Title: No one left behind
Disclaimer: BtVS belongs to Mutant Enemy, GI Joe Hasbro
Author's Notes: … Um… I got nothing.
"Buffy, you're my friend, right?" Xander Harris asked, a tone of desperation in his voice as he burst into the library, his skin almost unnaturally pale.
"Yes, you're my Xander-shaped-friend..." Buffy Summers agreed uncertainly, watching her friend warily, "Why?"
"Please, please, kill me before he finds me again!" Xander pleaded.
"Wait, what?!" Buffy asked, her eyes wide. "Is there a vampire after you?!"
"Worse."
"A demon?"
"_Worse_."
"... Snyder?"
"As impossible as it sounds, even worse than the troll," Xander agreed his shoulders slumped.
"How much worse?"
"You remember the thing that someone used in the mall that one time?"
"You mean the rocket launcher on the-MMPH!" his hand quickly covered her mouth as she started to answer him.
"Shhhh!" Xander hissed, looking around quickly. "The ninjas might hear you!"
She gave him a look, then directed her eyes meaningfully down at his hand. When he quickly with drew his hand, she arched a brow, "Really, Xan, ninjas?"
"Yes! Ninjas!" He nodded his head vigorously. "_HE_ brought them when he found me!"
"Right," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes.
"After the... you-know-what happened, I... kinda hurt myself a bit. It was really just a scratch, but, there was blood, and DNA, and oh gods, it's horrible!"
"You're not in trouble, are you, Xan?" Buffy asked worriedly, her eyes wide.
"WORSE!" Xander moaned out loud. "They found a match, a partial match. A parental match!"
"... huh?"
"My dad isn't my dad!" Xander shuddered a bit. "My mom... and HIM and... eeeeewwww!"
"Wait... your dad... you mean your mom slept with someone else, other than your dad?"
"YES!" Xander nodded his head quickly. "And now thanks to everything, he's found me!"
"Um, good for you?"
"NO! BAD! Very, VERY, UNGODLY BAD!
"Is he evil?"
"Buffy, he's worse than evil!"
"Worse than evil? How?"
"He's a drill sergeant! Not just any drill sergeant! He's a special forces drill sergeant!"
"Um... ok...? How is that worse?"
"When they said be all you can be, he took that to be biblical!"
"... So?"
"Buffy, he expects that out of EVERYONE?"
"And? What's so wrong with... ooooooh..."
"Yes, OH! What do you think my new, big, mean and scary father thinks about my belovedly slacking ways?"
"... It'll be good for you?" she offered, lamely.
"... you hate me, don't you?" he stated flatly as he stared back at her. "After everything we've been through together, you've always, secretly hated me, haven't you?"
"Of course I don't, Xander," she said quickly, before pausing a moment. "Except when you flirt with my mom. Sorry, but that's just ewwwwww."
"Well, if he's anything like his father, he has good taste in women," a new female voice cut in, full of amusement.
Buffy whirled around, her eyes wide and quickly coming up in a defensive position, while Xander shrank down, his eyes going wild again. "They found me again!"
"Mmm nice reflexes, but you might want to work on your situational awareness," the woman noted, her lips pulled back into a smirk as she leaned against the railing on the raised level.
She was dressed in a simple pair of jeans, combat boots, an emerald tank top and a tan leather jacket, the woman tilted her head to the side. As she stood there, one hand on her hip, the other hanging loose and ready, she studied the pair of them with pale green eyes. Long, vibrant red hair was pulled back into a careful pony tail behind her back.
"Ack! How long have you been there?!" Xander demanded, his eyes quickly roving around the room, before he spotted a black clad figure sitting casually atop one of the stacks, giving him a friendly wave. "The ninjas have found me!"
"Again with the ninjas, Xan?" Buffy groaned, not seeing the figure, before looking back at the woman, "How long have you been listening."
"Worse than evil," she admitted without even missing a beat, "And you're wrong though. He's not a special forces drill sergeant."
