Hi! Okay, I don't know where this story came from! It just popped into my head and I had to write it. It's only a one shot, but it's a pretty good sized one. It's actually much bigger than I planned it to be (as per the usual with my writing).

Please enjoy!

Edited 8/5/15

Heidi's Revelation

Howard doesn't remember what he was doing when he got the call.

All he knew was that it was from Randy so he picked it up, reflexively.

"Hey," he had greeted. An automatic response. Sometimes they didn't even greet each other. Sometimes the other would just started talking, but not this time.

It was a long time before Randy spoke into the phone. The voice on the other end was Randy's, but Howard barely recognized it.

"...Howard?" Randy's voice was raspy and he seemed to be struggling to breathe.

What the juice?

"What's up, buddy?" Howard had stopped whatever it was he was doing to listen to Randy's response. Something wasn't right.

"H-Howard… please…"

Howard pressed the phone closer to his ear and used his other hand to block the sound out of his exposed ear. Randy's voice was shaking badly. He could barely make out Randy's next words, but what he did hear made his body freeze.

"P-Please… need your help…. got stabbed…"

Howard stopped breathing. He found himself desperately hoping this was some kind of a joke, but he instantly knew that it wasn't. Randy wouldn't joke about something like this.

"W-where are you? What happened? Are you okay?" Howard questioned in panic. His mind was racing and he couldn't form a coherent thought.

Howard listened for Randy's response, and for a horrible few seconds, Howard thought his friend wouldn't answer. He thought he would never know where his best friend was laying hurt and most likely dying…

"I-In the park… next to… to the water fountain," Randy's voice was strained and there was a desperation to it that made Howard's heart race. "Hurry…" Randy stressed and Howard could hear the pain in his voice.

"Don't worry, Buddy. I'm coming," Howard tried to sound confident for Randy's sake, but the truth was his hands were shaking as bad as Randy's voice. "Now hang up and call 911. You'll be fine."

Howard didn't know why Randy didn't call 911 in the first place.

….Actually, that was a lie, he did know why. Randy and Howard always called each other for everything. Not a day went by when they didn't call or text each other and there wasn't a thing they wouldn't share with each other. So, in Randy's panicked state, it made sense that he would call Howard first.

"I can't," came Randy's voice over the line. Howard was already hurrying to the door of his house when he was stopped by Randy's reply.

"What do you mean you can't? Just call 911! You called me!" Howard was shouting now, and in the back of his mind, he registered his sister looking at him curiously.

"I-I'm in my n-ninja suit. I-I can't get out… I can't move…"

"Who cares about that now!" Howard shouted at the top of his lungs, a few frustrated tears rolling down his face.

"H-Howard… please…you know I can't…"

Howard let out a frustrated cry.

"Who cares about a secret identity if you're dead?" he shouted into the phone.

Howard was just about to hang up the phone and call the paramedics himself when-

"Howard, what's going on?" Heidi asked.

Howard was about to tell her to go away when he realized… Heidi could drive.

Howard covered the phone with his hand and frantically pleaded with his sister. "Heidi! The Ninja is at the park. He's hurt badly! He needs our help! You have to drive me there!" Howard was already tugging his sister out the door.

Heidi's mouth fell open. "What? The Ninja? Why would he call you? Why doesn't he call an ambulance?"

"He's the Ninja. He has to keep his identity a secret," Howard explained. "If he goes to a hospital everyone will know who he is. We're the only ones that can help him!"

"But I can't drive! I just barely got my learners permit!" Heidi squeaked.

"Heidi!" Howard grabbed her around the shoulders. "The Ninja's life is at stake. Please… help him!"

Heidi swallowed and nodded. "O-Okay. L-let me get the keys."

Howard brought the phone back up to his ear. "Don't worry, buddy, I'm coming. I'll be there in just a few minutes."

For a moment Randy didn't answer and Howard felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Buddy?" he repeated, fearing the worst.

But then he heard the crackling of Randy's phone moving and Randy let out a small whimper. "Howard… I'm scared."

Howard's throat completely closed up; his chest felt like it was being crushed.

"I-I know… but… but don't be scared, okay?" Howard tried to reassure him, but he could hear his own fear creeping into his voice. "You're going to be fine, I promise."

Although Howard's assurance was meant to make Randy feel better, the unfounded promise made Howard's stomach clench with fear. What if Randy wasn't fine?

Their parents were going to be out for the whole night because they were visiting friends in the next town over, and their parents had taken their Fathers car, leaving their mother's car available.

