Buried— Shinobi 7 Series Fiction #2

Author's Note: 

Heyo everyone! Here's another exclusive Shinobi 7 fiction.This blog is where readers and fans of the S7 Series can read more in-depth stories and behind-the-scenes fictions that happen in the universe of my books. You'll get to know the characters more and find out certain events that happen in the book series that wasn't told or gone into detail. These fictions are like the missing puzzle pieces, like a cherry on top. 

This prompt once again returns to the characters Master Kitsune and Akira Miyamoto. There is a strong bond that these characters share, both good and bad. The books introduce the kinetic between them, and this prompt will give a little more thought to them. 

As the readers have discovered in the series, Master Kitsune disappeared from the world for twenty-three long years, all without a trace. This was after the vicious battle with Blackthorn. Everything was chaotic. When Master Kitsune disappeared, the weight of running the clan fell on Akira's shoulders. 

How did it feel for Akira to suddenly take charge after her master went missing? Especially after suffering the loss of many other students from Blackthorn's attack. What toll did this responsibility take on Akira, even though Master Kitsune returned to her?

The fiction below explores this. Please enjoy.
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She wanted nothing more than to be with him.

For twenty-three long years, Master Kitsune was out of her world and disappeared without a trace. Akira couldn't show how much she was affected by his absence to Shinichi and Zuko. They were her teammates, yes, and they too felt the same pang of loss. But Master Kitsune's disappearance brought on more than just sadness.

It brought deeply embedded abandonment.

Like a father leaving his child, Akira felt like Master Kitsune abandoned her to fend for herself. She needed him. Didn't he know that? She needed his presence, his approval, and his watchful eye. She needed him. Most of all, she needed him to tell her right from wrong, because there were times when Akira felt those lines blur.

She buried these harsh feelings inside of herself. This was done for two reasons.

One, because she didn't want to be associated with the little girl she used to be. She was not the fourteen year old child who joined the Kitsune Clan completely untrained. The little girl who used to be afraid and cry when things didn't go her way. That image was long tarnished, as far as Akira was concerned.

Two, because telling Master Kitsune that he abandoned her wouldn't help anything. The damage had already been done, he left and now he has returned.

Akira felt like she needed answers from him. She felt like he owed her answers, actually, as if she had some sort of entitlement to know where he had been and why. Master Kitsune owed her some sort of answer, didn't he?

No. The answer was no.

Because Master Kitsune was not her father. She was not his daughter. They shared no blood between them. Her role never changed from when he left or when he returned— she was his student. Akira may have been given the position of second-in-command of the Kitsune Clan, but she would always be Master Kitsune's student.

 

As his student, it was not her place to ask where he had been, what he had been doing, anything at all. Her job was to follow his orders and give orders of her own. That was that.

 

So, Akira sunk down against her red-colored couch inside of the privacy of her home. She willed her heart to slow its beating, but it would not listen. In her moments alone, Akira was able to be weak. She could wonder about the “what ifs.” She could complain, whine, scream, shout... anything.

 

But at some point she would have to get off her couch, tighten her hair's bun, and get back out there. Master Kitsune, her teammates, and her students were waiting for her. It wasn't the weak woman they were waiting on, either. It was the strong soldier who was always in control of herself.

 

With that said, Akira made quick work of burying her feelings even deeper. 

 

Thank you for reading! I'm also very excited to announce that I will be a guest at the upcoming 38th annual Coast Convention, being held in Biloxi MS on March 20-22nd! I'll be selling my Shinobi 7 Series books. 

Read all about the convention HERE and if you wanna see my picture and bio, scroll to the veeeeeery bottom of the page. Check out the whole site!

To gear up for this event, I'll post updates on my con preparations, more S7 fictions, and a buncha random stuff that I don't even know about. We'll all find out together, I guess XD

~Arigato!  

My Review: Looking Over Your Shoulder by P.D. Workman

Hello there! I'm happy to have another book review ready for you readers. This is review is Looking Over Your Shoulder, the suspense novel by P.D. Workman.

Book Synopsis:

Just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you.

Things were going well for Abe. Despite all of his past struggles with mental illness, he was happily married, had three wonderful children, a nice home, and a fantastic consulting business that satisfied his creativity and brought in a good income.

But you can never get too comfortable. When Abe becomes a prime suspect in a jewel heist - one of the largest successful jewel heists in history - his schizophrenia becomes unmanageable and everything begins to spiral out of control. Abe's own investigation into the heist has the jewel thieves hot on his tail... but are they really, or is he just losing the battle against his inner demons?

