Being a Ninja

I am Mara, daughter of Daisuke Yoshiro

Mara's Point of view

No one has ever said my life was going to be easy. It sure as hell hasn’t been so far. I am just a 15-year-old girl and I have already been through so much girls my age should not have to go through.

My world has been invaded by aliens long before I was even born and it has been the cause of the destruction of my home. Humans cope with what they have, but they are forced to live in hiding. The ones who are stronger have formed an organization to fight against the invading aliens and their leader, The Destroyer. My father was part of that organization along with a few rogue aliens who decided to fight for the human cause. That was until the organization was completely destroyed and each and every element were chased down like rats. The Destroyer killed my father. This happened when I was still a little girl, ten years ago.

I’m at the top of a building wandering what happened in my life. I have recently witnessed the collapse and destruction of the building the Destroyer used as headquarters. Him and his ninjas, who are merely aliens disguised as humans, often used this building to plan their plans attacks and train to fight against their opponents. A group of teenagers has broken in and shortly after, the building was on fire. A massive explosion ensued when I was about to join the fight. I manage to see the teenage boys, who must be around my age, escape the building bringing an old man with them, but there are no traces of The Destroyer and his ninjas.

After so long, it seems he is finally gone. I was not able to revenge my father’s death after all…

My dear father... Daisuke Yoshiro was his name... And now he’s gone, completely gone... I still remember the day he died as if it was yesterday...

*flashback*

Me and my father were training ninjitsu, as we usually did many afternoons. He made sure I would know how to fight and defend myself, considering the world we lived in.

A strange noise came from the door. My father seemed to know what it was.

"Mara, get out of here!" He said.

"But, daddy..." I started.

"Just get out of here! Go to your uncle!" He ordered.

I was used to obey my father, so I ran as fast as I could to get to my uncle, even though I knew part of my heart was being left being.

Mr. Morrison wasn't my real uncle. He was one of the aliens who were helping the humans, being masked as one of us. When my mother passed away shortly after I was born and my dad joined the organization, Mr. Morrison would often look after me and teach me all he knew. To me, he was my uncle, even if he was from another planet. I would always accompany my dad on his travels to the organization’s headquarters. I remember they would train to get stronger to fight against the ninjas. My dad was one of their best soldiers. I grew up in that organization…

I got to the strange building belonging to the organization then. I was only a child, and I was so scared… Scared, because I knew something bad was happening. I couldn’t help crying.

"Uncle! Daddy's in trouble! He told me to run away! I had to obey to him! I couldn't do anything!" I said, crying.

"I will go there! Stay here!" He said.

He started running towards my old house. It wasn’t too far off from the building. I followed him after a short time. I was worried… I didn’t want to wait.

When I got to my house, everything was just too quiet. I got terrified. I always knew very well silent meant trouble and pain. And pain did get to me… As I entered my old house, passing through the broken door, I found my uncle covering my father’s corpse with a blanket. Tears steam down my face as I couldn’t stop staring. The image I was seeing got buried deep into my memories, never to be forgotten again.

My father was dead… He was dead, and I was completely alone…

*end flashback*

I stayed living with my uncle ever since. He took care of me from the day my father’s life was taken to the day the Destroyer found us and I was forced to run away and leave everything behind yet again. That was not too long ago.

Now I am alone again… I have been living on my own in an abandoned warehouse, hoping the Destroyer would not find me. He is gone now. I no longer have to worry about him.

My uncle gave me something before he left. I take it from my pocket. It’s a strange piece of something much bigger, but I have no idea what it is. My uncle only said I have to protect it from The Destroyer, and keep it close. But he’s gone now, there is no reason for me to keep something that I don't know what it is. But still… My uncle did say for me to keep it close…

I place the piece in my pocket and get down the building, still thinking about that strange piece, and still troubled with that dreadful day’s memories.

Suddenly, I hear an unusual noise. Something like a door being broken… I go see where the noise is coming from.

