Being a Ninja

Falling for him

Mara's POV

Weeks pass by and I can't find out what the "key" opens. The alien ninjas haven't made a single move either, so everything is becoming a little boring around here.

Of course, me and Miclair had fights during these past weeks, but we always finish making up. I am starting to believe that I'm falling for him... What?! No way! I can't fall for Miclair! He's a duffers!

Tonight is a full moon night. I just can't wait to have fun kicking some goons.

Today is training day.

Me and the guys are now training our equilibrium. We're up on some sticks. The first one falling loses! Of course, we can fight with each other to make them fall!

For now, everything is calm. I'm standing on my stick with closed eyes. I feel a movement. It strikes. I strike back and something falls to the ground, making it a little hard to keep on the sticks. I open my eyes. Cain is on the floor.

"One down, three to go!" I say.

Master Itsuki is watching us closely. Cain gets up and walks to his punching bag. I close my eyes again and concentrate. Another movement! But this one is more cautious. He attacks. I'm forced to move to another stick. Knowing that he is still on the same stick, I attack.

I hit him and he loses his balance, falling. I open my eyes again. This time is Luc who’s on the floor. I look up to my next opponents. This time I'm making the first move. I start jumping from stick to stick, until I get to Miclair. I strike, but he evades and strikes back. I almost lose my balance, but I manage to get on a stick.

"I know you far too well!" He says, grinning.

"Oh yeah?" I say.

I jump next to him again. But this time I don't strike, I tickle him. He laughs so hard he loses his balance and falls to the ground.

"Hey! That's not fair!!" He screams from down there.

I throw my tongue at him. He throws his tongue at me and leaves to the TV.

I look to my fourth and last opponent: Soren. He hadn't made a single move since the fight started. I get close to him to see if he moves, but nothing. I try my luck and attack. He grabs my fist, even with closed eyes. I'm in complete shock. He throws my fist back. I'm able to keep my balance. Soren is still in the same place, without moving. This time I attack faster, but he evades every attack. He strikes and hits me. I lose my balance and fall.

"Ow!" I say when I hit the floor.

Soren gets down the stick he was on. I get up and go to him.

"How could you do that with closed eyes?!" I ask.

"I just concentrate" He answers.

"But I concentrate too and I can't do that!"

"Try to meditate more. That helps."

"I don't have patience for that" I say

"It can be really useful"

"Maybe I’ll try it someday"

He smiles and I smile too.

"Go and eat something before our second exercise" Master Itsuki says.

"Yes, sir!" I say and run to get food.

Miclair was already eating. We eat a whole pizza all by ourselves. When we're finished, we walk to the entrance to the sewer tunnels, where Master Itsuki is waiting. Soren, Cain and Luc are already there.

"Mara already knows the sewers as well as we do, so she can compete!" Luc says.

"Since ya two were tha last arriving, yer gonna be tha firsts!" Cain says.

"Aw! That's not fair!" I say.

"Nothing's fair!" He says.

"You two are going to make a race through the sewers. There are arrows showing the way. The first one getting back wins. Now, get in position" Master Itsuki says.

Me and Miclair get in our positions.

"Hey Miclair! Let's make this more interesting! If I win, you get to be my slave for two weeks! And if you win..." I say.

"You get to kiss me!" He says.

"What?!?!?!" I shout.

"On the cheek, of course!" He says, quickly.

"Oh! Deal!" I say.

"On your positions! Get ready! Go!" Soren says.

Me and Miclair start to run.

We run through tunnels and more tunnels, always near to each other. Until we see the exit of the sewers. We start running faster. But Miclair is the one arriving first.

I stop running and try to get some air. Miclair is celebrating.

"I won! I won! I won!" He says, jumping. Then he looks at me with a big smile.

"And I want my price!" He says.

"Oh! Ok! Ok!" I walk to him and close my eyes.

I kiss him lightly on the cheek. When I open my eyes again, Miclair has his face all red and he's with a dreamy expression.

"Miclair?" I ask. No answer.

"Miclair?" I repeat. Still no answer.

"Miclair!!!!" I scream.

He seems to wake up, finally!

"Huh? What?" He says.

"You ok?" I ask.

"I'm fiiiiiiiine!" He says, still with the dreamy look.

I am about to ask him something else, but I remember something.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"It's 11:30" Soren says.

"It's late! Can I get some sleep, Master Itsuki?" I ask. Master Itsuki smiles, knowing what I’m going to do.

