Angel: I don't think I need to make it clear again where me and story requests stand right now. I already just got a new job that I can work at while home and not having a schedule or any special equipment, and it's weekly pay! So because I have training later on today, I decided to upload earlier than usual. Mulan the live-action movie is coming out tomorrow apparently...

Which I will not watch or want anything to do with because of all the changes they made-including removing Mushu! He was downright the best character in that movie, and he's not gonna be in it, so I will not even give it the time of day or even wanna look at it T^T Some live-action remakes of Disney have been good recently, but this one is where I draw the line.

Speaking of, some people have compared Amy to Mulan with their awkward tendencies and I honestly don't know why I never talked about it sooner ^^' I honestly thought the comparisons would've been made with Hana from my Big Hero 7 Series story (and yes, I am doing that show, so if you haven't read that, please go check it out!) since I've made Mulan references there too...oh well *shrugs* Anyway, thanks for the comparisons.

Randy lets out a groan. "This might be the most boring week ever," He has his fists to his cheeks as he's sitting next to Howard. "No monsters, no robots, no reason to Ninja out. The only thing getting me through this week is the big championship!"

He turns to Howard, who has a soda hat on. He drinks from it. "Yes! I cannot wait to see Norrisville destroy Flackville in...uh, what sport is this again?"

"Not a clue," Randy replies, but is still pumped up. "But whatever it is, we're getting our fan on!" He cracks out a cricket bat and smacks a beach ball with it. The ball hits one of the mascots from the court. "And not to mention Ames is in it, so we can finally support her in something!"

"Easy-teasy here," Heidi walks past them as she's recording from her camera. "Bringing you the deets on the big championship. "N-Ville has destroyed those Flat-wads 11 years running and now we're about to make it an even dozen. On your mark, get set, chess!"

The dancers move away to reveal Bucky against a player, right in the middle of the court.

"Chess?" The two boys ask in disbelief, getting shushed by Flute Girl. Everyone stays silent to hear the clock ticking and the players making moves.

"This is the most boring week ever," Randy whispers to Howard, waving sheepishly at Amy. She waves back with a small smile from the Norrisville section of players. They watch in boredom, Howard taking a sip from his drinks. Amy notices them and giggles slightly. She doesn't blame them, this week has been pretty mundane. There hasn't been any attacks from their villains at all this week, but practicing for the chess match honestly took her mind off it.

And so did subtlety teasing Randy for the whole Jacques thing. She didn't tell him exactly what she knew, but she easily guessed it. For now, she just wants them to stay friends. She'll worry about his feelings for her when she's ready to face it.

The Sorcerer is laying down on his back. He seems to be just as bored as Randy. "Oh, this is the most boring week ever." He spins around un-used stank above him. "No break-ups, no burn-outs, no blunders. Everyone has been disgustingly gloom-free. Fortunately, McFist has assured me he has a plan guaranteed to crush the school's school spirit." He squishes the ball of stank, and it circles over his head.

He laughs evilly, his rat squeaking out of fear as he covers his eyes.

"Look at them, Viceroy," McFist whispers to his ally as Heidi walks past them. "Not a clue that we're about to ruin their afternoon. I LOVE IT!"

Someone nearby shushes him and he points to the student with a glare. "You shush!"

"I have to admit, sir," Viceroy speaks up. "Replacing the Flackville player with my unbeatable Chess Bot 5000 was a stroke of above average for you."

The robot is sitting there, but to everyone else, he looks like a normal Flackville student. "Your robot better be as good as you say it is."

"Oh, he's good," Viceroy waves him off. "He's been programmed with every chess move ever played."

Bucky makes a move that was a good one and sighs in relief, placing his hands behind his back.

"Am I missing something?" Randy questions still in disbelief. "How could our entire school love this? How could Ames not be bored with this?"

"Seriously," Howard comments, crossing his arms. "It's like the easiest game ever," Randy stares at him. "All he's gotta do is put the castle thingy next to the horsey thingy, and the guy in the pointy hat can't do anything. I mean, am I the only one who's seeing this?"