I was right, a door is about to collapse.

The door falls to the ground and, when the dust sets from its fall, I can see who broke it.

Behind the fallen door is The Destroyer.

I can’t believe my eyes.

He was supposed to be dead… How did he manage to survive that explosion?

I stare at The Destroyer, horrified, noticing his dented armor. He immediately looks at me, even though I tried everything to keep hidden. I can feel he’s smirking, pleased. I don’t like that. I should attack now and finish him once and for all. I can’t keep rage and desire for revenge from haunting me.

A bunch of alien ninja soldiers come out from the building where The Destroyer came from. There are hundreds of them!

I take my sword from my back and prepare myself to start fighting, even though I know they’re too many for me.

Suddenly, the four teenage boys from before return, emerging from an alley. I have no time to think about their sudden presence when the ninjas suddenly start attacking.

I have no idea what these guys intentions are, but if they dare to attack me once, I will fight them too.

Luckily, they fight alongside me against the many ninjas.

I must admit I fight pretty well. I trained a lot for this moment to come, and now nothing and no one would stay in my way!

"Hey! Looks like we have a helper here!" One of the boys says, the one with the unruly blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Shut up an’ fight, Miclair!" Another says, the one with a tough look and covered in scars. His hair is dark brown, wrapped by a red bandana.

Just great. These guys know Ninjitsu too. It won’t be easy if I have to fight them in the end…

"Guys! We gotta get out of here! There're too many of them!" Says the guy with the long black hair tied in a high ponytail.

They look at the Destroyer with a hateful look.

"We will meet again, Destroyer!" He says, turning his back and running away.

"Yes, we will" Says the Destroyer.

Me and the ninjas have stopped fighting because they were all looking at the guys leaving. I guess they were not here to help me after all. I am still wondering why the hell they had to leave so abruptly when I realize I am now fighting on my own again and I have to focus. I hold my sword tight.

"Now...Where were we? Oh yes. Attack her and bring me the piece!" The Destroyer screams to the ninjas.

All of them jump on me, and I go back fighting.

*Damnit… So, he wants the Piece... How does he know about the Piece?... Well, I'm not letting anyone lay a hand on it!* I think, while I’m still fighting. The Destroyer is just staring at me as I fight his ninjas, maybe waiting for me to become tired... And boy, is he right! I start to feel every muscle complaining after some moments fighting, and the ninjas just keep coming and coming!

*I gotta get out of here!* I think, and that's exactly what I do. I sheet my sword and start running as fast as I can, skipping through the ninjas that were surrounding me.

"After her!" I hear.

The Destroyer and his soldiers are chasing me.

"Oh no…" I murmur.

I keep running for a while but they just simply don't give up! I turn right in a hope to lose them, but I just find myself in a dead end.

"Damnit!" I say.

I look around for someplace for me to hide in, but there is nothing! Then, I track a manhole on the ground, perfect for the escape. I open it quickly and get inside the sewers. I know that they will know I’m inside, so I just keep running through the tunnels.

After a few minutes, I stop a bit to rest and to recover my breath.

*I think they're gone now...* I wonder.

But some rocks collapse right next to me and The Destroyer along with the ninjas come out from the hole.

"Missed us?" He says.

I start running again, not giving myself time to think twice, without even knowing where I’m going to...

Miclair's POV

I’m watching my older brothers walking from one side to other, thinking of what they've just seen.

"Stop that! I'm getting dizzy!" I say.

My brother with the scars, Cain, turns to me and hits me on the head.

"How can you be so calm ‘bout all this!?" Cain screams at me.

"Calm down, Cain. This is no time to start a fight" Says the wise brother, Lucas.

"Yeah! Luc is right! We can't fight! Not with The Destroyer still alive!" Says Soren, our oldest brother.

"Boy! That guy has more lives than a cat!" Cain says.

"I wonder who that girl was... She was cute!" I say, sitting on the couch.

Cain hits me on the head again.

