Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, the characters, or the series that solely belong to Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, and Viacom International. I just own my characters that I create unless I say otherwise.
The New Girl
It was a typical day in Amity Park. The city that was the constant source of ghost activity and home of Danny Fenton, son of ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton, but no one knows that Danny Fenton was also the half-ghost superhero named Danny Phantom, save for his best friends Sam Manson and Tucker Foley.
Several days ago, there was incident that involved a ghost overshadowing a girl whom Danny was crushing on. A Latina girl named Paulina. However, she only fell in love with his alter ego as she turned her locker into a shrine. Something that Danny did not see, but it was a...half pleasant experience for him as he remembered
Flashback
Paulina closed her locker before leaning on it as she sighed a lovingly before walking past Danny, Sam, and Tucker
"Hi Paulina." Danny greets
Paulina glares at Danny while asking
"Why are you even talking to me?"
The Latina girl walks past Danny and another boy who has blonde hair, carrying a stack of book before he tossed them into the air and shouts,
"Yes!"
"Can you believe that?" Danny asks Sam and Tucker while pointing at Paulina with his thumb. "Paulina is still in love, but with the wrong me!"
Sam smiles as she said
"Welcome back to the fold, fellow loser."
Suddenly, Kwan arrives followed by Star and Dash
"Hey Fenton! I'll be needing that "cool kid membership package" back!" Kwan says
"Better yet," Dash pounds his fist into his hand. "We'll beat it out of ya after school, Fen-turd!"
Dash walks away while Kwan and Star follow him.
"Oh well." Danny turns to his friends with a smile, "I have to say, it's good to be back among friends, but the popularity sure was nice while it lasted."
Flashback ends
It was Saturday as Danny Phantom finished dealing with a tiger ghost at a park. After sealing the bothersome spook into the Fenton Thermos, the ghost boy hides behind a tree and morphs back into Danny Fenton. However, he wasn't alone
In another area, there was a teenage Japanese girl walking into the park, completely unaware of a battle that recently occurred. She had brown eyes, black hair that was cut short on the back of her head and her bangs were a few inches past her chin in length while they framed her face beautifully. The girl was dressed in a dark navy blue sleeveless top that slightly revealed her midriff, black pants and black mid-calf boots.
She took out a portable speaker system from her pocket and a smart phone before she connected the devices together. After turning on the devices, the girl increased the volume to maximum before selecting a song to play.
At a distance, Danny hears the sound of rock music which caught his attention. He follows the sound to the source as the boy hears the lyrics
Turn around, there's those eyes again
Turn around, fake indifference and I
Watch the cold, dark silhouettes disappear
A hundred bodies fill this room
And all their faces overdone
Pain is foreign, foreign to us
Then, Danny finds the source of the music. He sees a beautiful Japanese girl which made his heart skip a beat as he watched her practicing some sort of martial arts movements. The girl was unaware that she had an audience as she continued to practice. To Danny, the girl looked she was fighting an invisible opponent as he watched her throwing punches, kicks, block unseen attacks, and did flips as well as jumps to dodge other attacks.
"Who is she? She's prettier than Paulina." Danny thought in wonder
As the music continued, the girl intensified her practice as it seemed she was now fighting multiple opponents. Danny was awestruck on how acrobatic, agile, and fluent her moves were. However, the girl finally noticed his presence which made her stop and turn off her music. In her perspective, this spectator had an average physique, blue eyes, black hair that was oddly shaped, but looked nice on him. He was dressed in a white that had a red oval, red collar, and red edges on the sleeves, blue jeans, and red shoes
"Were you enjoying that?" she asks in fluent english, despite her Japanese accent
"Uh...yeah, but I didn't mean to disturb you." Danny replied shyly
The girl chuckled before she kindly said
"Not at all."
Danny slowly walked up to the girl as he hesitantly introduced himself
"I'm Danny...Danny Fenton."