"Very well, Mara. You can go to sleep, and you, my sons, have to go make the patrol" Master Itsuki says. The guys usually go out to patrol the streets of the city to try to save any lingering humans who are in trouble. When they save them, they take them out of the city where the Destroyer’s reign is not so tight.

"It's a pity you don't want to come with us, Mara! We can find out something about that "key"!" Miclair says.

"I'm sorry, Miclair, but I'm tired!" I say, getting upstairs.

"You're still on time to come!" He says.

"No, thanks!" I say, closing my room’s door.

I get out of the sewers through a window that's in my room. I head through the sewer tunnels when I am sure the guys are long gone and then I run and jump until I reach the building where I hide my Kitty Girl stuff.

I get dressed and make my ponytails and get my cat ears on, then the final touch. I make a special Japanese spell to change my face. My father taught it to me. The spell changes my eye color and makes me look like I have fangs. It's only an illusion, but it only disappears when I want it to.

I get up again and track some ninjas robbing a weapon store.

"Righyo! Time to kick some goons!"

Kitty Girl's POV

I approach the ninjas slowly so they don't know I'm there. I get closer to one of them and catch him from the back, stopping him from screaming. I do this to other ninjas, until there's only a few of them. All the others are unconscious.

"Hya there! Having a party and didn't invited me? Oh! I feel so ashamed!" I say, with fake sadness.

The ninjas immediately stop what they are doing and start fighting me. I dodge their attacks and knock them all down, one by one. When the last one falls unconscious, I hear a scream. I jump from building to building until I get to the place. My jaw drops. The Destroyer and the ninjas are raiding an antique shop. It was already mostly destroyed, but there are citizens living nearby who do not like the intrusion of the alien ninjas attacking the building.

I shake my head and take a sudden jump on them.

Out of nowhere, the ninjas are attacked! I manage to hit some of them with my claws. But then The Destroyer approaches me and grabs my neck.

"You committed a terrible mistake!" He says, grabbing my neck harder.

"Hold it right there!!" We hear Soren say.

The Destroyer lets go of me and I fall to the ground, breathing heavily. He runs to the guys and attacks. They all start fighting.

I get up and start fighting some of the ninjas. A large man named Parker is there too. He is the Leader of the human goons who aligned themselves with the aliens. I run to him and attack!

He blocks it and I continue fighting with him.

"Why are you having a party with all these special guests?! I thought you were the one doing the dirty job!!" I say, attacking.

"Rrrrrrrrrrr!!! Who are you?!?!" He screams.

"You actually think I'm gonna tell you?" I say.

I hit him hard on the stomach with my claws. He falls to the floor.

I turn to face the Destroyer. The guys are still fighting him. The Destroyer makes Miclair fly against a wall. I run to him.

"Miclair!! You ok?" I ask.

"How do you know my name?" He asks, but then passes out.

Now I am really mad! I run to the Destroyer and attack. I try to hit him, but he pushes me to the floor. I can see a smirk under his helmet. A thought goes through my head: *Does he know who I am?*

"Let's go! I already have what I wanted!" He screams to the remaining ninjas.

They run away with some kind of box. But I don't have time for that. Cain attacks me! I am able to jump to the top of the building just in time.

"What are you thinking?! I'm not your enemy!" I scream.

"We can neva have total sure!!" He screams and prepares himself to jump to the place where I am, but Luc stops him.

"Your voice is familiar... Do we know you?" Luc asks.

"Nop! And even if I did know ya, I wouldn't tell you!" I say.

"Why not?" Soren asks.

"Forget it!" I say.

"No, we don't forget it! Why were ya fightin’ tha ninjas?! What business do ya have with them?!" Cain asks.

"My! My! My! You do make lots of questions!!" I say.

"Rrrrrrrrrr!!!" Cain roars

"Very well, boy! I hate them because they killed my father! Is that reason enough?!" I scream.

Miclair starts to moan and wakes up. I look at him.

"Good to see you're awake" I say.

"What do you care?!" Cain screams

"I don't! But there are people who do!" I scream and run away.

"WAIT!!!!!!!" I hear Miclair saying, but I continue running through the buildings. He's following me.

"Wait!" He repeats.

This time, I stop. We are already distant from the others.

"What do you want?!" I ask him.

"How do you know my name?" He asks. A genius lie comes to my head.

"Mara told me!" I say.

"You know Mara?!"

"Yup! Yup! She's a great friend of mine!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"She never told me she knew you"

"That’s because she didn't want ya to press her to tell you who I am!"