"... Why do I not believe you?" Xander said simply, his eyes darting between the ninja and the woman.
"He's The Special Forces Drill Sergeant," she continued, making certain the capitalization was audible with a smirk, "But, you are right about the worse than evil part."
The ninja nodded his head in agreement.
"Also," she continued, fighting down the urge to laugh, "I'm only half ninja."
That made Buffy blink, then blink again as she stared at the woman. "... Half ninja? And who are you?"
"You can call me Scarlett, and that's my other half, Snake Eyes," Scarlett gestured to the stacks, and Buffy reflexively turned her head to catch sight of the ninja crouching there.
"Wha... Ninja!" Buffy almost shouted, pointing towards Snake Eyes.
"I told you!" Xander stated with a half glare.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know you meant ninja-ninjas!" Buffy protested as she pointed to where Snake Eyes was still perching silently atop the stack.
"What other kind of ninja would I be...!" Xander began, before pausing as she gave him a meaningful look. "Oh, right, those."
"Wait, didn't you just say he's from the army?" she suddenly pointed a finger accusingly at Snake Eyes, "When did the army get ninjas?"
"Oh, sometime after Vietnam," Scarlett answered for him, smiling mysteriously as her eyes twinkled lightly.
Buffy paused a moment as her head swiveled around and her jaw dropped as she stared at her, "... Seriously?"
"Mhm, anything else would be classified," she agreed before lightly shifted her attention to Xander, studying him carefully, "You know, I wasn't sure what you were thinking when you came to your High School library. Then Snake Eyes noticed your librarian has an... interesting selection of weaponry."
Snake eyes nodded as he made a few brief signs back at her, which caused her eyebrow to rise up further before she glanced at Xander and Buffy, "Well, that is interesting."
Xander looked at Buffy, who looked back at her as they asked in unison, "What?"
"Jinx!" Xander declared an instant later just as Buffy opened her mouth.
"Jerk," Buffy huffed as she crossed her arms about her chest.
"Someone called?" another voice asked as a lithe figure perched atop another one of the stacks.
"... Xander, are the ninjas multiplying when we stop looking?" Buffy asked as she noted the bemused looking masked ninja girl in red.
"They're ninjas," Scarlett stated simply with a roll of her shoulders, "They do that."
Snake Eyes shrugged his shoulders helplessly before glancing at Jinx and tilted his head to the side.
"I left them with my cousin," Jinx stated simply as she smiled entirely too innocently.
Snake Eyes and Scarlett both palmed their faces in unison, before Scarlett stated simply, "... Jinx, we left you with them for a reason."
"Like I'm going to be able to stop them," Jinx stated with a snort, "The idiot just makes things even worse," she paused a moment before studying Xander intently, "Hm, so this is him?"
"That it is," Scarlett agreed with a bemused drawl.
"... I was expecting something more..." She made a gesture.
"... I think I'm being insulted," Xander muttered sourly as he pouted and crossed his arms about his chest.
"Don't worry, Xander," Buffy patted his shoulder consolingly, "You just give that kind of impression."
"... You really do secretly hate me, don't you," he responded with a glare.
"Who, me?" She smiled angelically back at him.
"Excuse me, but exactly what are you doing here? All visitors during school hours need to visit the office, sign in and obtain a visitor's pass," a voice interrupted as Rupert Giles entered the library, his eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses, "Not to mention talking to minors without permission from their parents."
"Oh, I have permission to talk to him," Scarlett stated with a half smile curling over her lips as she gestured to Xander, "From his father."
"Ok, crazy drill sergeant from hell, not my father!" Xander protested quickly.
"DNA says otherwise," she countered back.
"... Yeah, but what about the ninjas?" Buffy piped up and asked.
"... What ninjas?" Scarlett asked in turn as she looked back at.
"Those... Wait..." Buffy started to point then narrowed her eyes as she noticed the stacks were noticeably unoccupied. "Oh, no you don't!"