"I'm almost there," Howard told the boy on the other end of the phone. "Just hold on a bit longer."

"Howard…" Randy sounded worse this time; like he was barely staying conscious. "Please hurry… it hurts…" Howard could hear his best friend choking back a sob.

"What happened? Where were you stabbed?"

Howard heard his sister take a sharp intake a breath and heard her whisper: "stabbed?"

"I-I was fighting some McFist bots… one… one snuck up on me… got my shoulder." Randy was breathing heavily.

Thankfully, the park wasn't far from Howard's house and his sister parked the car.

"I'm at the park now. Just hold on, buddy."

Howard took off through though the park with his sister close behind him. He arrived at the fountain but Randy was nowhere to be seen. He was about to pick up the phone again and ask Randy where he was when he saw it.

The Ninja Nomicon was lying in the open not far from an area covered by bushes and trees. Howard knew Randy would never leave his precious book out like this on purpose. Picking up the book, Howard continued through the brush, looking for his fallen friend.

"Ninja?" he called.

Then, he saw what looked like the remains of a broken Mcfist bot. Not far from the bot, Howard spotted a black pair of feet.

"Ninja!"

To Heidi the ninja somehow looked… smaller than he usually did. When he was fighting monsters and showing off with cool flips, the Ninja looked like a cool, confident teen; maybe in his sophomore or junior year. Here though… Heidi suddenly realized that he looked to be about the same size as any scrawny freshman.

And the way he was lying there motionless… Heidi gulped. Howard had said he had been stabbed and there was an awful lot of blood. The ninja couldn't be dead, could he?

Howard flopped down onto his knees next to the ninja's still body.

"Ninja? Ninja?" Howard called, but the ninja didn't respond. The ninja's phone was still next to his head, and looking carefully, Heidi noticed it was still calling Howard's phone. None of the boys had switched off their phone's connection.

The ninja's left shoulder was in terrible condition. Blood was soaking through his ninja uniform and without removing his uniform there was no way for Heidi to tell how deep the wound was. However, the metal spear covered in blood beside the ninja pretty much told Heidi how deep it was. The part that disturbed Heidi the most was that the Ninja must have pulled the end of the spear out of his shoulder himself.

It was an idiotic move, since now there was nothing to keep the blood in his body, but Heidi guessed the Ninja had been panicking at the time and not thinking straight.

"Heidi, what do we do?" Howard asked, looking up at her with tears streaming down his face. "He's not waking up!"

Heidi's eyes widened. "Why are you asking me?" she shrieked, on the verge of panic herself.

"You took that first aid class," Howard reminded her. "You should know what to do!"

"I didn't think I would actually use my training!" Heidi shot back. "I'm not a doctor! I don't know what to do!"

"Well, neither do I, but we both know there is only one of us who is smart enough to figure it out and it's not me!"

Heidi hesitated. Did her brother just compliment her?

"O-okay," she agreed at last. "The first thing we need to do is to stop the bleeding. Take his scarf and wrap it around his shoulder tightly."

Shakily, Howard did what she said. Heidi got on the other side of the ninja and felt his neck. He still had a pulse but it was weak.

"What now?" Howard asked.

"Keep as much pressure as you can on that wound."

He hesitated. "I…I don't want to hurt him," Howard admitted fearfully.

"If you don't he will lose even more blood. He's already out cold anyway. He can't feel anything."

Howard nodded and used his hands to hold down the make-shift bandages tightly on the ninja's wounds.

"N-Now what?" Howard asked with a shaky voice as his hands became soaked with blood.

Heidi sighed in frustration. "I don't know! He's probably going to need stitches or something like that! I can't do that- he needs to be in the hospital."

Howard shook his head. "No, he doesn't need stitches. He needs a safe place to rest. The ninja has healing abilities and once he wakes up he can use them."

Heidi glared as her brother. "Then why didn't he use them before?"

Howard frowned and looked down at the boy. "I-I don't know… the Ninja's abilities take a lot of concentration and sometimes he gets a little freaked out. He might not have been able to do it if he was panicking."

"How do you know that?" Heidi asked, her voice going up in pitch.

Howard shrugged. "We have to take him home so he can be safe." Howard handed her a strange red and black book. "Here, take this so I can carry him."

Heidi stared at the book in confusion. It seemed to be glued shut. The red-head watched as her brother picked up the ninja with ease. The ninja was taller than Howard, but he was also skinny, lanky, and probably didn't weigh too much.

