A/N: First off, thank you to those who reviewed: RCIB, RandyCunningham IsTheCheese, Ironninja 3 (even though that wasn't technically a review), Fleur, Ruby 1334, and wisedrow. Wow I can't believe I got 6 reviewers on the first chapter, I can already tell this is going to be more popular than Clarity :)

Ironninja 3: Just because Theresa wasn't in Chapter 1 doesn't mean that she's not going to be in this.

Also, I'm looking for a beta reader for this story and/or my other RC9GN story "Clarity". If you're interested please PM me :)

And, finally, I present to you: Chapter 2: More than I thought.

Bucky was only the first. Each day following that one, more and more guys got stanked. It was getting harder and harder to keep up. On Thursday there were over 15 monsters, and, honestly, fighting them all was exhausting.

Once I beat them all, I kneeled down in extreme tiredness and took out the NinjaNomicon. "What the juice am I supposed to do, Nomicon? The boys just keep getting stanked, and even though I know how to de-stank them, it just gets tiring, and there's sure to be twice as much tomorrow."

The Nomicon didn't open.

"Nomicon… what, the juice?" I asked impatiently, trying to open the book myself. "Why won't you open?"

"Because of me," I heard a sad voice say. I looked up to see a figure clad in a ninja suit like mine, only it had blue wherever mine had red.

I just sat there, stunned. "W-who are you?"

"The Nomicon won't open in my presence anymore. Not since… the incident." She- I'm pretty sure she was a she, since she had a girl's voice and looked like a girl- shook her head so slightly and quickly that anyone else would have missed it, as if to clear her thoughts.

"You never answered my question. And… what incident?" I questioned, partly fearing the answer and partly anticipating it.

"It wasn't my fault…" she trailed off. "Please forgive me, teacher…" she said looking at the Nomicon, and the Nomicon merely glowed in response.

"Hello?" I said, getting up and waving a hand in front of her eyes. "Are you there?"

She looked at me. "Yes, of course I am."

I crossed my arms and waited. "Well? Aren't you going to answer my question?"

"I don't like to talk about the incident, not even with the others. I'm sorry."

"Oh, that's ok. But, seriously, who. The juice. Are you?"

"The Water Ninja."

I stood in shock, which I seemed to be doing a lot lately. "B-but… I'm the only ninja left…"

"Lies," she said shaking her head. "All the teacher teaches anymore are lies…"

"You mean the Nomicon?" I asked, shocked.

"No, I mean the old hippie with a beard at the top of the mountain. Of course I mean the Nomicon. What else?"

"B-but… I don't understand. Why would the Nomicon lie to me? I'm the NINJA. I need to know the truth."

"Then I should leave so it can give it to you," she said, and began to disappear.

"Wait! I need answers!"

"Oh… I'll be back," she assured just before she vanished.

"When? Next week? Next month? NEXT YEAR?!"

But she was already gone.

I turned to the Nomicon. "Nomicon… is this true? Have you been lying to me this whole time?" I heard my voice crack with emotion. I had come to trust the Nomicon, it was usually right and I knew it would always guide me. Now I wasn't so sure.

I opened the book with success this time, and it sucked me in. I felt myself falling, and I landed on the ground with a groan, because it hurt.

"What the juice is going on, Nomicon? Why did the Water Ninja say you were lying to me? And why wouldn't you open in front of her? And why is she called 'the Water Ninja' anyway? I thought I was the only ninja left!" I saw text appear in front of me. "'Sometimes, the teacher does not teach the student certain things until they are deemed ready to learn them.' Well THAT didn't make any sense! What am I supposed to do, Nomicon? Or will you just keep feeding me lies?" I gasped as it seemed to suck me in deeper. I landed in what seemed to be a dark cave. I saw a single flame in the middle of the room, and I could just barely make out a shadowy figure in the back.

"Sit," I heard a voice say, and I obeyed, knowing that this was no ordinary lesson.

"Nomicon… why are you talking?"

"I suppose it is time you should know the truth of your origins."

"So everything HAS been a lie! I knew it!"

"Not everything. The lessons I have taught you will be useful to you no matter what the situation. The battle with the Sorcerer is real. But, first off, there are more enemies out there than just our high school Sorcerer imprisoned in a hole. The elemental ninjas have more foes. The only reason we left them is because they ignored the Sorcerer, thinking he was no longer a threat. And it was never the Norisu nine. It was the Norisu five. Six counting myself, the teacher. Earth, Air, and Water each had their respective apprentices, which is why I told you Norisu nine, though the apprentices and myself could not fight. Fire was a busy ninja, and Snow was very distant anyways. The three apprentices were inexperienced, and I was no longer able to fight."

"So, lemme get this straight," I interrupted the voice. "The Norisu nine were technically the Norisu five, the Sorcerer wasn't our main enemy, in fact, he was barely a threat once he was locked up, and each member of the Norisu five had an element?"

"The Sorcerer was still a threat. Water just refused to see it that way."

"What about the other four? And where do I come into all of this?"

"All in good time… Fire Ninja." I was pushed back into the real world. I stood up, closing the Nomicon and tossing it into my backpack, which rested on the wall. Fire Ninja? Well I guess that explained a lot. I could use the other elements, but when I used fire, I always felt a sense of… freedom. Now that I thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense. My new sword was crafted through fire. When I defeated the Tengu, I threw my mask into the fire, and it was reborn from the flames. And when I put it on, a circle of fire surrounded me and I went into fire rage, and it felt amazing. I remember all I could say was "this is the brucest thing in the history of bruce!" Fire came naturally to me! The other elements I had worked with, air and earth, were much harder for me to learn, and I hadn't even tried water or snow yet.

But why was the Water Ninja even here? I decided to ask her when she came back, since she said she would. I just hoped she would keep her word.

*~*~*LINE BREAK*~*~*

I did some heavy thinking last night, and I realized something. If I really want Heidi, I should just ask her as the ninja, and Howard probably won't see us anyway. People might wonder where I am, but nobody but Howard really cares if Randy is missing.

So why not?

Luckily it's early so no one's gotten stanked yet. I slip on the ninja mask and conceal myself, looking for Heidi. I finally see her, talking to someone.

And no amount of ninja training could have prepared me for what was about to happen next.

I listened in on their conversation.

"Soo, Heidi…" the guy says. I notice that he's one of the guys in the fish-cage. "Do you wanna be my date to the dance?"

"Sorry, Luke. I'm already going with someone else," she says. And then I realize: she's going with someone. WHO ISN'T ME. I felt my whole world come tumbling down. Did every attempt, every time, well it was one time but still, she and the ninja had a moment mean nothing to her?

I leave silently. No one's around so I take the mask off and keep walking. It's only been a few seconds when Theresa Fowler sneaks up behind me and taps me on the shoulder.

"Wha…? Oh, hey Theresa." I can hear the sadness in my voice.

"Hi Randy… is something wrong?" she asks with concern in her eyes.

"No, everything's fine."

"Ok, good… cause there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

I shrug. "Ask away," I say, distracted.

"Ok." I hear her take a deep breath. "Will you go to the dance with me?"

Ooh that was a twist! Wonder what he's going to say. Please review! ;) NG202 out.