Chapter Two: No Word, No Think

She laughs through her fears,

and smiles through her tears.

She takes the long way home.

She's in so much pain,

but she never says a word.

There are others like her,

that nobody sees.

So Naturally,

nobody cares...

It's been exactly two weeks since the gang had met the mysterious fighter, Shadow Honda. They haven't seen much of the child since that day, and when they did see her, she either had her nose in a book with headphones on, or she was spotted at the park with her headphones and training. It was like she was some kind of ghost going through the city.

Shadow was skating on the boardwalk, dodging traffic with ease. Something caught her eyes something from her blind-side, it was a creepy shadow. The shadow was standing in the upcoming alley and shivered slightly against the wind, and picked up her speed. Shadow looked back in the direction she was going and collided with something big and metal.

The force knocked her fully down on the ground. She moaned and rubbed her hip in a soothing manner as she looked up at the thing that she collided with and noticed it was one of the city street lights. Her senses kicked back in when she heard someone calling out to her.

" 'ey, you alright, kiddo?" A rough brooklyn accent reached her ears.

Shadow nodded sheepishly at Duke. "I'll let you know in a few minutes." She said in a dazed tone as she swayed back and forth a little.

Duke shook his head at the girl and held his hand out to her. " 'ere ya go." He said; gestering for her to take his hand.

Shadow followed suit and grabbed his feathered hand. "I guess I was absent the day they taught graceful, huh?"

Just as Duke was about to reply, but the blonde haired, blue-eyed boy from the Underground Tournament turned a corner and found the two. He let out a harsh growl and marched right up to Shadow; grabbing her uniform.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing me up like that at the tournament, Shadow Honda!" He said in a round tone as he shook her wildly back and forth.

Shadow looked over at the hands on her uniform and dangerously up at the boy. "Take your hands off me..." She warned dangerously as she glared up at him. "I don't want to fight outside the ring or dojo."

The boy snarled down at the girl and pulled his fist back; ready to attack. "Then it looks like the fight came to you!" He shouted as he thrust his fist forward.

"Shadow!" Duke shouted in a stunned tone as he watched Shadow stand in the way of the oncoming fist.

Shadow smirked and dogdged the blow; taking a step back. She looked over her shoulder at Duke before she made a no handed cartwheel to a nearby car. The boy stumbled forward and looked over at Shadow with hatred in his eyes and got into a fighting stance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Shadow said in a taughting tone, as she smirked at the boy facing her; daring him to make the taboo.

And just as he charged at Shadow with full force, she managed to roll her body around his once his shoulder reached hers, and wrapped his arm around his back, making him instictively reach for his chest with his free arm as pain shot up his shoulder. Once Shadow had her fill with him, she kicked the boy's back and pushed him to the ground.

" 'ey, 'ey! Knock it off you two!" Duke shouted fatherly at the teens before him.

The boy shot back up to his feet and began attacking the tiny girl. Shadow easily dodged each attack and finished him off by guiding his fist into the nearby wall. The boy howled in pain and held his throbbing hand; glaring up at the girl standing.

Shadow stared blankly at the boy before her. "Wow. Told ya so." She said in a blunt tone as she mocked the boy. She looked over at Duke with a mock-surprised expression. "I warned him not to." She then knelt before the boy with a serious look in her eye. "I did warn you. You really don't want to end up like I was and live a short lived life of anger and violence. It's not pretty, trust me."

And with that, Shadow stood to her feet and slowly began to walk off. Duke glared at the boy in disappointment before he went after Shadow.

" 'ey, kid, wait up!" He called after her, following her down the sidewalk. "Dat was some pretty slick moves back 'ere." He said in a proud tone, catching up with the girl.

Shadow looked over her shoulder and shrinked back in shame. "It's not that great." She said modestly, "I hate street fighting. Someone always gets hurt."

"Dat's true, but you neva backed down from dat bully, and dat's something to be proud of." Duke tried to reason with the girl as he followed her to the corner. "So where are ya goin' out 'ere anyways, sweetheart?"

Shadow smiled weakly at the old alien duck beside her. "Mr. Kemo thinks I need work on my reflexes, so he's making me learn evasive manuvers by skating through the boardwalk traffic." Shadow explained in a polite tone as she pulled over to stop at a nearby drinking fountian.

Duke watched her take a drink of water in amazement. "You take this karate ding seriously, don't cha, sweetheart?" He asked in an observing tone.

Shadow looked up at Duke with lively eyes. "You missunderstand my motives, Duke." Shadow said in a confident tone. "Karate is more than just a sport, it's actually a way of life."

"I'm not followin' ya." Duke said in a blank tone as he watched the girl straighten her back.

"I used to be exactly like Rocky back there. Always picking fights with little experience and losing nine tenths of them, not to mention all the times I'd come home blood-soaked. Karate is all about self defense and respectful towards others and yourself. But there's so much more to karate than just that, it's only just one of the basic principles of karate." Shadow explained in teaching tone; mimicking her teacher as she skated circles around Duke.

" ey, maybe we could teach each otha a few dings sometime, eh?" Duke said in a friendly tone as he looked sideways at the girl before he turned his attention back to the direction they were going. "So, uh, where're ya headin' kiddo?" He asked trying to start a conversation.

Shadow let out a tired sigh and hung her head down low in surrender. "I'm heading home before I run into anymore trouble, believe it." She said in a stressed out tone as she looked up at Duke with one open eye.

Duke smiled proudly at the girl and folded his arms over his chest. "Dat's a good idea." He said in a fatherly tone before his detective instints took over. "But what I don't get is why would dat kid come afta ya outta da blue."