"You're taking him home?" Heidi asked incredulously. "To our house?"

"Of course, where else is he going to go?" Howard challenged.

Heidi shut her mouth. She had never seen her brother look so serious.

The ride back home was filled with silence. Howard was in the back of the car with the ninja making sure he wasn't jostled around too much.

When they finally got home, Heidi got a couple towels and put them on the couch to protect it from the blood of their new patient. That was her idea in order to hide the evidence from their parents. Howard would have never had the forethought to think about something like that.

Heidi found some bandages in the cabinet of her parent's bathroom and some disinfectant. Using scissors, she cut away part of the ninja's costume around his shoulder so she could gain better access to the injury.

After she cleaned the stab wound the best she could (good thing she had a strong stomach around blood) she bandaged up the ninja's shoulder.

Now they just had to wait for the ninja to wake up so he could heal himself.

Heidi didn't say this out loud to Howard, but she secretly feared that the ninja wasn't going to wake. He had lost a lot of blood and his heart beat still hadn't grown any stronger.

Howard had planted himself in the chair next to the couch, and Heidi guessed he wasn't going to move until the ninja recovered.

This was all so strange… How did Howard know the ninja? Sure, the ninja had spoken to Howard before and almost everyone in school had been saved by the ninja at least once. However, the ninja had personally called Howard when he was in trouble. Out of everyone in town, the ninja chose to call her brother. For some reason, Howard seemed to know more about the ninja than anyone else.

Heidi had to admit guiltily that she was more than a little tempted to find out exactly who was behind that mask. She was known for her gossip show at school and it only made sense that she should know the biggest secret of Norrisville High. It should be up to her to determine if the student population needed to know who the Ninja is or not.

Slowly, she reached for the mask. She was only going to take a quick peek…

"What do you think you're doing?" Howard asked, crossing his arms.

"Come on, Howard," Heidi coaxed. "Don't tell me you're not a little bit curious of who it is? He's your hero after all."

"I can't believe you! He's hurt and you're trying to take advantage of him!" Howard shouted. Heidi drew her hand away guiltily. Since when did Howard have a stronger moral conscience than her?

"I wouldn't have told anyone…" Heidi mumbled a lie that she tried to force herself to believe. "So you're not tempted at all?"

Howard glared at her and then glanced at the ninja, his eyes softening with concern.

"Wait…" Heidi said slowly as a new thought struck her. "You already know who it is, don't you?"

"Heidi…" Howard warned.

"I can't believe this!" she shrieked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did. I told you at the beginning of the school year I knew who the ninja was. It's your fault you didn't believe me." Howard gasped and covered his mouth. "Oh wonk… I didn't mean to say that."

Heidi's mouth fell open, because Howard was right. He did tell her that.

"Who is it? You have to tell me!" She frantically pleaded with her brother. It wasn't fair he knew and she didn't.

Howard scowled. "No I don't! The Ninja protects this town from some seriously shnasty stuff and all you want to do is blow his secret! There's a reason why no one can know his identity and I'm not letting you ruin it for him!"

Heidi was taken aback by Howard's protectiveness. She wasn't use to see him this passionate over something that wasn't food or video games.

Heidi pouted. "It's not fair!" She took a breath to calm herself down. "I mean… I could help him," she persuaded, but Howard wasn't budging.

He shook his head. "No. Way."

Heidi slumped down in her chair. It looked like the only way she was going to find out the ninja's true identity was if the ninja slipped up or told her himself.

The ninja slept on the couch for hours. Heidi had expected Howard would get bored and perhaps go upstairs to read comic books, or maybe to call that best friend of his, but he never moved. Heidi had turned on the television and her brother and her ended up watching some super hero movie together as they waited for the ninja to wake.

"I don't understand. Just because he puts glasses on people don't realize that he's the hero? That's so stupid."

Howard rolled his eyes. "It's not just the glasses, Heidi! People don't expect that an average reporter like him could be a superhero."

She blinked. That was surprisingly astute commentary for Howard.

"But why doesn't anyone notice that they're never in the same place at the same time?" Heidi reasoned.

Howard shrugged. "You would be surprised. Most people don't notice things like that."

"I would…" Heidi grumbled. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Howard rolling his eyes at her.

They sat watching whatever was on TV for a few hours more before the ninja began to stir. Heidi turned off the television immediately. She had to admit she was feeling a bit nervous. She had met the ninja before of course, and been saved by him a couple of times, but that didn't change the fact that the ninja was a celebrity in their town. It was like meeting a superhero.