"What did Mara tell you about me?"

"You actually think I'm going to tell you?! Please! Mara’s my best friend! I would never tell her secrets to anyone!" I say

"But-" He starts

"Gotta go now! Nya!" I say and jump to another building, leaving him behind.

I jump and jump, until I can't see him anymore. I jump back to where I have my real clothes. Once I'm there, I change back to Mara.

"Mara?! What are you doing in here?"

I nearly have a heart attack! I put a fake smile on my face and turn around.

"Miclair! What are you doing here?" I say

"I asked first! What are you doing in here?" He repeats.

"I... huh... I'm just getting some fresh air!" I say

"You're a terrible liar!"

"Oh! I know!"

"Weren't you sleeping at the lair?"

"Couldn't sleep! So, I came here to greet my friend, Kitty Girl."

"Kitty Girl! Where is she?! I came following her but I lost her!"

"You came following her?! Are you nuts?! Why were you following her?!"

"I wanted to find out who she is... Wait! Why were you here again?"

"To visit Kitty Girl!"

"Hmmm..."

Miclair looks at me, thinking.

"What?!" I shout.

"Are you Kitty Girl?"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?!?! YOU'RE SUCH A DUFFERS!!!!" I scream.

"Ok! Ok! You're not Kitty Girl!"

"Of course I'm not!"

"But it's still suspicious..."

"Miclair! Aren't your brothers worried about you?! You should get back!"

"Yeah!! And so should you!"

Silence moment.

"Why are we always fighting?" Miclair says.

"Dunno! Maybe because we were born to fight with each other!"

"Don't play with this!!"

"Uuuuuhhhhh! Miclair’s acting like a grownup! Ah! The world is coming to an end!!"I say.

"I said not to play with this!!"

Miclair grabs my arms and stands really close to me. I can feel my face turning red. I was never so close to Miclair in my life!

Miclair looks into my eyes for a while, then leans in to me and kisses my lips.

I stay in complete shock! I wasn't waiting for this!! But the shock starts disappearing and I let myself go by the feelings I was holding inside...

I return the kiss and place my hands on his chest.

When we break the kiss, both of our faces are beating red!

We then realize what had just happened. We both jump to opposite sides, turning our backs at each other.

"T-this didn't happen!" Miclair says.

"O-of course not!" I say.

"F-fine!"

"Fine!"

Miclair gets down the building and I can see him getting into a manhole. I sit up on the floor.

"What was that about?!"

I get back to the lair an hour later. When I get there, Soren, Cain and Luc are sleeping on the couch. Probably they fell asleep while watching a movie. Miclair was nowhere to be seen. It was good to be that way. I walk to my room and close the door behind me. Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my heart. Like it was being trespassed by a sword. It was unbearable! I fall to my knees and faint.

~Next Morning~

I wake up with a huge headache. I get up from the floor and shake the dirt off my clothes. I walk to the kitchen to get breakfast. None of the guys are still there. Good, because I don't want to see Miclair neither. I have a feeling that if we see each other, we will start fighting again.

I get a box of cereals and start eating. I hear doors opening.

"Oh! Hi, Mara! You got up pretty early today" Soren says.

"Yeah. Couldn't sleep" I say.

I can hear him waking up his brothers, while I'm still eating.

I finish eating and was about to leave to my room when I see Miclair right in front of me.

I act like I haven't seen him and pass through him.

"G'morning to you too!" He screams.

I just glare.

"What's wrong with you?! It looks like you've eaten rotten pizza!!" He laughs

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you, duffers?! You're the one who looks like you’ve eaten rotten pizza!!" I scream at him.

"I was only trying to get you cheerful again!!" He screams.

"Well next time don't! You only make it worse!"

The fight continues for a long time. My feeling was right, after all.

"I HATE YOU!!!!!"I scream and, this time, I smack him in the face.

He seems surprised and scared for me to have smacked him in the face, instead of hitting him on the head. He looks at me, with a scared face.

I am crying, but I'm still mad. I turn my back at him and run to my room. I shut the door behind me, lock it and sit on the ground, still crying. I get my head on my knees.

*I'm sorry, daddy. I'm not able to keep my promise any longer* I think.

I’m crying just because of Miclair. I’m crying for all the bad things that have happened to me before.

I keep crying for a couple of hours when I hear a knock on my door. But I already know who it is.

"Go away!!" I scream, still crying.