Shadow sighed and looked over at old duck and dodged a passerby with ease. "It's an old grudge." She explained in a bitter tone. "There are just as many rivals in the world of martial arts as there are in hockey. It's common knowledge." Another sigh escaped her lips as she slowed her strides to stay with the old duck. "There are even bets placed between dojos and what not."

Duke blinked down at Shadow in confusion; trying to understand what she had just told him. "Is dat why he attacked ya? Over some grudge?"

Shadow shook her head and looked down at her feets as she relaxed her composer. "If only it were that simple. I went to the dojo he was attending. Well, Rocky and the others would constantly haze me whenever they had the chance. So, after some brutal harassement, I had to move and attend a different dojo."

Duke growled in anger when he heard what had happened. "I can't believe dat! Don't dese people have no respect?" He demanded with a snear.

Shadow smiled to herself and looked up at the sky. "It stunk for awhile, but I learned so many different fighting styles that I never dreamed of!" She said in a thoughtful tone as she looked forward and continued to dodge the passerbys. "It's not so bad when I think about it like that, ya know?"

Duke blinked in amazement and thought about what the girl just said. He was surprised to say the least that she was so mature for her age. He scratched his head in confusion. "I guess dat makes sense." He said in a surprised tone. "You're so mature for someone yer age."

Shadow smiled proudly at her companion. "I get that a lot." She said in a modest blush as she looked away in embarrassment.

"Ya must not 'ave had a good childhood, huh?" Duke said with a slight flinch.

Shadow smiled lazily at Duke. "You could say that." She said as she turned a corner; Duke following suit. "I mean, I wouldn't actually say it was "bad", but I can't really say that it wasn't "good", either."

"I can respect dat." Duke said in an understanding tone as he nodded at the girl as they went into town.

"But who can say that they were always happy in their life, right?" Shadow said in a joking tone as she raised her hands in a curious fashion.

Duke choked back a chuckle and placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "Man, you're smart and mature, kiddo! I wish every kid was as easy-going as you!" He said full heartedly; making the girl laugh in response.

"I learn a lot from Mr. Kemo." Shadow replied, stopping at a set of railroad tracks. "He taught me a lot about karate."

Duke looked over at the girl skeptically. "Oh, really?" He asked, "What did he teach ya?"

Shadow shook her head at the duck. "He taught me how to control my... anger and things like that. Kinda like if you sit down and talk with him like he was a friend or something, he'd teach you things and wouldn't even know it!"

Duke laughed full heartedly at the girl's excitement. It reminded him greatly of a certain teenaged teammate of his.

"Well, it sounds like you really like this karate stuff, eh, kiddo?" Duke said in a fatherly tone as they arrived across the street from the Pond.

Shadow showed him a genuine smile that warmed the old duck's heart. "I love karate as much as you guys love hockey!" She said in a happy tone, "I eat, sleep, breathe karate! With the exception of figure skating and hockey, of course. I gotta keep my mind open to other sports, too."

"So who's your favorite hockey team, den?" Duke asked in a playful tone as he placed his hands on his hips and leaned down towards the girl.

"The Anahiem Mighty Ducks, of course!" Shadow answered without missing a beat, surprising Duke once again.

Duke choked on his own joke for a minute. "Really?" He asked, making sure he wasn't dreaming.

Shadow nodded excitedly at Duke and smiled proudly at him. "I've been to all your games since I moved here a few weeks ago! You're my all- time favorite player. You're all amazing players, but you just remind me a lot of someone close to me."

Duke came back to his senses and cleared his throat in his fist. "So who is it dat I remind ya so much of, sweetheart?" He wondered as they stopped walking to rest at the bus stop on the corner.

"You remind me of my father. He was my hero, ya'know? He and Mr. Kemo taught me and my brother karate since we started walking!" She told him with a blush as she looked away. She looked back up at Duke with a smile. "Well, I better be heading home now. It was nice talking with you, Duke." Shadow said in a soft tone as she got up from her seat and placed her dufflebag over her head. "I don't want Mr. Kemo to worry about me." She as she took off, only to spin around to face Duke again. "Bye, Duke! Good luck at next week's game if I don't see you then!" She called out before she spun back around and skated off in the opposite direction.

"Danks, sweetheart! Be careful goin' home!" Duke called back as he waved, watching Shadow wave back. "Dat kid neva ceases ta amaze me." He said to himself as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed across the street in the direction of his home, not hiding the proud smile on his feathered face.

Once he got to the briefing room, he found Tanya typing furiously at the keyboard with Wildwing standing behind her. Wildwing looked up to see Duke walking up to them with a broad smile on his face.

"You're in a good mood today." Wildwing stated curiously at the oldest duck.

Duke chuckled and shook his head. "I just found out who my numba one fan is." He said in a cryptic tone as he smirked playful at his leader.

Wildwing raised a brow at Duke's response. "Who?" He asked obediently.

"Dat's for me ta know, and you guys ta find out." He said before he went past him and went towards the bunks towards his room. "I'm headed ta bed. Night guys." He said with a yawn as he stretched and left the two ducks to ponder what just happened.

Tanya looked up at Wildwing with a puzzled expression on her face. "What's gotten into him?" She asked in a shocked tone. "I've never seen him so che-che-uh happy."

Wildwing held his arms up in submission. "There's nothin' wrong with being happy, I guess."

Tanya folded her arms over her chest in protest. "I still don't get it." She said in a stubborn tone as she went back to work on Drake-1; not wanting to be bothered with Duke's cheerful mood...