Authors note: So here is the first chapter to start off the Ultimate Ninja story I have planned. Don't expect much action here after the prologue, I want to set things up to prepare for what's to come, but I promise you that it will be worth the wait.

Chapter 1: Late on the first day

O-O-O

Norrisville High's new school year has just begun, and Randy Cunningham had to be late out of all the days. Fighting bad guys and saving the day was great and all, but Randy's heroics had been taking over much of his real life more than usual; the new crime wave in Norrisville only part of the problem.

Over the last two years, Randy had come to embrace his responsibility as the Ninja of Norrisville than he did before. Sure, he still enjoyed messing around and letting his overconfidence get the better of him in fights; but despite these flaws he manages to push through them to save the day. That didn't mean he knew everything however, there would always be something he had to learn from his mystical book, the ninja nomicon that he kept safely in his backpack when he rushed home to pick up.

"I can't believe I'm late for the first day of school." Randy thought to himself, jumping across trees in his ninja outfit to rush to school. "All because of some shoobs who think they can just rob people in my town."

Randy knew criminals like these didn't know any better than to rob others, but he still had the lingering feeling that something was off. As much as he hid it, Randy was surprised when he met these robbers – ones that looked more like mercenaries than ordinary street thugs- making him wonder if the meager criminal underworld of Norrisville was stirred up by these newcomers. It's not like Norrisville ever had a huge crime problem before, so this was new for the Ninja.

But for now, he had more priorities on his mind; such as hoping he didn't arrive too late to school.

Randy knew that after passing the few foliage, he was at the school campus and relieved to see the building ahead bustling with students entering the building. The school itself was a large white building, only two stories high with several windows across the wide expanse of the structure; the center of the building has a large tower-like area next to the front entrances with a tall clock tower towering it.

"I really hope they're not mad at me." Randy thought to himself, knowing that his friends were probably waiting for him still. "I'm sure they'll understand; well, Howard would… maybe."

Quickly jumping into a nearby bush on campus, he took off his mask and one short flash later, he was wearing his ordinary clothes for school; putting his mask in his bag and made a beeline to the entrance.

Without his mask, he looked like normal sixteen year old with natural tyrian purple hair and sapphire blue eyes, built with a slim and tall appearance even without the ninja suit on. Randy wore his usual outfit, a McTop shirt with a white line that curled up to form the same simple on his nomicon and ninja suit, wearing his dark slate gray McHoodie with long sleeves and pockets to cover his shirt, his lower half he wore black McSkinnies that fit his slim frame and purple zip-up McKicks.

By the time Randy reached the entrance, most of the students were already inside the school excluding two figures who spotted him; one of them happy to see him and the other not so much.

"There you are, Cunningham!" Shouted one of the students in a familiar brash voice. "We've been waiting for your butt since forever!"

The short and chubby student talking to Randy was his best friend Howard, orange haired and brown eyes glaring at him with impatience. He wore the same brand of clothing as his friend, with a blue McTop with a squid design on it, dark green McsShorties and red McKicks.

Randy and Howard had been best friends since childhood, acting more like brothers than friends in numerous occasions; this was certainly one of those times.

"Hey Randy." Greeted the more soft spoken voice of the two, happier to know Randy was actually here.

The other more recent friend Randy made was Theresa, who he secretly had a crush on ever since his freshman years; Theresa also sharing a crush on Randy respectfully. At first, they didn't talk much in 9th grade, but every time they did it usually went well, and the two broke down their nervous barriers in the 10th grade to get to know each other better and became close friends ever since.

The blue violet haired girl seemed to have followed the pattern of the boys, wearing her usual clothing to school. She wore a long sleeved golden dress with blue and white stripes on her sleeves, collar, around the waist and the bottom; her classic Norrisville High Twirl Team outfit, along with dark purple and white stripped stockings and blue tennis shoes.

"That girl is so prideful about her twirling." Randy thought to himself. "Still a cutie though."

"Sorry I'm late, guys." Randy answered, panting as he did so. "I had to take oooout-

Randy was about to explain his morning as the ninja, but almost forgot that only Howard knew of his secret identity; Theresa still thought he was just a normal kid.

"Out what?" Theresa asked, still softly and clearly not as brash as Howard would ask.

"Out… the trash!" Randy quickly made up a lie. "My mom wanted me to take out the trash, so uh, I took it out."

Howard silently face palmed at the poor excuse while Theresa eyed her crush suspiciously.

"It took you until eight to take out trash?"

"… It was a lot of trash."

Theresa paused for a moment before making a short smile.

"Moms can be a pain the butt." Theresa agreed, seemingly buying into the lie.

"Randy nervously chuckled. "Hehe, yeah! Those moms! Always so… mom."

"Dude. We're late because of you." Howard bluntly explained. "All because SOMEONE wanted to wait an extra five minutes."

Theresa looked back at Howard with a more conflicting face.

"Hey! You don't even like morning class." Theresa argued.