"It is an honor to meet you, Daniel-san." the girl says with a bow. "I am Mariko Watanabe."
Danny began to blush when the girl named Mariko smile and called him Daniel-san. To her, the blush made him more cute than before.
"Uh...do you want to...head to the Nasty Burger?" Danny shyly asks. "I mean...if you're not..."
Mariko smiled and said
"I'd be honored to accompany you."
At the local restaurant, Danny and Mariko were at a table as they were talking to one another.
"So Daniel-san, tell me about yourself." Mariko says before drinking her soda
"Well...first off...I'm 14." Danny began, "I was born and raised here in Amity Park."
"Really?" Mariko asks, completely intrigued.
"Yeah." Danny replies with a blush. "I go to...Casper High and I want to become an astronaut someday."
Mariko smiled. The girl can surmise that this boy does get weak in the knees when it comes to cute girls.
"Sounds like you have a bright future planned out." She says.
"You think so?" Danny asks in a low but surprised tone.
"Mmm-hmm." Mariko replied with a nod
Danny blushed while he smiled slightly. Then, he hears Mariko ask
"What about your family?"
Danny flinched at that question. However, the girl saw it and was confused
"Well...they're scientists." Danny says, completely hesitant. "They invent things, but sometimes they backfire on them."
Mariko giggled at Danny's answer
"Sounds like your parents are pleasant people."
Danny smiled at her comment. It appears that this girl has not made any negative judgment on his family. To him, it was a good sign. Then, he asked her
"Since you've asked about my life, can you tell me yours?"
"Of course." Mariko said. "I'm 14 as well. My family and I just moved here to Amity Park a few days ago." Danny listens, completely intrigued. "My father is the owner of a company called "WatanabeTech Corporation while my mother is a doctor."
The part of Mariko's father being the owner of the said company shocked Danny as he blinked and asked
"Wait? Any...relation to Kenji Watanabe, the Japanese billionaire?"
"Of course." Mariko replied with a smile. "Kenji Watanabe is my father."
Mariko's answer made Danny go dry. He nervously reached for his soda, but accidentally spilled it on the table. Thankfully, none of the carbonated liquid got on him or Mariko. The boy looked embarrassed by his mistake
"Oh man! I am so sorry!" he says with an embarrassed tone as tried to wipe it up with some napkins.
"Oh boy! Here we go...!" Danny thought while bracing himself to be on the receiving end of negative judgement.
Mariko simply smiled a compassionate smile as she said with her hands up, trying to calm him down
"Daniel-san! It's okay. I get it."
"Uh...get what?" Danny asks in confusion
"I get that it's not everyday you meet the daughter of a wealthy Japanese tycoon." Mariko says.
Danny was caught by surprise. Mariko did not judge him for his accidental mistake. Instead, she was being compassionate and understanding of the whole situation. He looked relieved as he said to her
"Sorry if I looked lame or..."
Mariko interrupts him by saying
"You do not need to apologize. I can see that you are a good person."
Danny was intrigued as he said
"How do you...?"
Mariko interrupts him again
"Because most people already recognize me by my family name. You, however, did not know about my family or my wealth until now."
"What?" Danny asks in confusion
"You see, I prefer to have genuine friends who like me for me, not for my wealth." Mariko explains. "When you surmised who my father is, you didn't try and suck up to me, like most people would."
Danny was flabbergasted. He had no idea that, in a way, this Japanese girl was testing him to see if he would try to suck up to her for her wealth and he unknowingly passed. The boy decided to change to subject as he said
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing at the park?"
"Oh. I was practicing my ninjutsu." Mariko replies with a smile.
"Ninjutsu?" Danny asks. "As in...you're a ninja?"
"Yes." Mariko says. "A Kunoichi to be more precise. My father had me start training since I was four. I mainly use it for defense."
Danny was absolutely stunned upon hearing that Mariko was a kunoichi. Not once did he meet a girl with that particular set of skills.