"Howard," Randy starts off, and there's no way Amy would believe this when he tells her later, "I know you better than anyone, and you don't know the first thing about chess. I'm pretty sure Ames would prove you wrong."

Howard points up to the big screen as Bucky does exactly what Howard described. Bucky wins the match.

"Look who's talking now?" He rubs his chin confidently. "Chess zing!"

The player knocks away the pieces, walking off in defeat. Randy stares at the confident-looking Howard as he rubs his chest slightly.

"Who are you?" Randy couldn't help but wonder.

The players switch to Julian and another Flackville player. Randy hears McFist's laughter, looking up to see him with Viceroy.

"McFist!" His eyes widen in alarm and they reach for something, giggling. "Finally, some action!" He pulls out his mask, texting Amy to look up. Her phone buzzes and she looks at the text.

Ames, look up.

Confused, she turns to Randy. He points to the two villains nearby. Once she sees them, she gasps sharply.

"McFist and Viceroy?! What are they doing here?"

As much as she wants to help Randy out, he forgot one tiny detail.

I can't Kuno out, I'm on the team.

She puts her phone away, staring at the two intensely. They pull out a flag and hat instead of anything evil. "Hooray! Go Norrisville!" McFist cheers, giving two thumbs up.

"Oh, even my enemies are boring," Randy complains, putting his mask back underneath his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Howard isn't listening as he's shouting at Julian. "Pointy top jumps roundhead and you got him!"

"Howard," Amy murmurs, turning to him in disbelief that he's yelling out loud for everyone to hear. Randy lets out another groan, more bored than ever. He needed something to cheer him up, in his own way.

"This is ridiculous," He reaches into his bag and pulls out the Nomicon. "I'll be in the Ninja Nomicon," He hides it behind his math book. "Make my body look like I'm paying attention in case Ames looks at me." He definitely feels bad for not supporting her in the match, but she'd understand...

Hopefully.

He opens up his book and is shloomped in.

The tall boy lands on his back with a thump. He's in a large clearing with mountains in the distance. He stands up with a pleading look. "Nomicon. Please tell me you got something exciting for me to do. I'm about to lose my cheese out there."

A sound occurs that makes him turn around to see a cabinet come out of the ground in front of him. When they open, a bright light flashes, temporarily blinding him. When he looks up again, he gasps in awe at a large assortment of Ninja balls.

"Balls. Balls. Look at all those beautiful balls."

"Another wahoo bites the dust," Heidi comments as she looks at another Flackville player. She dejectedly walks back towards her team. Amy has already gone against another player. She looks up and sees Randy in the Nomicon. She can tell by the way he's leaning against Howard with his eyes all zonked out. The girl sighs, slowly shaking her head.

"Of course. He turns to his book to solve his boredom."

"Only one match stands between the chess-bians and a record 12 wins," She turns to the robot as it's his turn. "We so got this." Debbie approaches the table. "Debbie 'Dominator King' is about to destroy..." She looks at the list of names, giving a look of confusion. "Steve Riley..."

"Norrisville, prepare to feel the wrath of Steve Riley!" McFist whispers in glee before giving a deadpan look at the name. "Any way you say it, it just doesn't sound that scary."

"What kind of name is that?" Amy whispers to herself, staring at the robot. She's never even heard from Flackville with that name...she couldn't help but feel that something is off, and not just because of the mundane name.

Both players crack their knuckles and Debbie makes the first move. Everyone gasps sharply, Howard looking smug. Randy's face is now in his book.

Randy is giggling in glee, placing down all of the balls he could hold in his arms. He takes a red one, looking at a bunch of statues. "Bowl it." He throws it at the turtle statue and flames surround it, disintegrating the object. "In your face, turtle! I'm calling that one Ninja Hot Ball."

He holds up a blue one and throws it at the dragon statue, where it gets completely encased in ice. "Uh-oh! Ninja Cold Balls! Too bad for Ames she couldn't come, but I'm definitely telling her to come down here tomorrow! Nomicon, you know exactly how to cheer me up."

