Portal Combat (8 page)

Natalie palmed the ball and looked at the overflowing box of letters. Dhiraj and Jennifer had helped her sift out all the Division II and III offers, but the number of letters from Division I alone was staggering. She let the ball roll into her closet and dumped the envelopes on her bed. All the big schools were there, and many of the teams were the ones she'd followed growing up. She'd done her best to avoid thinking about where she'd visit or commit.

Earlier that summer, Dhiraj held a get-together at his house to discuss the next step for Ted Finley LLC. Natalie didn't give two craps about the company, but she'd been isolated ever since Ted hopped a plane to DC. When Dhiraj left the room to get snacks, she, Jennifer and Erica changed the conversation quickly.

Natalie leaned her head back and sighed. "Do any of you actually care about Dhiraj's enterprise?"

Erica shook her head and laughed. "If I hear the word synergy one more time, I'm going to throw Dhiraj through a wall."

The two of them looked at Jennifer.

She forced a smile. "I want Dhiraj to be happy, but I don't care either."

Natalie smiled. "Good. Ugh, my social life this summer is gonna be nonexistent."

Erica groaned. "I know, right? The whole reason I'm here is in a government straight jacket."

An idea formed in Natalie's head. "Wait. You're supposed to be training him, right?"

Erica nodded.

Natalie leaned forward in her chair. "Train me instead." Her smile grew wide. "I'm gonna be training anyway. The lovebirds are gonna be off talking dividends."

Jennifer suppressed a giggle. "You're probably right."

"So, you can train me. Get me a leg up before I get recruited."

Erica's eyes changed. She'd gone from bored to purposeful in a hurry. "I like it. Besides, I'd like to see how far I can push a human body."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Good. I think."

Dhiraj returned to the conversation with a plateful of cookies. Natalie couldn't believe the way they were shaped.

"Um, did you seriously make cookies with an 'LLC' cookie cutter?"

Dhiraj looked at Jennifer and smiled. "I did."

Jennifer cleared her throat. "It was a three-month-iversary present."

Natalie and Erica groaned in unison.

The last three months had been grueling. Five-mile runs and weightlifting followed by hand-to-hand combat and time on the court. Even though Erica was stuck in a cheerleader body, her enhanced strength and speed made her an incredible basketball defender. Natalie developed some new low-post moves and increased her vertical three inches during her intense training with her unlikely friend. Now that bad guys were back in the picture and Ted was in need of Erica's full attention, Natalie would have to take the training baton from here.

Natalie organized the letters into her top 68 picks and seeded them based on stats like climate, academic reputation and number of NCAA championships. Over the next couple of hours, she held a tournament among the different schools to come up with her own "excellent eight" of places to visit. It took longer than she expected, but after debating the merits of all the universities, she was able to narrow them down. It took her a moment to realize that one of the schools, Southern Ohio, was where Ted's sister Christina had a scholarship to play softball. She made a mental note to room with her when she made her visit. After admiring her choices and tacking the letters to the wall, an alarm on Natalie's phone went off. A smile crept over her face as she silenced the ringer and threw on a hoodie.

A light breeze brushed against her face as she snuck out the back door of the house and eased herself through the gap in the fence. She looked across the street to see a pair of unlit but familiar headlights. Natalie had told him to keep his lights off because it would attract less attention. She looked both ways before crossing and walked around to the passenger side. Natalie entered and plopped down on the leather seat.

"You're sure you weren't followed?"

The driver was tall and muscular like Natalie. He gave his passenger a disapproving look. "Have I ever been?"

Natalie ignored the insolence and leaned over to his seat. He met her halfway and they kissed deeply. Natalie took in his grungy aroma, which smelled like he'd been working on an engine all day. At first, it was a turnoff, but now it was all tied into the experience of being with him – an experience she found herself having more and more often. Natalie wanted to kiss every part of his body from head to toe.

He pulled away from her kiss and put his hand on her shoulder. "I wanted to ask you something."

She tried to move back toward him for a second round, but he kept her back with his hand. She grumbled. "Fine."