"If you don't mind me asking Daniel-san, what do you like doing for fun?" Mariko asks
"Well, when I'm not too busy, I like to eat here with my friends, play video games, listen to music." Danny says, "sometimes, I like to chill at home when I have nothing going on."
Mariko listened without interrupting Danny before he asked her,
"What about you?"
"Back in Japan, I too like to spend time with my friends, listen to music, practice ninjutsu. I even like to draw at times." she says
Then, Mariko and Danny hear their order number being called. He was about to stand up before Mariko stops him and says
"Allow me Daniel-san."
As Mariko walked to the counter, Danny couldn't help but smile.
"Wow. I can't believe that I meet a cute girl who's rich, but sweet. For once, things are starting to go right."
Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off, alerting him.
"You just had to subtly jinx it, Fenton!"
Then, everyone hears an obnoxious bellowing voice
"BEWARE!"
While Danny took cover to morph, everyone else started running for their lives. However, Mariko was the only one who didn't run as she sees a ghost that looked like a man with blue skin, black hair, wearing a beanie, gray overalls, gray shirt, gloves and shoes.
"I AM THE BOX GHOST! AND I HAVE COME TO CLAIM...!"
The Box Ghost paused as he sees a Japanese human girl just staring at him in confusion. He decides to try and scare her as he got close and bellowed
"BEWARE!"
Mariko just crossed her arms, completely unimpressed. Then, the Box Ghost blinked in surprise before he tried again
"BEWARE!"
"How is it that other people are afraid of you?" Mariko asked
The Box Ghost was confused that this girl wasn't scared of him at all. Then, he was hit by an energy blast from his left side.
"Don't you know it's rude to try and scare the lady!?" came the voice of Danny Phantom.
Mariko sees this new ghost. It had snow white hair, eyes that glowed neon green and wore a black and white jumpsuit. In her perspective, this one seemed like a hero, considering that he blasted the so-called Box Ghost from the left.
"Are you okay?" he asks
"I'm fine." Mariko replies. "Thank you...um..."
"I'm Danny Phantom."
"Very well Phantom-san." Mariko says with a bow
Danny pulls out the thermos as he said
"If you'll excuse me, I need to send him back."
Mariko looks to see the Box Ghost getting up.
"Could you excuse me for a moment?" she asks
"Uh...sure." Danny replies
Mariko walks up to the Box Ghost and grabs him by the overalls, despite that she was only human.
"Do not think that you'll return to wherever it is you came from, unscathed." Mariko says
The Box Ghost sees a glint in Mariko's eyes before she pulled back her fist, ready to throw a punch.
"Oh poop...!"
Danny winced as he watched Mariko pummel the Box Ghost, sending a variety of punches and kicks, without any mercy as the annoying ghost bellowed
"YOU WILL...! OW! CEASE HARMING...! OW! THE BOX GHOST...! OOOWW!"
The Box Ghost shouted in pain as Mariko unleashed her fury. After she was done, the Box Ghost looked like he was seeing stars as he whimpered
"The...pain..."
"Man, that's hot!" Danny thought
Mariko stepped out of the way as she said while dusting her hands
"He's all yours."
Danny proceeded to suck the Box Ghost into the Fenton Thermos without a struggle.
"Thanks for the help, but that was unnecessary to beat up the Box Ghost." Danny said
"I do not condone anyone who torments others for pleasure." Mariko simply says to the ghost boy
Danny smiled at the fact that Mariko dislikes bullies. Soon he said
"I guess I better get going. There may be another ghost nearby." Danny said before flying off
"Wait." Mariko says, but it was too late.
This Danny Phantom, as the ghost called himself disappeared from view. However, she didn't realize that Danny Phantom merely returned to the spot where he transformed and morphed back to Danny Fenton. Suddenly, Mariko hears Danny's voice
"Mariko?"
"Daniel-san!"