"How can you think ‘bout girls right now?!" He says.

"Just... Thinking." I say, grinning. Cain hits me again.

"Ow! Hey! Stop it!" I say.

"Ya! As soon as you grow up!" He says, hitting me again.

The perimeter alarm stops our fighting. Lucas had long since installed it to warn us if any ninjas ever came creeping into our home. It seems they have. Soren and Lucas go running to the computer screen to see what's happening. Me and Cain go right next.

"What's the matter, Luc?" I ask.

"Looks like we have intruders!" He says.

"What?! How come?! Who is the intruder?!" Cain says. No one has ever found this place before. It so far off from the city, it is a wonder if anyone ever came in here, even if by accident.

"It's The Destroyer!" Soren says as soon as the screen shows the intruders. Luckily, Luc has installed cameras at the sewer tunnels leading here.

"And the girl we saw fighting him!" I say.

"She seems to be in trouble! We better go help her!" Lucas says.

"What's the matter, my sons? Where are you going?" Master Itsuki asks. He is an old grizzly man, although he is much tougher than he looks. He thought me and my brothers everything we know about ninjitsu after he picked us up from the streets one by one ten years ago. He has been raising us ever since, so we consider him our father. Recently, he had been captured by The Destroyer but we managed to bring him back earlier and even got to set the ninjas’ headquarters on fire. Too bad The Destroyer managed to survive the explosion and we had to skedaddle very quickly.

"The Destroyer is nearby following a girl. She needs our help, Master Itsuki!" Soren says.

"Very well then. Go help her" He says.

We all move out and leave the stranded island we live in, going back towards the city through the many pipes and holes which lead to the main city sewers. Master Itsuki watches the computer screen, seeing the girl running. He looks surprised for some reason…

Mara's POV

I’m still running away from The Destroyer and the ninjas and I’m really tired! I have been running through the sewers for who knows how long and I still haven’t managed to lose them. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hold on…

I make the mistake of looking behind to see if they're getting tired as well, and I end up slipping in a rock and falling to the ground.

The Destroyer gets near me, triumphant. I start taking my sword from my back in order to fight, but he stops it by hitting me, making me drop the sword.

He grabs my neck with a hand and lifts me from the ground. I can barely breathe!

He takes the piece from my pocket. I try to get it back but it's useless. I’m getting out of air!

Everything starts turning to black when the boys I saw earlier appear and start fighting the ninjas. One of them, the one with the scars, hits Shredder and frees me from his grip.

I fall to the ground, unconscious.

Miclair's POV

As soon as Cain hits the Destroyer, the girl falls to the ground. She’s passed out.

"Miclair! Take the girl out of here!" Soren says, fighting.

"Aw! Why me?!"

"Just do it Miclair!"

"Alright! Alright!"

I pick the girl from the ground and hold her in my arms. I start running back towards the island, being careful to look being to check if someone’s following me.

When I get to there, I enter our house hidden among the vegetation and place the girl on the couch.

"Is that the girl?" Master Itsuki asks.

"Yeah! I have to go help the others!" I say.

"No need, Miclair! They're already gone!" I hear Soren say.

I turn around to see the guys had come back.

"What?! You already killed all of them?!" I say.

"No, pipsqueak! They ran away when you took the girl!" Cain says, getting mad.

I ignore him and turn to see the girl. Lucas is analyzing her.

"How is she doing?" I ask.

"She's just unconscious. She'll wake up sooner or later" Luc says.

"So...Who is she? Why was she fighting The Destroyer and why did he follow her?!" Soren asks, but none of us knows the answers.

"I think I have the answers to your questions, my son "Master Itsuki says.

"Really? You know who she is?" Lucas asks

"Yes. I think I do" Master Itsuki says, sitting on the ground. We all sit around him to listen.