My Review:

I enjoyed this book very much. It was a short read for me, only 215 pages from the PDF file's length, but the book had a great pace to it. Everything flowed smoothly. The best thing about this book was the family kinetic between Abe, his wife Ursula, their daughter Jeanu, and the other two children. Clearly there's a crisis going on in the family, Abe is being accused of being a part of a jewel heist! 

One unique thing I found about this book was that the whole family was involved in this struggle. Now, I have not read many suspense novels, I'm sure there are others out there where the whole family is has to fight. But that doesn't change that Workman did a great job with the family relationships and how it wove into the suspense. 

Another great thing about this book was the main character, Abe. He was a likeable star, at least in my opinion. He has playful banters with his children, and the schizophrenia part of his character was done very well. I would say that is the strongest suit of Workman's book: Abe's schizophrenia. There was no part of the book where it felt ridiculous or unbelievable. Kudos to the author!

All in all, this novel is a fun read and I enjoyed it very much. 

For more information on P.D. Workman and her novels, here's some awesome links for you to follow. Also, she recently won a book award for her novel, "Ruby, Between the Cracks" that is being featured in Wattpad. I'll link you there, too.  

Ruby, Between the Cracks: HERE
P.D. Workman's Amazon Profile: HERE
Looking Over Your Shoulder's Goodreads page: HERE

Thank you for reading :) And thank you to the author, who gave me a free copy of the book in exchange for a review!

Things I fail at: Updating My Blog

OHAIIIIIIIIII! 

Well, it's certainly been awhile since I've blogged. I've been "getting around to it" for about a week now, and I've finally felt so guilty that I've updated. 

Reader: So in other words, you're just posting out of guilt, you don't actually have anything to say. 

Me: No! No, no, no! I have plenty to say!

Reader: I meant anything of significant importance...

Me: Oh. Yeah, none of that...

Haha :D Just having fun there, just having fun. I do have some news, and since this is a blog about me and my writings, it's very appropriate for me to go on about my life. I have nearly a whole month to update you guys on! 

January 24th: I went to the Mississippi Karate Association's banquet and was awarded with a triple state championship and competitor of the year.

Reader: WOW, so right off the bat you're going to brag about yourself, good job. 

Me: I'm sorry! It's true though, all that did happen...

Anyway, it was a really fun event. It was my first year in the black belt women's division and I'm very honored with what I received. I worked hard all tournament season of 2014 and it was a really big deal for me. I went with two very dear friends/classmates of mine. The only thing that was better than the banquet was the friends that I enjoyed it with :D PLUS they served banana split pudding and AAAAMMMGGG it was so good. 

Reader: Incredible. 

Moving on! 

January 25th: Literally the day after the banquet was my one year anniversary for being a black belt. I don't remember what I actually did on this day, but that was a big deal for me. The day I had my black belt rank test is not one I'll forget anytime soon. It's definitely a memory I'll have for the rest of my life. So, here's a throwback picture of me when I just got through with my test and had my black belt on for the first time! Remember, I just endured like 4-5 hours of testing and I was extremely tired. My hair, though. 

February 5th: That day was a fantastic day! I had a book signing at my local library! It was my first book event of the new year and also the very first event where I sold Poisoned Battleground. It felt like a much bigger deal than it actually was because it was held locally. The idea that I'm like a local superstar is extremely intimidating to me, yet at the same time, why not me? I wrote some books, I'm putting myself out there. I'm here at a signing and if people are curious about my work, I'm here to answer questions! 

Well, I ended up selling a record number of books. There were people who came to the event just to say hi to me. I felt very lucky and lurved. The library was extremely accommodating and even put my event in the local paper. It really was a great signing. Here's a picture! The one next to me is my wonderfully swag cousin, Summer. She got some of her friends to come along and one of them bought us milkshakes. Like, who does that? Who just randomly shows up like "I got milkshakes!" There are no words XD

Quick note: I really do love my cousin Summer. She's like a shaken up can of soda and when you open her up she's like "HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" and there's happiness all up in your face.

Okay. Well, I think I'm all up to date on all of the things that I've been up to. This feels good. Think of this blog post as a little filler, a quick up-to-date that serves as an excuse of why I fail at so many things. Haha :D 

I will be updating regularly! I have more news the Shinobi 7 Series and book reviews coming soon! Thank you for reading, dear reader. I hope you actually enjoyed reading about my life. 

Reader: I just wasted five minutes I'll never get back.

Me: Well, that's just life, isn't it?

Arigato!

~Lily