A thunderstorm appears in the sky and he looks up to see the clouds moving away. "To underestimate your enemy is to invite your defeat. Underestimate enemy, invite defeat," Randy doesn't seem to get the lesson, as usual. "Cool, yeah, just one question. What the juice do these green ones do?"

He holds up a green one, which sparks electricity. He throws it a few feet away, and electricity sparks from it. "Whoa! Ninja Electro-Balls! I'm just gonna keep those for myself, I mean, Ames has the power of electricity when she needs it." He grins to himself. He couldn't let her have all the fun with electricity.

"Checkmate," Steve Riley declares to a shocked Debbie. She shrieks, falling back in her seat. Amy opens her mouth, unsure of how to react. She looks between the robot and Debbie, as she thought that her teammate had this.

"W. T. Juice?!" Heidi exclaims from the seats. "Dominator King was our chess-sassinator." She looks just as shocked as everyone else. "Bum city."

Soon, Steve Riley is knocking out players left and right with no sweat. He beats Theresa, Julian, Bucky, and Amy. The brunette shakily holds up a piece.

"WRONG ONE!" Howard screams at her, causing her to flinch. She whips around to him.

"Be quiet!" Amy shouts at her friend and he clamps his mouth shut.

She turns around and makes the move but Steve Riley knocks her piece away from the board. "Checkmate."

She couldn't believe this was happening. And, with all players from the Norrisville team defeated, the win is given to Flackville...

Everyone from Norrisville starts crying while Flackville strains to hold up the heavy robot. They fail and decide to take the trophy, Heidi struggling to give it up. She cries too as the three run off with their prize. McFist gives a pleased smile.

"I can't believe it. It worked. My plan worked! Who's the genius now, Viceroy?"

"Still me," Viceroy comments to him.

"All you had to do was branch your pony two L's to the right, and you would have had him, Smith!" Howard shouts and she flinches again, turning around to him. "Why do I yell this stuff out if nobody's gonna listen?!"

"Maybe because you broke my concentration! I don't do well under pressure!" She stands up, gesturing to herself. Not to mention, it's like Steve Riley knew how to counteract every single move that she made. It's so unlike any player from Flackville...so she's told.

"And what do you do?" Randy takes a yellow-striped ball from the pile. He tosses it, but once it hits the ground, it explodes into a bunch of bees. They head right towards him. "Ah, bees!" He runs away from them. "That's a Ninja Bee Ball."

He dodges them several times before jumping into a pond. He resurfaces, spitting out water. The bees form the same lesson.

"To underestimate your enemy is to invite your defeat." He still doesn't seem to understand that something is obviously wrong. "That's great advice. I'll keep that in mind. For when something's actually happening."

A lightning storm forms over him, and then he's sucked into a whirlpool. He falls down a long tunnel, flashes of green surrounding the boy. He lands harshly on the ground, only to see a dark and gloomy version of the school. The Sorcerer bursts out of it, laughing evilly as stank is in the sky. He then directs it towards the whole building. Randy knows exactly who it is, images of stanked students flying past him. Randy is holding his head in a panic, staring at them.

Before he can even think about what just happened, the Sorcerer scoops up Randy, being held over his mouth. The Sorcerer drops him and he gets eaten.

Randy whimpers once he's out of the book. He closes his book, turning to Howard. "Howard, you will not believe what I just saw in the Nomicon."

"Uh, everyone was monstered out in a epic stake apocalypse?" Howard asks knowingly, crossing his arms.

"No-" Randy pauses at the exact description. "Yeah, how did you know?"

Howard simply points forward as Monster Theresa is spinning around two students like batons. Kunoichi kicks her to the ground, releasing them. Monster Juggo and the monster dancers run right past her. She looks between the two, wondering who to deal with first. Monster Juggo throws a student through a hoop, the girl holding her head in a panic.

"Where's Ninja when I need him?" She pants slightly, freaking out. A girl screams as Monster Dave is climbing the ceiling, landing behind McFist and Viceroy.

"Eh, what do you say we watch from outside?" The two make a quick exit, Stevens, Bucky, and Flute Girl hiding underneath some debris. Bucky gets turned into a monster, the two running away as he emerges from the pile.