"My old comrade in the organization, Daisuke Yoshiro, had a daughter. He named her Mara. After his wife, Yuumi, passed away, he and I came live to New York, where he raised little Mara for five years. After that, The Destroyer killed him, like I already told you. I know that Mara was able to run away before the Destroyer arrived, but I don't know what happened to her after that. I never went back to the organization after my dear friend was murdered" Master Itsuki tells.

"So...This girl is Mara?" Soren says, thinking.

"Yes. She looks a lot like her mother" Master Itsuki says.

"Mara... Pretty name!" I say.

I walk to the couch, while the others are still thinking about what Master Itsuki said.

I watch the girl. She’s really cute! With that long black hair and that soft light-colored skin. She really looks like a porcelain doll.

As I watch her, the girl moans and slowly opens her eyes...

Mara's POV

I start to wake up, feeling my head pounding as if it’s gonna blow. As I open my eyes, I see a boy with blue eyes skin looking directly at me, his head inches away from mine. I scream and sit up just way too fast. Result: My head hits the boy's head and I fall back to the couch. The boy falls to the ground, landing on his butt. I get up again, slowly this time, and see that I’m surrounded by the four teenage boys and old man from before.

"What the...?" I murmur.

"Stay calm, my child" The old man says.

But I don't stay calm. I jump from the couch, take my sword out and place myself in position to fight.

"Guard your sword, child. There is no reason to fight" Says the old man.

"No reason to fight?! I was just attacked by ninjas and I don’t even know who you are!" I say holding my sword.

"We won’t hurt you" The old man says.

"Yeah sure!" I say.

"It's useless! Tha girl will never calm down!" Says the boy with the scars.

"What do you want us to do, Master Itsuki?" The boy with the long black hair asks.

I guard my sword when I hear the name. I can't believe it. Itsuki was the name of my father's old friend when I was five... He knew my father from so long ago and even came to New York with him when he moved here with me. They had been comrades in the organization but didn’t hear anything about him since my father was murdered. I just thought he had been caught by the Destroyer too.

"I-Itsuki?..." I ask, still surprised.

"Yes, my dear. It is me" He says, smiling to me.

A smile comes to my face as I run to hug him.

"Oh, I can't believe you’re alive! I thought you were attacked that night too" I say, while hugging him.

He laughs and I break the hug. I still have a big and adorable smile on my face. I look towards the boys.

"And who are they?" I ask.

"They are my sons"

"Sons?!"

"Yes. This is Soren..." He starts presenting them.

"Good to meet you" The boy with the long black hair tied in a ponytail says, bowing. He has a Japanese look and he looks a lot calmer and contained than the others. Clearly, he is the oldest.

"Cain..." Itsuki continues.

"Yeah, whatever!" The boy with the scars and red bandana around his forehead says. His skin is very tan and he is too muscled for his age. The scars and bandana only make him look like more a thug.

"Lucas..."

"Very nice to meet you" The boy with an intelligent look says. His skin is dark and he is wearing goggles at the top of his head. He seems to be the type of guy who comes up with weird inventions.

"And Miclair" Itsuki finishes.

"Hya there!" The boy with the blue eyes and unruly blonde hair says, waving.

"I must thank you. You all saved my life" I say.

"That's funny... you didn't seem thankful a while ago!" Cain says.

"That was just because I woke up in a strange place surrounded by strangers!" I say, sitting on the couch again.

"What happened to you after that terrible disaster?" Itsuki asks referring to the day my father died.

The memories of that day haunt me again, making me look down to the ground.

"I... I went to my uncle...Mr. Morrison... Then we went back to my father's house but... it was too late" I say, almost crying.

"Poor child... What happened after that?" Itsuki asks.

"I've been living with my uncle, Mr. Morrison, ever since. But even he is gone now. I managed to find an abandoned warehouse and stayed there afterwards" I say.

"Right... I remember Mr. Morrison. He was the kind alien who created the organization. We had heard about the organization’s destruction months ago, but we couldn’t believe it" Soren says.

“It must have been terrible” Lucas comments, looking pitiful towards me, but I do not need his pity.