"Are you okay?" Danny asks in concern
"I am. However, I do not what just happened or why that ghost was here." she says in confusion
"Beats me. Probably just wanted to scare some people, but he's just being annoying." Danny said, hoping that the new girl doesn't figure out his secret.
Surprisingly, the girl didn't ask further questions as she said
"It heartens me to see you unharmed."
"I'm all right. Things like this happen on a daily basis." Danny said
"Shall we eat, then?" Mariko asks
"Sure. I'm getting hungry myself." Danny replies with a shrug.
Mariko chuckled at Danny's quip.
Soon, they were at Amity Park Mall after lunch at the Nasty Burger.
"Why do you people call that place "the Nasty Burger"?" Mariko asks
"I'm not sure. Probably to make it a sick joke or something." Danny replies
"Well, despite the name, the food there is actually quite edible." she comments
At the mall, there were interesting stores that the Japanese girl has never seen before; House o' Shoes, Abyss, Mondo Toys, Sophia's, Shoes and Pillows. As Danny and Mariko walked to the escalator to get to the second floor, her smart phone started going off. She checked her caller i.d. to see that her mother was calling
"Forgive me Daniel-san, but I need to answer this. My mother is calling." Mariko says
Danny nods and patiently waits as Mariko answers the call and speaks to her mother in Japanese
"Kon'nichiwa, kāsan."
(Translation: Hello mother)
"Hai, watashi wa genkidesu."
(Translation: Yes, I'm fine)
"Watashi wa moru de atarashī tomodachi to isshodesu."
(Translation: I'm with a new friend at the mall)
Danny didn't know what Mariko was saying, but he can tell that she wasn't ashamed about being in his presence as she continued talking to her mother.
"Kare no namae wa danī fentondesu."
(Translation: His name is Danny Fenton.)
Mariko chuckled before she said
"Bakagete wa ikamasen. Watashi ga chichioya ni tsuite kare ni hanashita toki, kare wa subarashikute, watashi no suikomou to shimasendeshita."
(Translation: Don't be silly. He's nice and didn't try to suck up to me when I told him about father.)
Then, Mariko remained silent before she said
"Kekko. Nichibotsuzen ni ie ni kaerimasu."
(Translation: Very well. I'll be home before sundown.)
Mariko smiled, then she said
"Sayonara okāsan."
(Translation: Bye mother.)
Mariko hung up her phone before she turns to Danny.
"What did your mom say?" Danny asks in curiosity
"Oh. She was just checking up on me." Mariko replies with a smile. "She is aware that I'm spending time with you."
"I'm guessing you have to be home before curfew." Danny assumed
"Yes. Before sundown." Mariko said. "My mother and father want me to ensure that I get plenty of rest. I will be attending Casper High as of Monday."
What Mariko said shocked Danny unimaginably. She was going to start attending Casper High on Monday. To him, in a way, he'll be seeing her more often than he thought. Then, he snapped out of his thoughts as Mariko asked
"Do you want some ice cream? It'll be an honor to treat you."
Danny was surprised by her offer as he said with hesitation
"Um...sure. I could go for some."
As Mariko gently grasped Danny's hand, causing him to blush, they were being watched from a distance by Valerie Gray as she stared with a dropped jaw and wide eyes at the two teens in shock and awe while they walked off.
"Is that who I think it is?!" Valerie asks herself. "What is she doing with Fenton, of all people?!"
After dessert and spending further time with one another, Danny and Mariko were leaving the mall as the sun started going down. They were approaching the exit as the two teens stop and faced each other
"I hope to see you at Casper High on Monday." Mariko said
"Perhaps because sometimes I'm late to class." Danny says with a smile
The Japanese girl giggled at Danny's remark. Before Mariko left, she asked
"Do you have a cell phone on you?"
"Uh...sure." Danny said while pulling out the said device from his pocket
After Danny hands it to her, Mariko opens it and began pushing some buttons. When she was finished, the girl hands the device back to a confused Danny after closing it.