"Yeah, week's not so boring now, is it, Cunningham?" Howard glances at his friend.

"I can handle this. No problem," Randy says somewhat confidently as he doesn't know what really happened. "Just gotta figure out what to destroy, so I can de-stank 'em."

He sees some Flackville students being chased by monsters, holding onto the chess trophy. "The trophy. Gotta be it."

The students run into the supply closet, Monster Julian and Monster Bucky crashing into a wall. "Howard, it's Ninja o'clock," Randy takes out his mask.

"Ho, ho. It is way past Ninja o'clock," Howard replies as Randy slips behind the bleachers. He transforms into the Ninja.

"I am awash in chaos," The Sorcerer is surrounded by stank, his orbs glowing from him. They lift up into the air. "Each scream brings me closer to freedom. He laughs evilly as the stank reaches the ceiling.

"Smoke bomb!" Ninja appears in the middle of the chaos. Monster Theresa and Monster Bucky have surrounded his partner and he joins her side. He grabs Monster Bucky's tongue with his scarf, throwing him into the other monster so they can start fighting each other. Both of them start running to the supply closet side-by-side.

"Kuno, I'm sorry I missed your match earlier."

"You're forgiven," She says quickly while running and he skids to a stop. She turns to him in confusion.

"Wait, really? You're not gonna yell at me or scold me for going into the Nomicon?" He went into the Nomicon during her match. He thought she would've been a little bit more upset at him.

"No...?" She asks slowly. "I'm not Howard."

"I'm not saying you are, but I thought you'd be madder than that," He rubs the back of his neck.

"I'm not mad," Kunoichi shakes her head.

"Are you sure?" He asks expectantly and she glances to all the monsters.

"Well, do you see me stanked? Why are we even debating this?" She looks up to the ceiling, slightly annoyed.

"Well, if it was me, I'd be mad if you missed something that was important to me. Or maybe this is a passive-aggressive thing that girls normally do."

"Okay, now is not the right time or place for this kind of conversation, and not all girls are passive-aggressive." She deadpans at him. "Have you not noticed all of the chaos around here?"

"Wait, why aren't you stanked?" He stares at his partner, raising a brow. "You were on the chess team too."

"Yeah, but I've experienced losing before back at my old school. Can we focus on the matter at hand please?!" Honestly, it really didn't bother her that much. She's not sure why he's so hung up on this, anyway. It's not like he forgot her birthday or something.

"Right, sorry!" He exclaims sheepishly. Before they could reach the door, the dance team block their way. "Dancing fish," He says as they dance in front of them. "Why'd it have to be dancing fish?"

"Beggars can't be choosers," Kunoichi replies as the fish dance around the two. Howard is crawling around the floor when he notices two feet. He looks up at Steve Riley and stands up.

"There's something weird about you," The boy rubs his chin. Steve's eyes turn red. "Don't know what it is." He circles the robot, whose head turns around. "But there is something weird about you. YO KUNO!" He hollers at the girl.

"I'm kind of busy!" She calls out as she and Ninja are blocking the attacks. Ninja jumps into the air, throwing some cold balls.

"Ninja Cold Balls!" He completely freezes them solid, sliding down the ice and landing in front of Kuno. "Looks like I put your routine on ice."

"No...just no..." Kunoichi groans at the joke.

"If you weren't frozen, you totally would have appreciated that."

"No one would," His partner shakes her head.

Two lizard monsters land from the ceiling, pouncing towards them. "Ninja Electro-Balls!" Ninja throws them and electrocutes the two, but not enough to fatally harm them. "Okay, come on. You gotta be mad at me for using new balls in front of you."

"For the last time, I'm not mad at you," She says in exasperation, turning to him. "Can't we just let it go?"

Monster Debbie is trying to break into the supply closet, Monster Julian and Bucky behind her. "Ninja Bee Ball!" He throws it and the bees cause the three monsters to run away. The two partners land near the door, hugging the door.

"Open up," He bangs on it. "It's the Ninja and Kunoichi."

"Forget it," A boy crosses his arms stubbornly.