"No! I'm here to say sorry and I'm not leaving 'till I say it!" I hear Miclair say.

"You're far too late!! I don't need your sorry!!" I scream.

"I'm not here just to say sorry!! Let me in!!"

"NO!!!!!!"

"LET ME IN!!!!!!" He screams.

"NO WAY!!!!"

"FINE!! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!!!"

I can feel him trying to knock my door open.

"DUFFERS!!!!!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!" I scream to him.

"Not until I say what I want to say!!" He says, still trying to knock the door down.

"I hate you" I say this so deeply that he stops hitting the door, probably in shock.

I get up and walk to the window. It's already getting dark. I start climbing to leave the sewers.

"Mara? What are you doing?" I can hear Miclair say.

"I'm leaving" I say and jump out through the window.

Miclair is trying to knock the door open again but I don't care. I will be far away from him when he gets to open the door.

It's night now and the moon is still full.

*There's no reason to be just one night for month* I think and jump to the top of the building where I have my Kitty Girl stuff.

Kitty Girl's POV

Everything’s set. I am ready to kick some creeps, but this time it’s not just for fun or to make the city safer. This time it’s to free the anger I have inside of me. I see my first victims. Three members of the Goons are patrolling the streets to find any human breaking the rules. I jump at them, not even caring that they notice I'm there.

They see me immediately and one of them attacks. I defend and attack back. He falls dead.

"Who's next?" I ask.

They start running away, but I run behind them.

A guy, dressed all in metal armor, comes out of an alley and attacks the other two creeps. The creeps fall, unconscious.

I look up at the metal guy. I recognize him as being the famous Vigilante. He's as famous as I am in defeating creeps.

"I could have finished those two!" I say.

"So ya could kill em' like ya did ta that one?! Don't think so!" He says.

"So what?! They're the creeps! I just defeat them and if necessary, kill them!" I say.

"Was it necessary to kill this one?!" He asks.

A feeling of guilt passes through my heart, but I shove it off. Still, I don't answer his question.

"You haven't answered, missy!" He says.

"That's because I don't need to, Mr. Vigilante! Or should I say, Mr. Cain!" I say.

He's in complete shock.

"How do ya know that?!"

"I recognized your voice, smart guy!"

"But you never heard my voice before!"

"Think again, Cain! I heard your voice when you screamed at me yesterday!"

"Oh!"

I smirk. My mood was getting a little better.

"Oh well! I would love to stay here watching your stupid face! Buuuuut I have better things to do! Nya!"

I jump to a building and then to other. I keep jumping ‘till I get to the building where my clothes are on. My mood is a lot better. It's time to get back to the lair and get some sleep!

I get to the building I was seeking. I start walking to the place where my clothes are on but I hear voices. I hide behind a pole.

"So, What's up? You sure have a face!" It's Jack's voice.

"I met up with that Kitty Girl and...she figured out it was me" Cain's voice says.

"What?! How can that be?! How did she figure out?!"

"She said it was because of my voice, but I think it's something else. I have this strange feeling that I already know her..."

*Huh oh!!* I think.

"Really? How's that?" Jack asks.

"I think Kitty Girl is Mara" Cain says.

With the shock, I make the pole I was hiding come down, making lots of noise. I stare at the two guys.

"Huh... Hya guys!! Wassup?!" I say, waving at them with a stupid smile

"Oh! So you're Kitty Girl!!" Jack says

"And you must be Carl! Mara told me about ya! How's Amelia?!" I say.

"You know Mara?!" Jack asks.

"Yeah! She's my best friend!" I say, happy with my genius lie.

"Bullshit! Ya aren't Mara's friend! Ya ARE Mara!" Cain says.

"Am not!!" I shout.

"Of course ya are! Mara ran away an hour ago! It's too much coincidence that yer out here at the same time she's!" Cain says.

*Damn!! I'm busted!!* I think.

"What if I am Mara?! Is there some problem with that?!?!" I scream

"No! But ya could at least tell us!"

"So what?!?! So you could stop me from coming?! No way!!" I scream

"There's no need to scream..." Jack starts.

"What do you know?!?!" I scream at him

"Let's go, Jack. Let's leave this little pimp alone!" Cain says and starts getting down the building.

Jack follows him

"Yeah!! Leave me alone!! I'm better off without you!!" I scream

*Oh, Mara! What has happened to you?* I ask myself.

I walk back to my stuff and get myself dressed. Once I'm ready, I turn around to leave. But I have an unpleasant surprise...