"I better go. I promised my mother to be home before sunset." she says
Then, to Danny's shock and surprise, Mariko lightly kissed him on the cheek before she said
"I look forward to our next meeting, Daniel-san."
Danny could only watch Mariko depart with a blush as his cell phone was still in his hand. He slowly opened it and checked it. In his contacts list, the ghost boy sees her name and number added to it which causes him to do this...
"YES!"
Danny could hardly contain his excitement as he ran to find a private spot and morphed before flying and doing somersaults in midair with joy. After about a minute, Danny was able to calm down before he flew back home to Fenton Works. Before he entered his house, Danny transformed and then proceeds to walk inside the building.
Jack and Maddie Fenton were busy in the kitchen, working on a new invention while Danny's older sister Jazz was reading a novel. She sees her younger brother enter the house with a smile.
"What's with the smile, little brother?" Jazz asked curiously
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Danny replied with a half smile as he went upstairs
Jazz rose an eyebrow, finding Danny's behavior rather odd.
In his room, Danny lying on his bed with a happy sigh. Minutes later, he hears a knock on his bedroom door. Then, Jazz entered
"Okay Danny, start talking; what's her name?" Jazz said with a smirk
"Well Jazz..." Danny began as he sat up to face his sister. "Her name Mariko Watanabe."
Jazz blinked in shock from her younger sibling's answer as she asks
"The daughter of Kenji Watanabe?!"
"Yeah, but despite being rich, she's actually nice." Danny says, knowing from his first meeting with her. "And I must admit, she's prettier than Paulina."
"Oh really?" Jazz asked with a smug smile and a raised eyebrow
"Believe me Jazz. Mariko prefers to have real friends and get this; she'll be at Casper High starting Monday." he says with a little excitement.
Jazz could only smile and shake her head slowly. She didn't imagine that her brother would meet the daughter of a tycoon by coincidence and he was looking forward to seeing her again. Then she stood up while saying
"Well, just be sure you get to school in time so you can catch her there."
Jazz leaves a joyously smiling Danny who simply plopped down on his bed with his eyes closed.
The weekend passed. It was now Monday as school was back in session at Casper High. Every student was going about their business, especially with a particular Japanese girl who was emerging from Principal Ishiyama's office with a schedule in her hand.
Mariko was dressed in a long-sleeved top that was dark forest green in color, black pants, a black sleeveless bomber jacket that was left unzipped, and black mid-calf low heel boots as she walked down the halls to get to her assigned locker. On her way, she hears commotion before seeing a sight that disgusted her.
"Hey come on guys!" a kid with glasses begged
"Sorry! You didn't do her homework so it's wedgie time!" a blonde jock said with no remorse
Mariko glares and shook her head in disapproval as she saw a few football jocks giving a wedgie to a teen boy who had red hair and freckles as his glasses fell to the floor. Surprisingly, they didn't shatter upon impact. What disgusted her even further was that a Latina girl stood there, doing nothing to intervene, while watching the poor kid being tormented with a smirk. Then, they walked away laughing as the other jocks gave the blonde one a high-five.
The Japanese girl walks up to the boy as he was feeling for his glasses. She picked them and hands them to the boy
"Here. I believe these are yours."
The boy grabs them as he stood up and puts his glasses on. He picked up his backpack before gasping as he saw a girl in front of him who simply asked in concern
"Are you okay?"
"It's a trap! IT'S A TRAP!" the boy hollered in fear before running away
Mariko just stared blankly as she said in an awkward tone, despite that the boy was far away
"You're welcome. I guess..."
The girl simply shrugged before she continued walking to her locker.
In another part of the hallways, Danny emerged from the locker that Sam and Tucker were standing by.
"How was your weekend?" Tucker asked
"You know, same old, same old." Danny comments with a sort of look that the African boy was oblivious to.