"Come on, there's monsters out here!" Ninja argues as Kunoichi's eyes widen. The bees have focused on them instead of the monsters. "And bees. A lot of bees. My partner is allergic to them."

"I know you guys are very...proud of yourselves, I guess," Kunoichi rolls her eyes slightly. Even if they won, she wasn't sure if they deserved it given the attitude. "But we have a duty to help other kids out, and if you prevent us from doing that, I'm gonna break down this door myself!"

"Whoa," Ninja blinks at her as she's clenching a fist, looking angry. For now, he's just glad it's not directed at him.

The student finally opens the door out of fear and they slip inside. "I need your trophy," Ninja snatches it away.

"But we won!" The student that let them protests.

"We wouldn't do this without good reason," Kunoichi points out.

"And let us be the first to congratulate you," Ninja throws the trophy into the air. "You really did it. Ninja Trophy Slash!" He slices off the head with his sword, to the horror of the Flackville students.

"I'm sorry I had to do that. But you'll understand when I open this door, and everyone has returned to normal," He opens the door, only to be met with monsters. He quickly shuts the door, Kunoichi's eyes widening at what she just saw. The Flackville students grumble at both of them.

"So...that clearly didn't work," Kunoichi rubs her arm.

"Okay, this is bad. Just gonna wing it," He pulls out his chain. "Kuno, the door."

She flings her hair at the door knob, catching it. She then pulls the door open so Ninja can jump out, kicking away a monster. Then Kunoichi frontflips, kicking away Julian. Their phones both ring and they answer it at the same time.

"Got kinda a lot going on here," Ninja states while dodging and swinging.

"I think I know how Flackville won during Smith's embarrassing match-"

"Hey! I'll have you know that i was the chess champion at my old school!" She yells into the phone. "It was a good 5-minute match."

"5 minutes, really?" Ninja asks in surprise.

"Not the point," She gives him a brief glare. "What is it, Howard?"

"Uh huh, yeah, okay," He kicks away Monster Debbie. "Steve Riley is a chess-playing McFist-bot," He ducks and jumps over Bucky, Kunoichi leaping over him. "Designed to beat Norrisville," They stare up at Monster Julian. "Mm-hmm. Which bummed everyone out," He jumps backwards, hitting at the arm with his chain. "Allowing the Sorcerer to stank them. Wow."

He ducks and ends up behind Monster Julian. "That is a serious plan. Hold on one second."

Kunoichi slides with her sword in hand, knocking Monster Julian into the air once she passes him. When he gets close to the ground, Ninja kicks him and he hits the ice. He jumps, landing back on his feet. He helps up Kunoichi, who sheathes her sword.

"And we're back. So the slashing the trophy? Big, fat goose egg."

"Ah, Ninja?" Kunoichi notices the ice cracking, releasing the dancing fish.

"Ninja Slipping Balls," He turns around and throws some sticky balls that cause them to slip.

Howard is hiding near the chess table. "How are you two gonna de-stank the school?" He asks as the two land nearby.

"Well, we now know it's not a physical thing this time..." Kunoichi murmurs as they look around.

"Everyone thought Norrisville couldn't lose. We underestimated our enemy. When we lost, everyone got stanked. So to de-stank, we have to win. Howard, we have to beat Flackville!"

Howard gets out of hiding from the chess table. "I'll do it!"

"But I'll just lose again against that robot. He's programmed to know every single chess move, I can't beat him," Kunoichi points out to her partner as the two seem to ignore him. "Even I don't know every single chess move."

"And all of our players are monsters," Ninja looks around, to Howard's annoyance.

"Uh, hello," Howard speaks up to them. "I totally get this dumb game."

"It's not dumb, now shut up while we look," Kunoichi waves a hand.

"Yes, that's it!" The two still weren't listening to their friend. "That guy can play. Hey, buddy." Monster Bucky turns around and throws a bench. Kunoichi grabs it with her hair and throws it behind them. "No, he's a monster. That's a monster too."

Monster Bucky tackles the two onto the ground. Howard looks up at them, fed up with their ignorance.

"Tell you what. You guys fight that thing. I'll go save the school." He looks to the robot. "Hey, Steve!"