"... You did kinda walk into that one, Buff," Xander noted, before wincing at her glare, "What did you expect? They're ninjas!"
"Again, what ninjas?" Scarlett repeated, arching a brow slightly back at the pair.
"And once more, who are you?" Giles asked as he gave the woman a hard look.
"Army CID," Scarlett stated simply as she held up an identification badge, "We were investigating the theft and subsequent discharge of an AT4 anti-tank weapon system, when Mr... Harris here became a person of interest."
"Oh, dear," Giles stated, his eyes widening before he pulled his glasses off and began to wipe them clean, "That sounds quite... Why on earth would Xander of all people become a person of interest?"
"There was a biological sample left at the scene, in the general location where the weapon system was fired," she responded simply.
"... Are you by chance referring to the incident at the Sunnydale mall?" Giles asked simply as he furrowed his brow lightly.
"... Potentially, yes, Mr...?" she continued her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Giles, Rupert Giles," he answered in turn, "So, this 'biological sample', it was found at the mall? Where teenagers are known to frequent and spend an inordinate amount of time loitering about? Why would that make Xander a person of interest?"
"Because it had a parental match with a soldier whom had no prior knowledge that he had a son," she stated, her lips quirking suddenly as she regarded him slightly, "Why did you think he was a person of interest?"
"... Wait, what?" Giles asked as he fumbled lightly with his glasses and looked towards Xander in confusion.
"Xander's dad isn't his dad," Buffy said helpfully, "And his real dad is apparently worse than evil according to her."
"So, so not my dad," Xander argued with a shudder, "Most definitely do not want crazy drill sergeant with his creepy ninja minions."
"I feel obligated to tell you that any theoretical ninjas that might exist would not be his minions, and would, in fact, have tagged along to watch the show, and/or try to keep other theoretical ninjas from causing too much havoc," Scarlett commented with a light cough, "But, of course, as you can see, no ninjas here."
"... I might be a bit rusty on my Japanese lore, but wouldn't ninja, by definition, not be seen if they chose not to be seen?" Giles commented very carefully as he started to look warily around the room.
"Who knows? Could've just been a trick of the light and overactive teenaged imaginations," Scarlett said seriously.
Xander snorted softly and looked towards where Buffy was narrowing her eyes, "Riiiiiiight, because, we all know, we've got such craaaaazy imaginations here, right Buff?"
"Right, crazy, uh huh," Buffy was glaring at Scarlett now.
Giles sighed softly and put his glasses back on his face as he walked towards the library cage, "You might as well come out. I'm not going to simply dismiss their word like some would."
"Not many people would simply take the word of a pair of teenagers, Mr. Giles," Scarlett noted as the ninjas continued to not appear.
"Yes, well I happen to know Buffy and Xander well enough to know when they are exaggerating," Giles stated simply as he put a kettle onto an electric burner, "And why exactly is Xander's situation such comedy for... Good lord!"
Giles jumped slightly as he turned around to find Snake Eyes sitting in the chair in front of his desk, holding up a tea cup questioningly.
"... Dammit, Snake," Scarlett groaned and palmed her face lightly as she sighed, "You enjoy that entirely too much."
The ninja merely shrugged and signed back to her.
"Yes, I know he believed them. Doesn't mean you had to do that! I don't care if you could use a spot of tea!"
Giles stared for a moment, before sighing softly as he let the kettle rise in temperature, "Sugar?"
When he received a slight shake of the head in answer he merely nodded and carefully began to spoon out tea from a tin into a nearby teapot.
"... Is this as surreal to you as it is to me?" Buffy asked Xander curiously.
"Definitely," Xander agreed.
"Sadly, not for us," Jinx stated as she appeared next to Scarlett, "This is kinda par for the course for sensei."
"He enjoys being unique entirely too much," Scarlett muttered sourly before her eyes narrowed as Snake Eyes flashed some signs at her, "And no, I did not destroy my taste buds with with Gung Ho's coffee."