He mimicked her grumble. "I know that telling people I'm dating you will kill my reputation."

Natalie folded her arms. "Uh-huh."

"But school's coming. It's gonna be tough seeing you unless this thing goes public."

Natalie leaned back and opened the car door.

He reached across the console and put his hand on her leg. When she turned back toward him, he had a massive grin on his face.

"Come on. Do you really hate me that much?"

Natalie moved her tongue around in her mouth. She wanted to taste his lips again, but she knew he'd be resistant unless she responded.

"It's complicated."

"It's complicated for me, too." He sighed and looked around as if someone was watching him. "I just want this, okay?"

As much as it pained her, she wanted it, too.

"Fine."

He raised one eyebrow. "Really?"

She rolled her eyes. "Really. Now shut up and kiss me."

Natalie allowed him to do all the work reaching her this time.

He smiled as he kissed her before resting his head on hers. "I think your friends'll be happy for you. Even Dhiraj."

Natalie gave him a playful slap in the head. "Don't be an idiot, Travis. You tried to punch him in the face."

Chapter 14

Kikuchiyo's body was in the midst of a ritual funeral when Erica had crossed over into it. The Academy understood the meaning of the young boy's resurrection immediately. It meant that something was coming and the boy was there to save their lives.

The beauty of the small, isolated school amazed the new Kikuchiyo. Cherry blossom trees and buildings that had stood for hundreds of years dotted the mountainside. The protector felt like he'd been transported far into the past, and his heart ached for time gone by.

After experiencing his vision and acclimating to his new body, Kikuchiyo failed in his first efforts to connect with Yoshi, the boy's best friend before Kikuchiyo's untimely passing. Yoshi cursed the light souls and said the one who died should have been him. It took weeks for Kikuchiyo to convince Yoshi that the boy's memories would always be a part of the protector for generations to come. As a result, Kikuchiyo would live longer than most of humanity.

Yoshi warmed up to Kikuchiyo just in the nick of time. An ancient spirit older than the light and dark souls had targeted the school and its students. The embodiment of the evil spirit was eight feet tall and covered from head to toe in flames. After it slaughtered several of the elders, Kikuchiyo told the students to stand back. Only Yoshi stayed by his side.

They flushed the spirit onto a narrow cliff, wielding weapons that had been charmed with an incantation that made the blades colder than ice. The creature swung for Kikuchiyo. Even though he evaded direct contact, his neck had been singed, exposing burned flesh to the heavy wind of the mountaintop. Before the spirit could strike Kikuchiyo again, Yoshi seemed to fly through the air, slicing off its arm. The sound that left the spirit's mouth made their ears bleed as the appendage disappeared in a puff of smoke on the rocks.

The creature became twice as determined and seemed to move faster despite the injury. A swift kick set Yoshi's clothing aflame while a painful slap left charred burns on Kikuchiyo's face. The creature laughed and seemed to grow taller and thicker with fire.

Kikuchiyo watched his friend. He knew Yoshi would be willing to give his life to save the school and his friend. But Kikuchiyo was the one with lives to spare.

He smiled. "Go for the head."

"What?! He's too fast."

"Goodbye, my friend." 

With that, Kikuchiyo ran at full speed for the belly of the beast. He dodged the spirit's attempts to grab him and ran his sword through its stomach. The beast howled again and wrapped its flame-coated arms around the protector. Yoshi screamed as pain exploded in every cell in Kikuchiyo's body. He was halfway to death when Yoshi swung his blade into the neck of the occupied spirit. The head slid off its body and exploded on the rocks. The flames surrounding Kikuchiyo disappeared, along with the spirit itself.

Kikuchiyo crumpled to the ground, his body burned on every visible inch. He did his best to remain conscious as the agony coursed through him.

Yoshi seemed to be doing everything he could to remain stoic. He ran his hands through his friend's hair. "I don't want to lose you again. It's more painful the second time."

Kikuchiyo forced a smile through his charred face. "I'll never be lost, my friend. I... I'll return in another form."