The ninja stirred again and let out a groan.

"Howard?" he mumbled, his eyes still shut and jaw clenched. Heidi could hear the pain clear in his muffled voice.

"I'm here, Buddy," Howard assured him.

The ninja's eyes fluttered open, a look of dazed confusion in his eyes.

"Wh-where am I?" he asked groggily. His eyes seemed to focus on Howard and then his gaze flicked around the house, finally landing on Heidi.

"You're at our house," Howard explained.

The ninja seemed to relax at that piece of information. "Wha…what happened to me?"

"I was going to ask you that!" Howard countered angrily. Heidi stared at her brother. Did he just yell at the ninja?

The ninja tried to shift positions when-

"OW! What the juice? That hurts!" The ninja hissed, using his good arm to grip his injured one.

"Well, yeah, duh! You were stabbed!" Howard informed him loudly.

Realization seemed to dawn in the ninja's eyes. Breathing heavily, the ninja rested his head back on the couch cushion as he closed his eyes in pain.

"Ninja?" Howard asked in concern.

"I'm… okay… just hurts."

Heidi winced. He looked like he was in agony.

"What happened to you?" Howard asked again.

"I was stupid… wasn't paining attention. There were some-" the ninja hesitated, glancing at Heidi, "some robots that decided to cause trouble, probably to bring me out, and group of little kids were playing in the park. I was trying to lead the robots away from the kids and I got distracted. One got me in the shoulder. I destroyed him, but then I… I couldn't move. The only thing I could think to do was call you." The ninja looked up at Howard, but Howard was scowling at him.

"Do you have any idea how mad I am at you right now?" Howard asked, practically seething. "How dare you almost die on me! Do you only ever think about yourself? What if I hadn't picked up my phone? Huh? Ever think of that? What do you have to say for yourself?" Howard crossed his arms.

Heidi's mouth fell open. Howard was being completely unfair! The ninja just scarified himself to protect little children and Howard was yelling at him!

"Howard! What are you saying?" Heidi chastised. "You have no right to yell at him. He just-" She cut herself off when she heard the ninja chuckle.

"Sorry, Howard," the ninja apologized, with a short laugh. "I'll try not to do it again."

"You better not!" Howard shot back.

The ninja chuckled again, and slowly Howard's scowl turned into a smile. Out of nowhere, the ninja and her brother were laughing together and she was just sitting there completely lost and trying to figure out if she had missed some sort of joke.

"Ow, ow, okay, laughing hurts," the ninja said as the laughter died down and he was clutching his arm again. "This is so wonk. I've never been hurt like this before."

"Really?" Heidi asked, raising an eyebrow. "In eight hundred years of fighting you haven't been hurt this badly?"

The ninja's eyes seemed to widen in alarm.

"Uh…" the ninja faltered, glancing at Howard. "Umm, well no, that's not what I meant. I mean, of course I have been hurt like this before, but not for a really long time?" he ended that sentence like he was asking a question. "I just… forgot how badly it hurts."

Heidi got the distinct impression that the ninja was lying.

"Really?" she pressed, "because I have this theory that you're not really eight hundred years old."

"Wh-what?" the ninja asked, his eyes darting around nervously. "Of course I am! Haven't you heard my legend?"

"Yes, but I'm a host of a news show at school, Heidi at School, maybe you've hear of it? I'm all about digging up the truth and I've been doing some research on you. Every few years the ninja seems to change height and eye color. If you look closely at old pictures then you can see the body type isn't the same for every ninja. Plus, every few years the ninja seems to suddenly forget how to be a ninja… almost like they're replaced by someone new. I guess that makes more sense than an eight hundred year old kid, but how would a kid every four years suddenly become a ninja?" Heidi looked up from her own ramblings to see the ninja staring at her with wide eyes.

"I… uhh… I…" The ninja stammered.

"Heidi! What the juice?" Howard yelled. "He just woke up and you're already interrogating him?"

Heidi huffed indignantly. "Well, you're no better! The first thing you did when he woke up is yell at him!"

"I'm allowed to yell at him!" Howard shouted back. "I'm his friend!"

"Umm… can I say something here?" the ninja asked.

"Just ignore her questions, buddy. My sister doesn't know what she's talking about."

Heidi glared at her brother, but when she looked back at the ninja her eyes softened and she sighed in defeat. "Listen, I'm sorry for questioning you like that. I'm just really interested in getting the story, but you did just wake up, and that wasn't fair of me. I'm glad you're okay."