"Who was it this time?" Sam asked in concern
"Just the Box Ghost, nothing serious." Danny replied.
Sam was the first to notice the look that her best friend had on his face and rose an eyebrow
"What's with you?"
Before Danny could answer, Principal Ishiyama activated the school's speakers and made the announcement
"Good morning students of Casper High. I am happy to announce that, as of today, we are having a new student who has moved here from Japan."
The announcement made Sam and Tucker blink in surprise. However, they see Danny simply smile slightly, as if he knew beforehand
"What's with the smile dude?" Tucker asks curiously
"Yeah. Do you know anything about this?" Sam asked equally curious.
Then, they see a beautiful Japanese girl getting to her locker. As she was entering the combination, provided in the class schedule, Tucker quickly applied his breath spray and approached her, unaware that his shoelace became untied as his foot was now stepping on it while standing 6 feet away.
"Hello there." Tucker greets as the girl opened her locker
The girl sees an African-American boy with glasses, wearing a red beret, yellow long-sleeved shirt, green cargo pants, and brown boots.
"If I may ask..."
However, Tucker moved the wrong foot as his shoelace remained pinned. When he lifted his foot to approach, he lost balance as the boy tried to keep himself from falling. Unfortunately, Tucker failed to keep balance as he fell flat on his face. The girl winced as she saw him fall
"Ooh..." She whispered
"Ow." he moaned. "My pride."
"Smooth Tucker." Sam says as she helped up Tucker. "You were about to ask for her name, and then you flop."
The girl sees a goth girl who had short black hair tied in a small ponytail at the top of her head in the back wearing a black tank top, black skirt with green crosshatching stripes, purple leggings and black combat boots.
"Will he be okay?" she asks in concern
"Yeah, he'll be alright." Sam says in a tone like she's seen it occurred multiple time
It was then that Danny's voice sounded, catching their attention.
"Mariko?"
Mariko sees Danny as she smiled, happy to see him.
"Daniel-san!"
Sam and Tucker watch Danny and Mariko hug one another. In Tucker's perspective, he was shocked that this Japanese girl recognized Danny when he called her name as his jaw dropped. However, with Sam, she scowled upon seeing her best friend hugging this new girl. Soon, the hug ends as Danny said
"I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Danny said nervously
"I, for one, am happy to see you." Mariko says with a smile.
Soon, the warning bell rings as Danny glanced up.
"I better get to class." Danny says
"Go." Mariko said
After Danny left, passing Sam and Tucker while the African-American boy finished tying his shoe, Mariko was placing her belongings into her locker, unaware that the other two teens were barely walking off to follow Danny to class. As they were walking, Tucker sees Sam scowling still and her eye was twitching.
"You okay Sam?" Tucker asks
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Sam says with a fake smile, "Just fine."
However, as they were about to enter the classroom, Sam punched a nearby locker in anger, leaving a small dent. The sound made Tucker jump a little in fear
"I'll take that as a no." he says before entered the classroom in haste
As Sam took a turn to enter the classroom, Mariko took a peek as she heard the sound too. The girl merely shrugged before organizing her locker and then closed it before look at her class schedule to see that her homeroom was the very same classroom that Danny, Sam, and Tucker entered.
For the Japanese girl, her first day at Casper High was about...to begin.
Stay tuned for the next chapter on Mariko's first day at Casper High.
A/N: I used the lyrics from the song "Roses" by Meg and Dia for the beginning
A/N #2: Takes place after "Lucky in Love"
A/N #3: Decided to put the part where Mariko beats up the Box Ghost for humor. Hey. The Box Ghost is no threat at all.
A/N #4: I want to especially thank NeoMark and Flower Princess11 for inspirations.
A/N #5: Had to use Google translate for Mariko's Japanese language
A/N #6: Think of Mariko having the same haircut as Akima from "Titan A.E."
Don't forget to Read and Review