"I don't. But Randy and I always get to choose the best seats in every class; every year." Howard countered. "We planned it all out a month before summer break."

Theresa eyed Randy with a confused look.

"It's vital to have our butts in optimal comfort positions." Randy explained to his own crush.

"Do you know any good seats in the classroom?" Theresa asked her crush, walking with the boys inside as she did.

"I recommend the middle. Not too close to the teacher, but far enough from the windows." Randy said. "Trust me, I've done this a billion times."

All Howard could do is roll his eyes at the stupid conversation Randy and Theresa were having. Not that he would have said anything smarter, but ever since Theresa made the dynamic duo into a trio, the whole dynamic had been 'thrown out of wonk' as he put it before.

Randy wanted to talk to Theresa just as much as Howard, sometimes even more than his best friend. Of course, Howard knew his best friend wanted to get closer to her for more than just friends, and he could tell the girl was more than willing to oblige. A part of him wanted to admit he was just jealous about it all; but even Howard knew he wasn't one to admit defeat.

Also, he would lose ten bucks to Randy after making a bet about the same topic yesterday.

"So Howard." Theresa started, focusing her attention to the shorter teen. "Have you heard from Heidi lately?"

Howard didn't really like talking much about his sister. Not that he hated her or anything, just annoyed by her almost celebrity like persona in Gossip Report, her live web show about the school's various news. Every time someone asked Howard something, it always had to be about Heidi. But ever since she graduated and went to college for media studies to become a reporter, her lifelong dream; things were much different now.

"Not really." Howard replied. "Actually, I haven't heard from her in a few weeks. Probably busy being a nerd and getting good grades."

"A few weeks? She never responded to my texts ever since summer ended."

Howard simply shrugged. "My sister is like that. Sometimes she gets so invested in finding a scoop, she cuts everyone off and pretends nothing ever happened after a few weeks."

"But the whole summer?" Theresa insisted, worried for her more long distance friend.

"I'll call her myself if it helps." Howard gave in. "But you owe me lunch again."

"Thanks Howard."

It didn't take long for the trio to arrive to their classes late, and much to Randy's displeasure and Howard's glee, Theresa reached her classroom first.

"Oh! Before we go…"

Theresa quickly took out her phone, wrapping her arms around Randy and Howard as she pointed the mobile device's camera at their direction and snapped a shot of the three. The flash threw both the boys off, and it was evident when Theresa giggled at the sight of her new friends dazed in the photo while she grinned happily.

"You really should give us a heads up." Randy commented, rubbing his eyes from the flash.

"Yeah, but that ruins the surprise." Theresa countered playfully.

"Then I'll surprise you by seeing you later?"

Theresa simply smirked at the boy's lack of proper terminology. "You're not supposed to tell me the surprise."

"I also have a surprise. We're still late!" Howard exclaimed.

Randy and Theresa said their goodbyes, letting each other go to their classrooms as Howard walked across the hallway with his best friend to their class.

"Hurry up, dude!" Howard exclaimed, running past his friend. "My butt isn't getting any more comfy walking, so I'm taking a huge risk running."

Randy smirked at his friend as he followed behind.

"Great day to start a morning."

O-O-O

Class went by quickly for students in Norrisville, just going through the typical welcome backs from the teachers, both old and new. Most high schools went through an introduction segment as procedure and Norrisville High was no better; even with a Ninja guardian, school was somehow still as boring and tedious as always.

The students were relieved when their last class ended and lunch time was next, rushing out their classrooms with every intention to socialize without having a teacher bore them about future lessons.

"So you were ninjaing that early?" Howard asked, wrapped up in a conversation with Randy. "No wonder I didn't see you come out of your house."

"You know I wake up early in the morning for my ninja patrol." Randy answered.

"Ninja patrol? Laaaaame!" Howard commented.

"Crime has been getting pretty bad out there, the police need my help." Randy explained.

"Not that. Saying ninja patrol sounds stupid."

"Dude that's like; my thing." Randy defended. "When I say anything with ninja in the sentence; it's awesome. When you say, ehhhh…"

Randy motioned his hand in horizontal fashion, making Howard frustrated over another one of their usual conversations.

"Also, you just said ninjaing around. Even I wouldn't say something like that."

"You would totally say that! Sure, maybe I would take credit if it catches on and cash in on your fame."

"I learned that lesson the hard way." Randy commented, remembering the last time something like this happened.

"Yeah, I forgot what it was." Howard bluntly admitted.

"That's why I'm the ninja."

Howard simply shrugged, his friend made a good point. He wouldn't admit if to him of course, but Randy would make the better ninja of the two.

"So anyways…" Randy continued. "Those guys I fought still bug me."

"But you beat those shoobs easily." Howard brushed off.

"They didn't look like ordinary shoobs." Randy countered. "The robbers I beat weren't a joke, they looked almost like soldiers; with the firepower to match."

"Just kick some butt and don't worry about it."

Howard didn't understand his friend's worries. Randy was the Ninja of Norrisville; the undisputed guardian of the town, also the most awesome ninja to have ever existed.