Despite the heat that had worked its way through his body, Kikuchiyo began to feel cold and weak.

Yoshi nodded. "I will find you. I will be chosen and together we'll save the world."

Kikuchiyo felt the life draining out of him. "We already have."

That was the last time Erica had seen Yoshi, until he tossed the gatekeeper back through the portal. She tapped a pencil absently on her new notebook for senior year. She was supposed to be taking notes on one of her summer reading books. After an hour passed with only a paragraph to show for it, she dialed up Ted.

"Hey."

Ted sounded groggy on the other end. "Hey. We still meeting at 7?"

Erica glanced at her bed. She pictured Ted lying between the ruffled sheets. It was a good distraction from her memories of battle and death.

"Wanna move it up two hours?"

Ted yawned. "More time with you? I knew I was having a lucky day."

Erica giggled. "See you soon."

Erica had her arm around Ted's waist as they walked by the pond. In the midst of the suburbs, the nature walk behind Ted's house was a microcosm of the seasons. They had trudged through ice and snow in the winter and lush, green grass in the spring. The summer brought dry, brown plants and a water level that was much lower than usual. No matter what the season, the connection to the earth made Erica feel energized. The trail went for several miles behind a few housing developments, and they'd already made a full loop of walking and talking.

After Ted launched into a conversation about Sophie Kent and Erica countered with her adventures in Japan, they both opted to discuss only positive things for the rest of the walk. 

"So, you and Natalie are BFFs now?"

Erica could see through Ted's nonchalance. "Yes. And we talked about you the whole time."

Ted let out a grunt and kissed Erica on the neck. A faint hint of stubble tickled her skin and sent a shiver through her body. She let out a girlish yelp.

Ted laughed. "That's not what I meant. I'm just glad you two are getting along."

Erica tightened her grip around Ted. "She loves to win. She also likes keeping her secrets."

Ted's tongue slid along his upper lip. "What do you know?"

Erica tousled the back of his hair. "We're BFFs now. I couldn't possibly divulge that information."

Ted spun around and caught Erica by the waist. "I swear, I'll kiss you until you tell me everything."

Erica could feel the anticipation grow in her chest. She couldn't believe how great it was to have him back. She put on a fake stern look. "I will never submit."

With that, Ted used his grip to roll Erica onto the grass beside the pond. She squealed and pretended to fight back against his hold. If she'd really wanted to escape, a few well-placed blows to the stomach and groin would get her out in an instant – but there was nothing she wanted to do less. After a few rotations, Ted lay on top of Erica and pressed his lips onto her cheek and neck. The tickling layer of hair on his face forced the laughter right out of her.

He pulled away for a split second. "Tell me!"

She could barely speak through her heaving belly laughs. "Holy crap. You... need a shave... so bad."

Ted went back to his kissing game and Erica's chest burned from too much laughter. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy, in this life or any of the others.

Ted rested his hips on hers and straightened his arms beside her to look straight down into her eyes. "This is your last warning. If you don't tell me all the rumors, I'm going to kiss you on the lips."

Erica felt twitchy with sensitivity, as if any part of his skin touching her would send her into another giggle attack. She took in a deep breath and let it out with a half-chuckle. "Do your worst."

As he pressed his lips into hers, Erica let everything go. Thoughts about training Ted, killing the gatekeeper and thwarting evil with Yoshi all fluttered away. There was only Ted and his mouth against hers. Erica closed her eyes and kissed him deeper. For all she cared, they could've been the only two people in the world as the sun began to set.

The sky was much darker an hour later when they lay beside each other and looked toward the stars. Erica felt light inside, as if the only things tethering her to the ground were her fingers intertwined with Ted's.

Ted broke the endless silence. "If I weren't a hero, would it be like this all the time?"

Erica almost couldn't bear Ted's cuteness. "A few things might be different."

"I know." Ted bit his lip. "You wouldn't be here. I might still be a dork."

Erica tickled Ted's thigh. "You are still a dork."

Ted re-gripped her hand. "I'm just staying, sometimes I wish... we could have fewer nights training and fighting evil, and more like this."