Football Frenzy
Authors: Alex Ko
Josh scanned the room. Two big men in black. Three slick Yakuza. And there was a commotion from the stairs as the two Chinese bouncers burst into the
room, flexing their muscles.
Seven against two. I’ve seen better odds...
Granny and Yoshida spun into the room, ducking and parrying each other’s blows.
Eight against three. Not much better...
Granny hit one of the men in black in the back of the neck, and he crumpled at once
. Except one of our three is Granny!
With special thanks to Rosie Best
For Mum, Dad and Lizzie
First published in the UK in 2011 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House,
83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England.
www.usborne.com
Series created by Working Partners Limited.
Text copyright © Working Partners Limited, 2011
Illustrations copyright © Usborne Publishing Ltd., 2011
Illustrations by
Kanako and Yuzuru.
The name Usborne and the devices
are Trade Marks of
Usborne Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or used in any way except as allowed under
the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement
of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to
actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Epub ISBN 9781409538332
Kindle ISBN 9781409538349
Batch no. 00504-02
CONTENTS
Josh Murata ducked to avoid another punch.
I’m done for
, he thought.
The black-clad figure in front of him twisted, one foot slicing towards Josh’s legs. Josh threw himself into a backflip and, for a moment, the world tipped upside down. He landed perfectly
– and just in time to see his opponent’s other foot soaring towards his nose. He fell back onto his hands as the kick scythed through the empty air where his head had just been.
Then, springing back up, Josh launched a spinning heel kick, giving a triumphant shout of “
Hai!
” But the fighter’s arms were a blur and, suddenly, Josh’s foot was
trapped in the grip of his opponent’s hands! The next thing he knew, he’d been lifted off the floor and was spinning through the air. He just had time to tuck his arms in and roll as he
hit the tatami mat.
How can I defeat such a master?
Josh thought, scrambling to his feet.
I haven’t landed a single blow!
He gasped in a few breaths and planted himself in a fighting stance,
ready for his opponent’s next move.
But the figure had turned its back, as if the fight was over. Josh readied himself, his heart racing – now was his chance...
He hesitated.
Should I strike my opponent in the back?
The fighter turned a stern, wrinkled face to look at him. Her grey eyes glinted. “You hesitate to strike me?” she asked.
“Well...yes, Granny,” Josh said.
“
Never
hesitate.” Granny Murata gave him a severe look. “Do not think of this as merely training in the dojo – you must treat each lesson as though it’s a
fight to the death. The ninja is not without honour, but he or she must be practical in all things.”
Josh bowed. “Yes,
obaasan
.”
Granny returned the bow, then straightened her black ninja training outfit. Josh was sweating right through his white martial arts uniform, but she didn’t have a single silver hair out of
place. She might have been demonstrating the slow, graceful movements of the tea ceremony instead of how to defeat an opponent in close combat.
They crossed the huge dojo, walking along polished wooden paths between large squares of tatami matting. On some of the mats, fighters dressed in black or white were sparring, using smooth
wrestling moves, high-tech riot gear or gleaming silver swords.
Josh still couldn’t quite believe that this place was hidden underneath a central Tokyo park, around the back of his granny’s retirement home. And what’s more, the dojo was
only a small part of the top-secret government facility!
His twin sister Jessica was stretching out her muscles at the edge of the dojo, below a large painting of a tiger stalking through the undergrowth.
Josh’s heart gave a twist as he saw the painting. It reminded him of his parents, who were far away in Africa, travelling as emergency surgeons with
Médecins sans
Frontières.
They emailed whenever they could, but internet access was a luxury. He missed them, but felt proud that they were out there, battling against war and disease. When
they’d extended their trip, Josh and Jessica had been only too happy to stay with their granny for a few more weeks.
And why wouldn’t they? The twins were already having an unbelievable time in Japan. On their very first day, a mysterious, black-clad figure had rescued them from an attacker on the
streets of Tokyo. They’d unmasked the figure, and discovered it was none other than their own 65-year-old granny! Once the secret was out, Granny ended up telling them all sorts of things
even their parents didn’t know about; like the hidden buttons and passages that led from Granny’s apartment to the entrance of Team O’s underground headquarters. Team Obaasan, to
give it its full title, was a group of crack crime-fighters who all turned out to be...geriatrics! And Granny, it seemed, was their leader.
After that, Granny had had a hard time keeping them away from the action. The twins were soon embroiled in a mission to rescue a Japanese pop star from the clutches of the Yakuza, a ruthless
gang of organized criminals led by 78-year-old Yoshida Noburu, an old enemy of Granny’s. It had all worked out well in the end, though – and now they couldn’t wait to put their
new and improved ninja skills into action again!
Jessica and Josh both bowed to Granny and then walked back to the changing rooms together to swap their white training uniforms for their normal clothes.
“Nice one,” Jessica grinned. “That was a great backflip. You’ve really got the hang of safe falling, too. I thought you were going to end up with concussion at
least
.”
“Yeah,” Josh replied, rubbing the side of his cheek. He could still feel the ridged pattern of the tatami mats printed on his skin. “Thanks. You did pretty well against her
too. That scissor kick was awesome. I think we lost less badly today than yesterday, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Jessica laughed. “We’re definitely losing less badly every day. And just think, if someone had told you a few weeks ago that you’d be really happy to be
fighting your granny and only getting pummelled a
little
bit...”