“What about you?” I ask them. “What were you doing in the ninjas’ headquarters back there?”

“We were rescuing Master Itsuki” Soren answers. “He had been captured days ago”

“We finally managed to find him and brought him back here” Lucas complements.

“It was not easy” Soren finishes.

“We even managed to set the whole thing on fire, but it still wasn’t enough ta take down that bastard!” Cain says.

“Language” Itsuki warns.

"What was that thing the Destroyer took from you?" Soren asks me.

"It’s a strange piece my uncle gave me... But the Destroyer took it a while ago... I guess I failed on my mission to protect the Piece..." I say with my head down.

"What was that Piece exactly?" Lucas asks

"I don't know. All I know is that I have to get that Piece back!" I say, getting up.

"You need to train before you can defeat him. You all do" Itsuki says. I look at him.

"You will call me Master Itsuki from now on. First, I need to see what you already know. Lucas, you will fight Mara first" Master Itsuki says.

I look to Lucas. He seems more of a nerd than a fighter but Master Itsuki grabs a Bo staff and throws it to me. I catch it and walk to the place where I’ll fight Lucas.

He does the same, grabbing his own Bo Staff.

I place myself in position to fight grabbing the bo staff in a way to use it quickly.

Lucas does the same and we just stare at each other, waiting for the match to start. Lucas acts quickly. He runs to me, raising his staff to attack. I just stand still, waiting for him to reach me. When he starts lowering his staff to hit me, I use mine to impulse me above his head. I land behind him and immediately strike him on his back. He's still confused with the move I just made, but he turns around and starts attacking me. I evade every single attack. He starts to get a little ticked off and he attacks even harder.

*It's time to finish this!* I think.

I grab my bo staff firmly and attack my opponent, with major strength. He falls to the ground and I place my bo staff aimed to his neck, as if it was a sword.

"Very well done, Mara! Lucas, it was a good fight" Master Itsuki says.

I help Lucas getting up and smile at him.

"It was a pleasure to fight you, Lucas" I say to him.

"Yeah, it was a pleasure to fight you too. Oh, and you can call me Luc" He says, gasping for air.

"Ok, Luc" I say, smiling.

"Cain, you're next" Master Itsuki says.

"You're on!" Cain says, taking his sais off of his belt.

Itsuki gives me two sais and I do some tricks with them before I get myself in a fighting position.

"Show off!" Cain says.

I just smirk.

"Let's see who's the show off" I say.

Cain immediately attacks me. I knew he would do something like that. The sound of metal crashing echoes through the house when Cain reaches me. We stay face to face.

"So, you're the hot-headed guy from the family" I say.

He pushes me away with his sais. I smirk at him, seeing that he's starting to get really mad. And that's exactly what I want.

"Are you gonna fight me or are you gonna let your a*s be kicked by a girl?!" I say, still smirking.

That really ticked him off! He attacks me growling in the way. I evade his attack and start fighting him with my sais.

The room we’re at echoes with the sound of metal crashing metal.

After some minutes of fighting, Cain starts to get tired. I knew this would happen sooner or later.

"Anger sure can take lots of energy" I say

He attacks me with a final strike but I dodge it and counter-attack. I didn't want to hurt him so I just take his sais off his hands, throwing them away. I get one of my sais on his throat, finishing the battle.

"Dude!! That was awesome!!!" Says Miclair with a huge smile.

Cain seems to be upset. Really upset. I look at him and shake his hand happily. He didn't seem to be waiting for this.

"It was a very good fight! You are a very good opponent!" I say, with a big smile.

"Ya sure. Yer’ a pretty good fighta too" Cain says, smiling a bit. I free his hand and he goes to the couch.

"Miclair, you're next" Master Itsuki says. Miclair's smile fades and he looks at me with a scary look.

"But I don't wanna fight her!" He begs.

"Miclair!" Master Itsuki threats.

He delivers me two nunchuks. Miclair is still begging not to fight me.

