picked up a leather-bound volume and held it reverently up to the light. The Japanese characters were painted in gold.
"Here, his diary. Bring my dinner to my den." He began to walk out of the room. "And don't disturb me anymore with your talking."
"You say please, maybe I bring your dinner. My job is Housekeeper, not slave." Mika stood with her hands on her hips, waiting.
"Okay, okay. Please, Mika, Bring my dinner to the den...but not your voice." Miagi left the room.
"Stupid old man. I bring your rice and maybe dump it on your bald head." but Mika was smiling as she said the words.
Miagi sat in his den, pouring over his Grandfather's words. His eyes were bright with a hunger for the knowledge men only dreamed of. The bowl of rice sat untouched on the desk beside him and the tea had long grown cold.
Finally, he closed the diary. He would need Mika's help with the Needa.
"Need mika to make Needa." Miagi laughed at his play on words. He shut off the light and made his way in the darkness, to Mika's rooms at the back of the house.
"Nice house, too bad Kaiko marry someone else. Build a house for her in United States, but she still not wait for me. I think her husband not handsome guy like me. Maybe he got no teeth now. Ha!" He clicked his teeth together.
Mika had been widowed, when she came to work here. Alone in a foreign country, she had been very happy to find a job with Miagi.
He stood outside her door now, his heart pounding. He knocked.
"Mika, please open the door. I must talk to you." He whispered. "What do you want, Miagi-san? I cannot come out, I am dressed for sleeping." She answered.
"Please, Mika. It is most important." He was begging, she would like that.
"Okay. Wait." The door finally opened and she stood there in the semi-darkness, like a vision. Miagi couldn't help but stare, he'd never seen her hair loose, falling to her tiny waist, like black silk. She wore a pair of white silk pajamas.
"Must be the dark. That's why she look so good." Miagi thought to himself.
"What you want, Miagi-san?" Her voice seemed softer too.
"I have very important job for you. I want you to help me create Needa." He was nervous, afraid she would refuse, or worse, laugh at him.
"And how does your wise Grandfather say to create this Needa?" She asked.
"Same way to create child, just imagine we creating Needa. Easy actually." His face was red from embarrassment.
"You want me to do that? You never say that my job. Just clean and cook." Mika's voice shook with anger. "I never had man since Takuma die. I am good."
"Doesn't matter you're good, or not. Just I need you to lay there, think about Needa." He said.
"Not that kind of good. I mean good woman, not good in bed." The door closed with a bang.
"Mika, I'm sorry. Not good time for joking. Wanted to make it easier for you, make you laugh. Not so bad, to sleep with handsome guy like me, you know."
"So, maybe for eleven years, you want me. Now, you think of way to do it." Mika stood in the open doorway once more.
"Not true. I not Chicken-man. I wanted you, I would tell you before now." Miagi answered. "But never saw your hair like that. Looks nice."
Mika blushed. "I must to think. I tell you tomorrow." The door closed again.
"Okay, you think about it, no problem." Miagi turned away and began to make his way to his room. He heard a soft laugh behind him and turned.
"One question, Miagi-san. You're almost seventy, You sure everything still work okay?" She smothered a giggle under har hand.
"Hmmm...like I say before, no time for joking. Don't worry, I tell it to work, it's gonna work, okay?" He heard the door close and whispered to himself. "Yeah, working fine right now. Must be because of dark, but she look really good to me."
Miagi undressed for bed, glancing at himself in the mirror, before putting on his pajamas. He grinned proudly at his reflection.
"Yup, still works. I'm surprised, hasn't done anything by itself for long time." He quickly got dressed and got into bed, putting his hands under his head. "No good if it works, if Mika don't wanna make Needa though."
Much later, he was awakened by Mika's voice. "Miagi-san, wake up."
He struggled to sit up in the darkness, reaching for the light beside the bed.
"No, leave it dark. How we make Needa? Show me." Her silk shirt fell to the floor.
"Come here, I tell you." He felt like a young man again, strong and powerful.
When the explaining and the act were both completed, Mika sighed.
"Miagi-san, I think we have to do again. I forgot to think about creating Needa. Sorry." Miagi couldn't see her smile in the darkness.
"You wanna kill me, Old Woman?" He gasped. To his surprise though, he found himself able to accomodate her once more.
The next morning, Miagi opened his eyes and leaped from the bed. Why he was feeling so good, so young? Oh yes, the Needa...Mika.
She was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. He smiled at her shyly, wondering how last night had changed their relationship.
"Miagi-san?" Mika turned away from the stove and faced him. He gasped. Her belly was swollen to extreme proportions and she looked almost as frightened as he felt.
"We did it." He whispered. "Created Needa."
But, Mika was backing away from him, her eyes filled with fear. He could see the mess she had made, trying to cook, in order to not face the truth.
"You say you wanted to make Needa, Miagi-san. I don't believe this Legend as truth, only you want me, maybe love me." She put her hand to her distended belly. "Not this...monster."
"If you not believe in Legend, why you come to me last night?" He asked.
"I love you, Miagi-san, since I come to work for you. You are stupid man, so blind. We have to stop Needa from being born." Mika's eyes were wild.
"Never! Needa will be born. No talking about it. You love me? We can marry, okay? This..." He waved toward the lower half of his body. "This don't work for twenty years. I love you too, Mika."
Mika's face contorted in pain. "Needa is coming. How...?" She was bent over, looking at him in terror. "Help me, Miagi-san."
"Gee, Grandfather say Needa is supposed to come fast. Didn't know this fast." He lifted her in his arms, struggling to carry her to his bed. In the doorway, he banged her head against the frame. "Oh, sorry." He gasped. Well, he didn't have to look for whiskey to help with pain now. Maybe she wouldn't feel so much, over her sore head. Hmmm, whiskey sounded good now.
He deposited her gently on the bed and went to the kitchen. The bottle was under the sink, he took a large swig and went to find a blanket to put under her. Should he boil water too? He glanced at the stove. Why do they boil water for anyway? Okay, no water.
Mika was writhing on the bed when he returned. The birth was quick and there was no blood. Needa was born within minutes, wrapped neatly in a transparent sack. Miagi gingerly peeled it away.
The child was beautiful, its eyes wise beyond its years.
"It worked, the birth of the first male Needa. He shall be greatest Ninja of all time. We shall call him...Daniel-san."
The weeks flew by, in a frenzy of decorating Daniel-san's room. By the time Miagi had completed the decorating, the Needa had outgrown the baby dinosaur wallpaper and he had to rip it down and start again. Daniel-san was the size of a sixteen year-old boy now and had exhausted Miagi's knowledge of the Ninja.
They were content as a family. Mika and Miagi spent many stolen hours together, while Daniel-san worked outside, waxing Miagi's many cars. The lovers lay in bed, relishing the afterglow of their love. The wind blew a soft breeze into the open window, carrying their Needa's young voice to them.
"Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off."
THE END