At his response, Jinx looked back at Scarlett, "He does have a point. You did drink a whole pot of it."
"Those were extenuating circumstances," she replied tightly, "Extremely extenuating."
"... You drank marine coffee," Jinx stated dryly, "Cajun marine coffee."
"And she still says she has taste buds?" Xander couldn't help but ask as he looked incredulously at an annoyed looking Scarlett.
"... I'm gonna go with the huh? I'm guessing that's some kind of military inside joke?" Buffy asked as her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Think less liquid, more quasi sentient sludge," Xander responded without thinking, "It's less drinking, more killing it by imbibing it."
"Ah," Buffy answered simply with a nod of her head, "Gotcha."
"And if we're done with the apparently required American banter?" Giles asked politely as he began to pour the heated water into the tea pot, "Why exactly are you here in the library, even if this is outside of school hours?"
"Because someone had to track him down after he ran," Jinx stated helpfully, "He apparently had trouble coping with the information about his father."
"What would you have done if someone told you he was your father?" Xander snapped back irritably.
Jinx and Scarlett looked at each other, before answering, "Found a better hiding place."
Snake-Eyes shrugged and signed something.
"Yes, but only you and your brother are crazy enough to point and laugh at him," Scarlett stated bluntly.
Snake Eyes shrugged and signed again.
"Yes, well Cover Girl didn't come along, so none of us can hide behind her, especially not the kid," Jinx stated with a snicker.
"... And what in tha hell does Cover Girl got to do with this mess?" an angry southern voice cut in with a growl as a man in a green balaclava entered into the library with an almost visible storm cloud hovering over his head, "And who's god damned idea was it to leave me in charge of Larry and Curly after Moe ran off?!"
"Eep!" Xander immediately ducked behind Buffy, "He's found me again!"
"... That's your father?" Buffy asked before clarifying as he glared back at her, "I mean, that's your sperm donor? Well, it certainly explains your dress sense."
"..." There was a pause, as everyone stared at Buffy, before Jinx piped up.
"... You know what? She has a point."
Giles sighed irritably before moving to pour Snake-Eyes his tea, only to blink to find a second ninja seated with a cup held up expectantly, this one in white. "... Of course. Ninjas multiply when you turn your back."
"Only the really good ones," Storm Shadow agreed with a nod of his head.
"What the hell is that supposed to me? There's nuthin' wrong with how Ah dress!" Beach Head stated with a glare at Jinx before turning to face Xander, his eyes narrowing at where he was cowering, specifically behind whom, "And what in the hell?! Why are you hiding behind a girl who looks knee high to a grasshopper!?"
Buffy stilled, and Giles immediately pinched his nose.
"... He shouldn't have said that I'm guessing?" Storm Shadow guessed, mask in place but tea noticeably lower in the cup than it was moment's ago.
"I rather think not," Giles agreed.
"... Xander, did your sperm donor with the deficient fashion sense just call me short?" Buffy asked in a particular tone of voice that brokered no argument.
"Yes, yes he did," Xander agreed with a violent nod of his head as he continued to hide behind her.
"Ok," she stated in a deceptively calm voice before she directed a look at the a confused looking Beach head then calmly walked up to the man, "You know, I don't like being called short."
"And Ah don't like being called a damned sperm donor," Beach Head growled back.
"Oh, I'm sorry, were you a part of Xander's life when I wasn't looking?" Buffy shot back, not even giving him a chance to respond, "No? Guess what, that makes you the sperm donor, nothing more."
"Ah didn't even know about him!" Beach Head shot back hotly glaring back at him, "Ya think Ah'd leave him with that... that... that bitch and tha bastard she married?!"
"You knocked up a girl and somehow didn't even know about it!" Buffy snapped back, fire in her eyes, "You didn't even think about that did you?! You just wanted to take out that thing in your trousers! You didn't even think about how that would affect other people did you!?"