He turns his head around as Howard takes a seat, placing down a piece. He then stops his clock, crossing his arms with a confident smirk.

"Your move."

His eyes turn red as he grins, his metal hand making a move. Some monsters have already stopped terrorizing in favor of watching the match. Howard seems to know exactly what he's doing, making quick moves. Howard grows more confident during each turn, watching Steve Riley get more frustrated.

Monster Bucky stops focusing on Kunoichi and Ninja in favor of the match. He runs over to the table, panting like a puppy.

"Hey, where you doing?" Ninja calls out after them.

"Wait," Kunoichi looks at the table. "Is that-"

"Howard?" They ask in unison, glancing to each other.

Everyone watches as Howard is knocking off pieces left and right. Steve Riley starts to sweat, struggling to make a move. He finally does so, but Howard knocks off the Knight piece. It's like Howard's brain is on overtime as he doesn't slow down.

"Anybody here know what's happening?" Ninja asks two monsters nearby. "Cause I don't get this game at all."

He gets shushed in response. "It's crazy chess. I'll tell you later," Kunoichi whispers to him.

Viceroy and McFist are outside, looking through a window. "Why is your robot sweating?" McFist asks the scientist.

"That boy's playing crazy chess," Viceroy points at Howard. "Chess Bot isn't programmed for that."

Steam comes out of Steve's ears as he knocks off a piece, laughing.

"Oh, you took my pointy diagonal guy," Howard complains, gesturing to the board.

"Bishop," Kunoichi calls out, arms crossed.

"Uh, but you totally missed my only-can-go-straight guy."

"Rook," She corrects him again, smiling.

"Chess mate!" Howard wins the game.

"You mean, checkmate," Steve corrects this time angrily.

"Yeah, whatever. I win!" The obese boy smiles, jerking a thumb to himself. Everyone cheers as all the stanked students turn back to normal. Steve Riley grits his teeth, eyes red.

"Howard! Howard! Howard!"

Steve Riley starts freaking out as he knocks over the table. He leaps into the air and turns into a much more menacing-looking robot. He runs towards Howard, who yelps and cowers.

"Ninja Hot Balls!" Ninja throws them from behind, melting the robot. The crowd cheers for the two heroes.

"It's not a big deal. It's what we do, we're the Ninja and Kunoichi," Ninja brags to the crowd, earning a small jab to the arm from Kunoichi. "Ow. What?"

"Seriously?" Howard looks to the crowd angrily. "I had like, two seconds of glory."

"And you earned it," Ninja wraps an arm around him.

"You did de-stank the school," Kunoichi points out.

"Smoke bomb," Ninja plants it onto the ground.

And with the whole school de-stanked, the orbs fall near the Sorcerer, his rat jumping away as they land. One of them slides to a stop in front of the Sorcerer. He takes it into his hand, wallowing for his failure. "No. NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The rat holds his ears.

"I underestimated my enemy," Randy tells Howard and Amy solemnly as they're walking home. "And he would have defeated us," They look up to see McFist flying away on his hovercraft. "If it wasn't for you." He holds out the taped trophy he was holding.

"Wow. That is an ugly trophy," He stares at it.

"I suppose I could fix it later," Amy bends down slightly, looking at the head.

"Hey, kid," Randy places a hand on Howard's shoulder. "You saved the day."

"No." They stare at Howard in surprise, and he rips the trophy so that it's in two pieces again. "We saved the day," He hands the head to Randy.

Howard walks off with a smile before Randy notices something. "And why do you get the bigger half?"

"Because I saved the day more," He smirks knowingly, the two running up to him.

"The juice you did!"

"We did way more than you," Amy smiles teasingly.

"The juice I didn't," Howard nudges the taller boy. All of them start arguing playfully, walking down the road. Randy glances at the brunette, frowning as he stops the arguing. He still feels bad for missing her match, since he made a silent vow to watch it. And yet he went into the Nomicon instead...

"Ames, you gotta punch me."

"What?" She looks at him incredibly. By the look on his face, he's serious. "Are you crazy? Why?"