"Come on, baby boy! I won't bite ya!" I say.

"C’mon Miclair! Ya’ll have ta fight her soona or lata. An’ think it tha good way. She’s kinda cute!" Cain says with his strange accent. I approach him and hit him on the head, just like he does to Miclair.

"Ow!"

"p*****t!" I say.

Miclair is looking at me with his jaw dropped, then a big smile fills his face.

"WOW!!!!! No one ever did that to him! You're the best!" He says, hugging me tight.

"Ok ok baby boy! You can free me now. I'm getting out of air!" I say

He frees me, still with his big smile.

"Shall we start the fight?" Master Itsuki says.

"Yup!" I say, walking to the dojo where I’ll fight Miclair.

He hesitates at first but then he also walks to the dojo. We place ourselves in position to fight. Master Itsuki gives the sign to start the battle.

Miclair runs at me and when he’s ready to attack, I jump above him getting a foot on his back to impulse harder into the air.

He turns around, confused with my move. I look straight into his eyes and then I throw my nunchuks to the floor.

"No weapons" I say.

Everyone is confused with what I just did. Even Master Itsuki is looking at me with a confused look. Fact is I never liked to fight with nunchuks.

Miclair just looks at me and then at my weapons on the floor. He smiles.

"Sounds good to me!" He says, throwing his own nunchuks off.

We get ourselves in position and we start our fighting without weapons. We run at each other and we start attacking. I kick Miclair's chest but he strikes right back hitting me on my stomach. I fly back hitting the floor badly. I get up slowly.

"Not bad for someone who didn't want to fight!" I say, while I put yourself in position again.

"Very bad for someone who defeated Cain!" He says with a stupid grin.

I attack. I’m able to hit him on the face with my foot. He falls to the floor and tries to get back up but he's way too slow. I get my fist against his neck, preventing him from getting up. The battle finishes and I’m the winner. Still, my breathing is hard from the fighting. I help Miclair up.

"Hey! You ok?" I ask him

"Aw man! I lost... to a girl!" He says.

I hit him so hard on the head that he falls back to the floor.

"OW!!!! What was that for?!" He screams.

"Just protecting women's rights!" I say.

"Mara, do you think you can handle one more fight?" Master Itsuki says

"Yes I can, Master Itsuki."

"Very well then. Soren!"

"Yes, Sensei"

Master Itsuki gives me two katanas. I smile. Finally, a weapon I’m used to handle! I place myself in position: I grab a katana behind my back and the other is being held on my front. Soren seems intrigued with the way I just grabbed my katanas, but snaps out of it and grabs his own.

Itsuki gives the signal. I run to Soren. There's a sound of metal crashing metal. Soren blocks my attack but I have already another one coming up. I’m very fast! All that Soren is able to do is block my attacks. I’m able to take one katana from his hand. Now he only has one. I keep attacking him and he just keeps blocking me with extreme difficulty. Besides being very fast, I’m also very strong in my attacks. All those trainings were worth it.

"Ready for the last roll?" I say, with a smirk on my face.

"Huh?" It's all he can say

I get his last sword flying from his hand and put my two katanas crossed in front of his throat.

"Wow..." I hear Miclair saying.

"Very well Mara!" I hear Master Itsuki saying.

I take the swords out of Soren's throat. He sighs in relief.

"You're fast!" He says.

"Thanks. It was a good fight, almost too good. Is there some free room? I'm tired…" I say, sweetly rubbing your eye. After the fight with the Destroyer, it is not safe for me to go anywhere and I really am tired after all that fighting. It is getting late.

"Sure! It's the last one above the stairs!" Luc points to the free room.

"Thanks" I say walking to the free room. Once I get there, I turn around.

"Nighty, guys!"

"Night, Mara" They all say at the same time.

I smile and get inside my new room, closing the door behind me.

I throw myself to the bed on the center of the room. It was a harsh day. Many things happened. Changes sure will come by, hopefully for better. I fall asleep instantly.