"Stop tryahin to put words in mah mouth!" he shouted back as he glared down at her, "She's tha one that took off, not me! Ah'd NEVER do that ta someone!"
"Sure that's what bastards like you say! That you'd never leave someone! That you'll always be there, but when you really need them, they're no where to be found! They just go and vanish from your life and leave you completely alone at best, or throw you in an asylum because they don't want to deal with you!"
"Ah told ya, Ah...!"
"Shut up! Big strong, army man, be all that you can be, and you never even tried to find out what was going on, did you?! Just saw what you wanted to, a quick night of fun and then..." her fingers clenched and she glared at him, "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
For a moment, Beach Head looked almost ready to continue yelling, his own hands curled into fists as he glared back at her, before suddenly, he looked towards where Xander was staring at Buffy, his mouth slightly hanging free, before he just seemed to deflate, "Yes, Ah do. Jess jus took up and left. Ah looked fer her fer a bit, but she didn't wanna be found that easily. Ah figured she had her reasons, so I let her go. Ah didn't think she left because she... If Ah had known, Ah wouldn't a given up like that."
"Well too bad! You. Weren't. There!" the last three words were each emphasized by a sharp poke that he could somehow feel through his tactical vest, pushing him back slightly in spite of her smaller stature. "So, you don't get to sweep in here, acting all high and mighty! Xander is my friend, and if you even think about trying to jerk him around, I will bury you!"
"I think she means it," Storm Shadow noted as he somehow sipped his tea without removing his mask or getting it even slightly wet. "And she's even believable. Impressive."
Snake Eyes nodded his head as he sipped his own cup of tea before tilting his head to the side glancing around the cage and then flashing a few signs at Storm Shadow. There was a pause as Storm Shadow seemed to consider the statement before shrugging a bit. "Does it matter?"
In response, Snake Eyes shrugged his shoulders.
"Is she always this... passionate?" Scarlett asked Giles delicately with an arched brow.
"Less so, usually," Giles stated as he began to polish his glasses worriedly while watching Buffy, "But that is hardly the kind of things one discusses with strangers."
"And you have to admit, we are rather strange," Jinx stated with a slight smirk on her lips.
"Speak for yourself, cousin," Storm Shadow stated simply, "My brother and I are merely… Eccentric."
"And what does that make me?" Scarlett asked, eyebrow arching.
Again the tea visibly lowered, as if he had taken a step, and again, without any sign that he had lowered his mask before he spoke, "The crazy redheaded southern belle."
The air went still as Snake Eyes took a moment to look from Storm Shadow to Scarlett, before letting out a raspy sigh and shaking his head. Giles took a moment to glance from the white ninja to the redhead before sighing himself. Jinx's eyes merely sparkled with amusement.
"In-laws?" Giles asked Jinx.
"Master keeps forgetting to propose," Jinx stated innocently.
Snake eyes turned his attention to Jinx and leveled a look at her, before his fingers flash their series of signs.
"Of course, Master," she said agreeably, "I'm sure you'll find the perfect time to do it sometime this century."
"What shall happen, shall happen," Giles said, "It's time shall come when it is time, no sooner, and no later than it will be."
Snake Eyes nodded sagely in agreement.
"And in the meantime, whenever she is reminded that it's still not that time, he is the one who gets the sleep on the couch," Giles finished, as he brought his glasses back to his face.
Snake Eyes again started to nod his head, before processing just what Giles that said, and reluctantly finished his nod, though much more sullenly.
As his eyes crinkled into a smile, Storm Shadow then took a moment to look around the library cage and then noted to Giles, "Interesting office decorations."
"One needs one's hobbies," Giles stated simply as he sipped his own cup of tea.
Storm Shadow just gave the man a look, then looked about the office again then looked back at him, "Interesting hobbies."
"Sadly, when I was a child stamp collecting was not considered an appropriate hobby. Thus, I had to make do with what was available," Giles stated blandly.