But this robbery troubled Randy all day, he's never seen criminals like this before. They may have gotten the short end of the stick, but Randy had a strange feeling about them; that maybe, just maybe he hasn't seen the last of them. The nomicon didn't glow all morning today, this was either a sign of relief or worry… hopefully relief.

Randy took his mind off the morning crime when Theresa playfully bumped into his arm from behind, greeting him and Howard that got Randy out of his thoughts almost immediately.

"Surprised you?" Theresa asked playfully.

"Y-yeah, actually." Randy stuttered, keeping himself from blushing at the physical contact. "Wasn't expecting that."

Theresa was about to make a remark about the boy until she saw someone she recognized.

"Oh hey!" Theresa waved to a boy just closing his locker on the far end of the hall.

The short haired boy wore a grayish white hoodie with blue jeans and black and white sneakers that seemed more like running shoes, not much of a Mcfist fan like everyone else since he seemed to have bought his clothes from smaller clothing stores. He also seemed like the athletic type; only a few inches taller than Randy and slightly more muscular.

The boy looked a few years older than the other teens, probably eighteen and a senior student. Yet his appearance didn't exactly look sociable, the glum facial expression on him seemed like he was thinking long and hard about something; something that didn't put him in the best of moods.

However, that face changed into a friendlier expression when he waved back at Theresa with a small smile, a pit of jealously churned inside Randy at the sight.

"Will!" Theresa moved past her friends, giving the boy called Will a crushing hug.

"Oh hehe, hey Resa." Will patted the girl on the back, not really in the mood for a hug but appreciated it.

"Resa? He knows her?" Randy thought to himself. "Come on, Randy. They're just friends… They're just friends."

"Ouch! Bad luck dude." Howard remarked at the sight. "At least you still have me."

Randy just punched Howard's arm hard, getting a wince from his friend.

"How've you been?" Theresa asked worryingly. "I haven't seen you since last spring."

"I uh…" Will paused. "I had a… emergency."

"What happened?"

"Just got a little sick, uh… Needed surgery." Will said before quickly responding. "But don't worry about it! I got better."

Will didn't seem keen on talking about it in great detail, looking at Howard and Randy to change the topic.

"Who are your friends?" Will changed the subject, much to Randy's suspicion.

"Randy." The boy held out his hand which Will shook. "And my friend here is Howard."

Howard simply replied with a 'sup'.

"William Ryder." The boy introduced himself.

"Ryder?!" Howard exclaimed. "Wait a minute… THE Ryder? The same one who won the national high school track championship?"

William replied with a nervous chuckle. "I didn't think track made me popular."

"Dude, you're like the sportsman of the year! You went faster than a speeding bullet!" Howard exclaimed. "I bet you're drowning in autographs and babes."

"Nah! It's not like that." William explained bashfully. "I'm not a big fan of the spotlight, so please; hold the cheers."

Randy rolled his eyes, not impressed with the guy.

"How the juice do you know this guy?" Howard asked Theresa with a hint of jealousy.

"When I first came to Norrisville High, Ryder showed me around the school on my first day." Theresa explained. "He's really nice when you get to know him."

"I'm a humble guy." Ryder admitted. "Nothing really."

"How come I've never heard of you?" Randy asked.

"Like I said, I prefer to keep out of the spotlight." William turned to Theresa. "But I don't mind making a few more friends."

"So uh, Will. Wanna hang out with my biffers?" Theresa asked.

Biffers? William could never get used to the slang around town.

"Uh, I'd love to but I got some stuff to do." Will said. "Thanks anyways."

Theresa's face drooped down in disappointment.

"But I'll go see the twirling show thing you told me about next week?"

Theresa's mood perked up at the suggestion. "Thank you, Ryder."

"No problem, Resa. I wouldn't miss it."

"You two take care." William waved to the other friends. "Stay out of trouble, eh?"

Howard seemed to love the little joke Ryder made, but Randy could tell this guy wasn't much of a joker.

In his few years as the ninja, Randy took the time to learn the lesson from his ninja nomicon that not everyone acted the way they appeared, and after taking a quick glance inside Ryder's still open locker, there was one thing that caught his eye; a small orange cylinder with minuscule lettering on a sticker.

"Oh, and Randy!" William got Randy's attention to turn around, who gave him a thumbs up. "She's a good match for you."

Randy felt embarrassed at the comment and looked away, seeing an equally embarrassed Theresa who heard Will.

"Was it really that obvious?" Randy thought. "At least I don't have to be jealous."

As the trio of friends departed, Will's smile quickly faded away, going back to his locker in the same state of depression he had found himself in all day. Taking the cylinder inside, he popped the cap open and gulped down two pills before putting the cylinder in his backpack as he muttered to himself.

"Yeah… take care."

O-O-O

Disclaimer: I do not own Randy Cunningham 9th grade ninja.

P.S. - Slow chapter I know, but it'll get more interesting in the next chapter.