The ninja raised a hidden eyebrow at her. "Thanks I guess? I'm sorry I can't tell you anything, but a ninja has to have his secrets."

The ninja strained his neck as he tried looked around the room the best he could in his horizontal position.

"Wait…" the ninja began frantically. "Where's my book?"

Howard sighed and plopped the large book on the Ninja's stomach. "Don't worry, buddy, I've got your stupid book. I swear, you care more about that book than you care about yourself," Howard grumbled.

The ninja hugged the book to his chest protectively. "It's an important book, Howard!"

Heidi still couldn't get over the weirdness in front of her. The ninja and her brother arguing, but it was more than that. They seemed to really know each other. Howard wasn't fanboying over how cool he was, or about his latest battle like Heidi thought he would be. Instead, he seemed to not only know what was important to the ninja, but he actually helped him with what the ninja needed. Howard was acting like he was less of a fan of the ninja and more of a friend.

The ninja winced and grabbed his injured arm. "Man, this hurts."

"Can you heal it?" Howard asked. "You have that healing power, right?"

The ninja sighed. "I think I can, but not now. I still feel really weak. I can't even sit up. There is no way I can control any of my powers."

"Our parents might have some pain killers," Heidi spoke up. "Do you want me to get you some?"

The ninja nodded and Heidi hurriedly dashed out of the room to get the pills and a glass of water. While she was gone, she heard the sound of hurried whispers but she couldn't understand what they were saying. When she returned she handed the water to the ninja, who placed it in his lap so he could take the pills from her with his only working arm. Heidi waited for him to take the pills but the ninja just stared at her awkwardly.

Howard coughed. "Umm, sis? You wanna give us some privacy?"

Suddenly, it dawned on her what the ninja was waiting for. He couldn't take the pills without lowering his mask and he couldn't lower his mask without revealing his identity.

"Oh! Umm… okay I guess. I'll just be in the kitchen. I think I'll order pizza for us."

And with that, she left. She was tempted to peek around the corner to try and catch a glimpse of who the Ninja was. She wouldn't be a reporter if she wasn't at least a little tempted, but she resisted and she wasn't really sure why.

After she ordered the pizzas, she deemed it was safe to walk back into the living room.

The boys were having a discussion about video games. At least, she thought it was about video games. She really had no idea what they were talking about or why anyone would want to punch graves.

It was strange seeing Howard talking to the ninja like this, and it was even weirder to see the ninja acting so much like a kid. He was a warrior. He took down giant monsters and put his life in danger to protect the town. Her brother… was her brother. He and the ninja had nothing in common!

Or at least, that what she thought before today.

"So…" Heidi said, sitting down next to the two boys. "Do you think I can still ask you some questions?"

Howard glared at her. "Heidi!"

"Not like that!" she insisted. "If I ask anything you don't want to answer then just say the word! But I think the kids of Norrisville might appreciate an exclusive interview."

The ninja hesitated, but then nodded. "Anything to get my mind off my shoulder."

"Great!" Heidi pulled a pen and paper from off the coffee table next to her. "Mind if I take a few notes?"

She saw her brother roll his eyes next to her.

"Can I ask why the people of Norrisville sometimes turn into monsters?"

The ninja shook his head. "No, sorry. That kind of information might be dangerous for the public to know."

"Okay… then maybe tell us what it's like being a ninja?"

"Oh man, it's awesome!" Howard burst in. "He loves it! Although sometimes being a hero means he forgets the important things, like that he's supposed to be hanging out with me and instead he decides to get stabbed… but I digress."

The ninja raised in eyebrow at Howard. "I thought she was asking me? And you're not going to let that go are you?"

"Nope, never," Howard answered simply. "And let's be honest, I could answer all these questions for you. I know you just as well as you know yourself."

"Yeah… you probably could," the ninja agreed, much to Heidi's astonishment.

"Okay, next question!" she said suddenly. "How and why did you become friends with my brother?"

The ninja looked at her in confusion. "Wha? What do you mean?"

"You two!" Heidi said, gesturing to the two boys. "You're acting like you've been friends forever! But that doesn't make any sense!"

"So what if we're friends?" Howard asked. "That's not a crime."

"It is according to the Nomicon," the ninja mentioned, a frown in his voice.

"Wonks to the Nomicon! I don't care what it says about the 'ninja working alone'. You need me, and you know it, right bro?" Howard held up a fist towards the ninja.

