The football field was illuminated by lights, students cowering away from the two teens standing in the center.

The girl, Shadow, had her hands held up like a block, protecting her face and neck while the boy, Randy, had his sword pointed at her, his eyes narrowed darkly.

"Hey... How about we talk this out over some McPower!" Her smile was nervous, the corner of her mouth twitched with irritation.

"I don't want to talk," his voice was tight with anger, something that hadn't been directed at her during their last couple of encounters.

Usually, he was annoyed and irritated with her but now, he seemed off. It wasn't like she had snapped on him... It just felt like he was trying to channel his anger at something.

It was almost crazy to believe that this had all started with the football team losing their first game of the season.

"Go Fishes- Woah!"

Nat plopped down as Bash got brutally pounded into the ground by the opposing team.

"Why are we here again?" Howard questioned, his chin propped up on the heel of his palm, his eyelids dropped halfway down over his eyes signaling his boredom.

"I'm related to two of the players," she said, watching as Norrisville recovered from the tackle, "they requested moral support for the game."

"But why are we here?" Randy asked as he twisted a piece of his tyrian purple bangs.

"Because," she started off knowingly, "you two wanted to know what I was doing after school."

"Ah, um," they realized they were caught when she raised an eyebrow at their stuttering.

She then started to mock them, "'ah, um' what?"

"You caught us," the taller of the two confessed as she gave them a soft smile at them.

"That just shows that you care," she waved it off, turning back to the game.

His eyes stayed on her, thinking that in that moment... She actually looked a little cute. Not like Theresa Folwer cute... But cute.

Her sharp gasp broke him out of his thoughts and he turned towards the field, a boy with black hair but shining green eyes laid on the grass.

His face was twisted in pain, a bone stuck out of the exposed flesh of his leg.

Nat shot up, her feet padding against the metal bleachers as she reached the ground, running over towards the boy.

Another girl was running on the field too, her own black hair flying wildly behind her as well.

They both dropped down to the ground, lips moving rapidly but the sound never reached his ears.

The blood rushed to his ears, a slight pinch come from his chest and soon before he knew it, he scoffed.

This feeling had happened before, every time Nat would go help another boy with a problem, or when she would spend her time talking to Howard verses himself.

He just chalked it off as him getting heartburn, something that didn't surprise him by how many warnings he had seen on the food he ate.

And seemed like he was getting it again.

The boy gave Nat a pained smile causing her to nod and lean forward, planting her lips on his forehead in a quick peck.

She stood up as some eleventh grades came onto the field with a medical mat.

They gently set him on it, picking up the ground. The black-haired girl said something to Nat causing her to bid and head back to her seat.

"Nat-"

"Randy," she interrupted, biting off nail, "I appreciate the concern but I just... I just want to watch the game."

He felt slightly hurt by her words but decided to bother on and let her stay in silence.

The game resumed after she left the field, Norrisville slacking off. In the end, they lost by fifty-three points.

Thanks to the huge loss and an injury, they became seriously upset and disappointed, allowing them to get stanked by the Sorcerer.

He ended up having to deal with it until Shadow showed up, saving the day and having everyone believe that she was the real hero instead of him.

And now they were in this position.

"Ninja, just calm down." Shadow urged him, her hands up to show that she wasn't going to hurt him.

"Oh, I am calm."

He charged at her, to which she side-stepped, going to guard her face and neck.

It shocked her that he wasn't even shouting out his attacks, his mood barely scratched over mad.

He charged again and she dodged, shifting back enough so that his blade scratched across her arm, drawing small droplets of blood.

She grabbed her injured arm, dodging another of attacks but slipping on Ninja Slipping Ball.

The ground came crashing forward as she fell, cracking her head against the grass.

Soon, his sword was dangling over her and she did what she normally did in the face of death.

She clenched her eyes as smoke grew over her, disappearing her from view. When it finally cleared, she was gone.

"What the juice is wrong with you?!" A voice screeched at him and he turned, seeing Shadow cradling her head. Blood seeped through her fingers. "That last move could have killed me!"

Anger dotted her face, her eyes narrowed onto his face. "That was the point," he hissed darkly, pointing his sword at her shocked form. Suddenly, her shock faded and turned into anger and she had her own sword out, daring him to challenge her.

"Looks like I need to teach you a lesson about respect."

They stood across from each other, swords pointing at each as they waited for the other to make their move. Silence seeped between the as they both entered a state of uttermost concentration. Randy sucked in a breath, releasing it as he charged forward.

She put her sword up, blocking his attack. "Don't base your attacks on a pattern, especially your breath." She kneeled upward causing him to tumble down to the ground, holding his crotch in pain. "Fight dirty because it might save you in a tough situation."