"I deserve at least something bad from you!" He pouts slightly, getting on his knees. "And I can't take it anymore. Come on, just do it."

"Go for the guts," Howard whispers to her. "That's always a laugh."

"No, I'm not gonna punch him. Why would I need to?" She huffs, crossing her arms. "I don't wanna hurt him, and with my Kunoichi training, he'll definitely feel it."

"Just one punch and I'll stop," Randy smiles nervously, holding up a finger. She sighs wearily at his puppy eyes. Once he gets like this, he won't let up. And something tells her that if she didn't do it now, he'll keep asking.

"Fine. Get up."

"Really?" Randy looks up at her and she nods.

"Obviously, you're not gonna let it go, no matter how many times I tell you it's fine," She gestures to himself. "So I'll punch you, but not in the face or the guts."

"Aw," Howard pouts at this, earning a glare from both of them. Randy readies himself and she punches him in the arm.

"Ow," He rubs his right arm. "That hurt, but I deserved it. I'm sorry I missed your match."

"Eh, after that punch, we're even," She waves it off. "Well, actually..." She rubs her chin with a small grin as she remembers something. Randy and Howard both glance at each other before looking at her in confusion.

"Oh no. I know that look," Howard narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Punching him wasn't enough, was it? What are you up to, Smith?" He gets into her face, and she pushes him away, annoyed.

"Personal space, Howard, sheesh. But I did think of something else that I want."

"W-What is it?" Randy stammers a little, blushing. What else could she possibly want from him? Hopefully it was something that would embarrass him...well, more than he has been already in the past.

"I seem to remember a certain partner of mine using some new balls in school today," She has an amused look on her face. "And the only way you could've known what they were for is if you learned from the Ninja Nomicon. So, before I can really forgive you, you're gonna help me learn what all of them do."

"That's it?" Randy's eyes shine in excitement. "That's all I gotta do? Bruce!"

"Hey, how come he gets to have fun instead of having to like wear a diaper for a week or get hit in the guts?" Howard complains, sagging his shoulders.

"Howard, I'm never wearing a diaper again no matter what," Randy glares at him for the reminder. And he definitely wasn't going to bet on Amy again for that matter.

Randy and Amy are in the Kunoichi Nomicon as he places down a pile of balls. Amy rummages through them, picking up a grey one. "Ooh, what does this one do?"

"Throw it, throw it, throw it," Randy rubs his hands giddily. She does so and cement appears on the ground. "Cement! Throw this one," He hands her a rainbow one. She takes it into her hands and inspects it.

"Definitely never used this one before..." She throws it at a statue and a rainbow appears in the sky.

"Seriously? A rainbow? Ha, what Ninja is gonna use that for?" Randy laughs at this. Then the colors of the rainbows flash, temporarily blinding them. "Oh, that's why."

Amy giggles at him, adjusting her eyes. "This has been fun, Ames," He smiles at her and she smiles back.

"It has, hasn't it?" They look up at the rainbow, grinning. "Not nearly as much fun as punching you, though."

"So you were mad!" Randy points at her knowingly.

"Why does it even matter now? I'm over it," She sighs a bit, pinching her nose.

"Because...I didn't want you to be mad at me," He frowns a little. "I mean, you're my partner, and I can't stand it whenever you're angry because...I don't like to be the one who does that to you." He chuckles sheepishly as she stares at him. "Sorry, that was weird, wasn't it?"

"What? No," She rapidly shakes her head. "No, I get it, and...those balls ended up helping. You wouldn't have known what they were if you didn't go into the Nomicon. I would've preferred it if you went into battle knowing what you were doing, anyway. That was the biggest army of monsters we've ever faced."

"Thanks," He smiles a bit at her. "For understanding and for not being angry."

"Now he finally gets it," She looks away with a small amused smile.

"What, hey! I got it!"

"After I told you I wasn't mad for like the 8th time!" She laughs and he grabs a cold ball, throwing it at her. She gasps sharply and they grab half the balls, running away a few feet. They laugh as they start throwing the balls at each other.

Well, most of them. Definitely not the bee balls!