The ninja chuckled. "Yeah, this one time ancient ninja wisdom is wrong." He fist-bumped her brother's hand with his good hand and they both drew their hands away quickly in the exact same gesture (fanning their fingers outwards), as if they had been practicing the move all their lives. It reminded Heidi of what Howard would always do with his best friend.

"So, the ninja is supposed to work alone, but instead you get help from Howard? Are you sure you made the right choice in him?" Heidi asked. She was joking, but also… she wasn't. "I mean, you could have picked anyone else."

The ninja shrugged. "Technically I could of, but…"

"You knew you would be nothing without me," Howard finished for him.

The ninja laughed. "Something like that."

Heidi groaned and pulled a hand down her face in frustration. "And I don't think I can publish anything from this interview. I don't think anyone would believe it. My brother and the ninja are friends… I don't eve believe it."

"Believe it, sister!"

The ninja looked apologetically at her. "I can try to answer more questions if you like?"

"Or we can play video games!" Howard suggested eagerly.

"How am I supposed to use a controller with only one hand?" the ninja asked.

"Not my problem!" Howard responded with a grin.

"Thanks by the way…Howard… Heidi," the ninja said, glancing at both of them in embarrassment. "Thanks for helping me. I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't."

"Well," Heidi began, tucking a strand behind her ear in a rare show of vulnerability. "You've saved my life before. I'm happy to return the favor. You do a lot for us, Ninja, and I don't think people really get the chance to say thank you."

The ninja looked like he was blushing in the way his eyes adverted to the ground, but she couldn't see his cheeks.

The ninja glanced at Howard who was busy setting up the controls for the video game.

"Howard?" The ninja asked annoyed. "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Who cares what you said? All I care about hearing is the sound of you being beaten at grave puncher."

"Reeeally?" the ninja asked skeptically. "So tell me, which one of us has the hand-eye coordination of a ninja? That's right, I do!" The ninja gloated.

Howard's mouth dropped as he looked over at his friend. "I didn't think of that… Good thing you only have one hand then."

The ninja laughed. "But seriously Howard, I was trying to say thank you-"

"Alright! I got it all set up! Time to play!"

"Howard…" the ninja insisted. "I'm trying to-"

Suddenly, the boy rounded on the ninja. "Just stop it okay? I don't want to hear it!"

The ninja leaned back in surprise. "But-"

Howard glared at him. "You can thank me for having my amazing personality, you can thank me for great taste in everything, but don't thank me for saving you… just don't. What else did you think I would do?" he asked, and Heidi realized Howard was genuinely insulted. "After everything did you really think I would leave you?"

The ninja swallowed and looked away. "No…no, of course not. Sorry…"

Howard's eyes softened. "Apology accepted. Here you go!" he handed the ninja a game controller with a grin.

Heidi blinked at how fast they had made up.

As they played together, the ninja with only one hand, which he somehow managed to pull off, Heidi couldn't help but watch them. The ninja just looked so comfortable in their house sitting next to her brother. Before today, Heidi had always thought of the ninja as just their protector; a phantom figure that would appear when trouble strikes and then disappear just as fast. However, if her theory about the Ninja was correct then the Ninja was just a normal kid and he would have a home, a family, a best friend…

And as the ninja sat in their living room playing video games, all she could see was just how much of a kid he was.

The rest of the night was filled with video games Heidi didn't understand, pizza, and the boisterous laughter of two friends. Actually, that was a common occurrence at her house, minus the superpowered ninja.

The way Howard and the ninja talked to each other still weirded her out. They didn't just act like two friends.

They were like best friends.

They didn't just have some things in common. In fact, Heidi quickly discovered that they had everything in common.

There was only one other person who Howard laughed with the way he did with the Ninja. Only one other person who got Howard's weird sense of humor and only one other person who could predict what her brother was going to say as if they shared one brain.

Yes, Heidi knew who the ninja was.

It's true she often pretend that she forgot his name, but really, she did it just to annoy him.

After all, she had known the boy since Howard was three.

But she would have never guessed out of everyone in the school that her brother's geeky friend, that Randy Cunningham, could truly be Norrisville High's Ninja.

And weirdly enough, she wasn't planning on telling anyone.

I hope you enjoyed this! It was definitely a lot of fun to write! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought!

This is supposed to be a one-shot but if I have more inspiration I might continue this. If you're interested, my tumblr is: maydaygirl-save-our-ships