Storm Shadow just looked at Giles.
Giles simply looked back at the ninja as he took another sip of his tea and arched a brow.
Jinx coughed softly, "Um, just out of curiousity… Where is Kamakura?"
There was a pause as Storm Shadow looked pointedly towards Beachhead, "The Sergeant Major thought it prudent to leave someone watching the boy's home, just in case."
"Ah was trying to get you to do it," Beach head stated with a light glare.
"Fortunately, my brother's other apprentice is lacking ambition to prove himself," Storm Shadow said while miming a helpless shrug, "If that means he is willing to take on the more monotonous assignments, who am I to deny him?"
"Ya told him if he didn't, he'd have to do deal with your work outs on top of mine and Snake's," Beachhead pointed out with a snort.
"Yes, as I said, lacking proper ambition," Storm Shadow nodded his head, "Such a lazy disciple you have, brother."
Snake Eyes palmed his face.
"As amusing as all this is, you do realize that the boy's trying to make a run for it?" Scarlett pointed out, while she sent Snake a significant look that promised they'd be having a talk later.
"I wanted to see how long it would take the Sergeant Major to notice," Storm Shadow noted.
"Xander is free to handle, or not handle the situation as he prefers. Your associate should understand he is almost a grown man, unlikely to take well to scoldings and beratings from a man whom he has just met," Giles noted as he sipped his tea again, "Xander is Xander. What he does with his potential is his decision."
Beach head looked torn between glaring at Giles and chasing after Xander.
"Plus, you don't really, ya know, have custody, or like any real legal stand point," Buffy pointed out cheerfully, "And since I know from experience that family court judges ask who you'd rather stay with after a certain age…"
Storm Shadow sighed then shook his head as he set down his now empty cup of tea, "I'll make sure the boy is safe until he calms down enough to be willing to stay in the same room as our esteemed Sergeant Major."
He stood and bowed politely to Giles, "Thank you for your tea, hospitality and conversation."
"Wait, why you?" Beachhead asked suspiciously, "Why not Snake or Jinx?"
"I rather doubt the boy knows sign language, and really, based on what we've learned of the boy's personality, do you really think it would be advisable?"
"And me?" Scarlett asked as she gave him a hard look.
"Would prefer to glare at my brother for putting his foot in his mouth again," Storm Shadow said simply as he gestured towards Snake Eyes, "Plus, someone has to keep the rest of them from getting into trouble."
"Fine," Beachhead practically spat out, still glaring at him, "If ya hurt him…"
"Yes, yes, I know," he stated simply and then seemed to almost fade away from sight in a moment.
"Charming fellow," Giles noted mildly, only to receive a glare from Beachhead, "What?"
-o-o-o-
Xander sat quietly on an otherwise empty swing set, staring at a completely empty seesaw, and otherwise empty playscape.
"You know, I'm almost disappointed," a voice spoke up from the previously unoccupied swing next to him, "I was kind of expecting you to run out into either the woods or something like a cave or drain pipe."
For a moment, Xander kept staring forward, before slowly he turned his head and saw the white clad ninja from the library sitting in the swing next to him.
"Well, I was thinking about it, then I went 'Hey! That would just be predictable and I didn't want to give you the satisfaction of scaring the shit out of me,'" Xander responded with hiss of sarcasm, "What with the most logical thing being to send ninja minions after me."
Storm Shadow stared at the boy for a moment, then snorted softly as he leaned against the chains holding up the swing, "Well, as I happen to be the only one out of them that has any experience being a ninja minion, I can tell you that, yes, ninja minions tend to make the most effective minions."
Xander stared at him for a moment, then looked back at him, "So, I get why he's here. Why are the rest of you here though? No way would a CID investigation warrant ninjas. Not for the actual, you know, investigation."
"My brother and Scarlett are his friends," Storm Shadow responded calmly, "Jinx and Kamakura need his supervision, and they don't trust me to behave at the base without him there."