She kicked him hard in the chest, nuzzling her foot under his rib cage painfully. "Come on, Ninja! I thought you were trying to kill me!" Her sword laid abandoned in the dirt and he inched towards it, taking another and another one of her painful kicks.

"If you can't beat me, how can you protect Norrisville?" She was bent over, her black hair dangling like a waterfall over them. "Come on, tell me?"

His hand wrapped around the hilt of her blade and soon, he swung up, nicking her on the neck and probably killing her if she didn't jerk back. "You-" She cut herself off, diving forward to hit him. He swiftly grabbed her arm, flipping him over her so that he rolled over her. He trapped her hands down, pinning her legs down.

"How come," he started in her same taunting voice, his eyes narrowed, " since you are obviously the better fighter, why have you not made a scratch on me?"

Shadow clenched her teeth and pushed him off of her, pinning him down with her arm and crushing his windpipe and cutting off his oxygen. "Listen here, boy," Shadow spat the words at him, "you know nothing about being a Ninja, nothing. All you know how to do is make mistakes."

A new voice joined the conversation, raspy, like it hasn't been used in a long time, and full of knowledge. "And that's what you were suppose to teach him, how to be a good Ninja... but you can't do that if he's dead, right?" She glanced over her shoulder as black spots started to dot his vision, his mouth gapping wide to inhale more oxygen.

She glanced back down, before sitting up and rolling off of him. Coughs rattled out of him as he tried to catch his breathe while also trying to exhale. "Nomi Con," Shadow said sarcastically, "always a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Attempting to murder the Ninja," Nomi hissed, his eyes narrowed, "is not what you are suppose to be doing." Nomi was about twenty-three, his bright red hair flying out different directions as his chocolate brown eyes, stuffed with wisdom and knowledge, narrowed on Shadow's lazy form.

"I was teaching him," she said simply with a lazy grin before turning to Randy, "wasn't I teaching you?" Her eyes basically read "say yes or die" and he nervously grinned at Nomi.

Don't base your attacks on a pattern... Fight dirty...

Suddenly, what she said clicked into his head. This was a ploy. "Yeah, she is," he said, shocking himself and apparently his ninja-book-turned-human teacher, "Teaching me, that is."

"See," she smirked, pulling herself up from the ground with ease, "I'm doing my job." Nomi sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Well, can you 'do your job' a little more carefully, or did my idiotic younger teach you nothing but to always engage in fights?"

That was when she swayed on feet, falling back towards the ground. Nomi moved into action, putting an arm under her leg while supporting her back with his other. He held her bridal style, the faintest smear of crimson blood smearing on his white shirt from the wound on her head.

"This is why," he started, irritable, "we do not pick fights with others!" He turned on his heel, heading towards the fence that surrounded the school. He then adjusted the girl, who grunted, shifting around before falling still, and started to climb over it.

Randy, who had trailed after them, simply jumped over it, landing on his feet as Nomi did, switching Shadow back into bridal style. "And because this is your mistake," Nomi declared, "you can hold her."

He deposited the girl in Randy's shocked arms, which quickly got a good grip on her. She was surprisingly light, he noted, examining her face. "Don't stare at her," Nomi scolded as he pulled out a bony key from his jean pocket, "it's creepy."

A bright blush spread against his cheeks and, for once, he was happy for the smelly mask on his face. The teacher started to walk again, walking for a couple of minutes before they came across a dojo, the wood painted red and black and decorated with dragons and... was that the Tengu?

Nomi inserted the key, turning it and then going to slide the doors to the side. Dust exploded as soon as the door opened causing the two boys to cough and the girl to sigh deeply. "Home..."

Her eyes cracked open and she peered up at Randy's sapphire orbs. "Randy," she said before glancing at him fully and hitting him hard in the cheek. He dropped her as he fell back, rubbing his clothed cheeks. "What are you doing touching me?" She hissed, rubbing her lower back.

"You fainted," he protested, "Nomi told me to hold you!" She narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything else, picking herself off from the ground. She finally noticed her surroundings, watching Nomi, who was inside checking under little statues inside the dojo.

She finally stepped inside, eyeing the room that she was in. "Why do I feel like I've been here before?" He raised an eyebrow at her, didn't she just call the place her home.

"You probably have," Nomi had switched to pulling out books, like he was looking for a trap door, "in your dreams, that is. The Ninja has yet to experience the past of Ninjas and Cheshires."

She nodded her head, pulling out a red book with a gold symbol printed on the spine. Suddenly the room started to move, floors splitting as the doors slammed closed. Light flooded the room as Nomi sighed, a grateful smile on his face.

"You really are like her," soon he turned serious, his eyes watching the both of them, "Ninjas and Cheshires are suppose to be allies, not enemies. History has put you both on this path and fate is what has secured you both on it."