Xander blinked a moment then furrowed his brow in confusion, "Um… why?"
"A bit of advice, never become a ninja minion," Storm Shadow stated seriously, "The benefits tend to come with things like blackmail, brainwashing and unwanted genetic tampering."
"… Yeah, not fun," Xander agreed as he unconsciously rubbed his arm, "Unwanted genetic tampering is so not of the good."
Storm Shadow looked at the boy, and frowned slightly, but decided to not press it. At least not for the moment, "No, it's not. But, running away from problems tends to not 'be of the good' either."
"Heh," Xander shrugged his shoulders a bit, "I prefer to think of it as a strategic withdrawal in the face of superior enemy forces."
Fighting down a chuckle, he nodded his head back to the boy, "You wouldn't be the first, or even the hundredth person that the Sergeant Major elicited that kind of response out of. Even among the rangers, he's considered a cut above."
"He's a ranger?" Xander asked with a blink.
Snorting, Storm Shadow rolled his eyes a bit, "Yes, so are my brother and I."
Xander stared at him for a moment, his lips slowly twisting into a smirk, "… So, where are the red, yellow, pink and blue rangers then?"
Storm Shadow froze for a moment, before levelling Xander with a flat look.
"What? Ninja rangers!" Xander's smirk only grew in size.
"… Very funny," Storm Shadow stated sarcastically, before giving him a look, "… You will not mention that in front of my brother."
"I won't?" Xander asked innocently as he smiled back at the ninja.
"… you do realize I can kill you in your sleep without you even knowing I'm there, yes?" Storm Shadow stated flatly as he gave the boy a look that tended to send both GI Joe Greenshirts and Cobra soldiers alike fleeing in terror.
"Um, no offense, but I've seen scarier," Xander stated nervously, before twisting his hands nervously about the chain, "Not that you're not scary! Really, totally scary! It's just… Well, seen scarier."
Storm Shadow did not twitch, as much as he wanted to, he did not twitch. As potentially annoying as the boy was, it would seem that underneath that nervousness and panic, there was at least some steel there. For the first time, he found that the prospect of Xander Harris being the son of Beachhead wasn't quite as much of a stretch as his original assessment of the boy showed.
"The fact that you're telling the truth worries me," Storm Shadow stated simply as he looked out over the horizon, then looked back at Xander, "This town is not what it appears."
"You think?" Xander asked nervously as he shifted lightly around the swing, "I mean, looks like a completely ordinary California town from what I see."
He didn't even need to be able to hear the sudden pounding of the boy's heart to know that he knew something. That there was indeed something not quite right about this place. Only, he had a sinking suspicion that this time, it didn't involve Cobra.
"Are you normally this horrible at lying, or are you simply that off balance by the revelation of your parentage?"
Xander looked back at the ninja for a moment then groaned a bit, "Not buying it?"
"You're not selling it well," Storm Shadow stated simply, "At all."
"I'd advise you to not stay the night in town," Xander said simply and shrugged his shoulders, "Anything beyond that… you'd think I was crazy."
Storm Shadow looked at the boy a moment, before frowning slightly as he spoke, "You do realize you're telling this to a US army ninja, yes?"
"Yes," Xande agreed with a nod.
"But, whatever horrible thing it is that's here, you yourself will be staying," Storm Shadow noted, looking at the boy.
"Yeah, well…" Xander trailed off and looked away uncomfortably, "I'm kinda used to it?"
"Try again," Storm Shadow stated simply.
"Um…" Xander froze, trying to come up with something.
"The Sergaent Major is a Ranger. My brother is a Ranger. I am a Ranger," Storm Shadow emphasized each sentence, "We do not leave our people behind."
"Joy," Xander covered his face in his palm, "I don't suppose you know some kinda super secret ninja technique to make him forget all about me so everyone can just go back to their lives like this never happened?"
"No."
"… Dammit."