Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Burton collapsed on his bed mat. He couldn’t stop thinking about the past month where his life got turned upside down. Ron, Berecca, and he finally unlocked the secret powers of ninja gum through many trials and error. And for what? Betrayal. Plain and simple. As well as unexpectedly being turned into seemingly 12~13 year-old kids. His research partner and childhood friend, Berecca, also got caught up in said shenanigans and together they spend their days at WNA Academy secretly researching a way to permanently turn back to their adult selves.

He let out a heavy sigh. To think I’d be a kid again of all things. I suppose it beats being a baby or an old man in my 80’s, assuming I’ll even reach that age. he thinks to himself.

Burton sucked his teeth, glaring at the ceiling. Damn that Ron…why’d he have to do something so cruel? I thought we were….

He flinched and clutched his aching chest, biting his slightly quivering lip; his current mental state too distressing to think in his head. “I thought… I thought that…we were fri--.“

Suddenly, a small knock at his door interrupted his thoughts, proceeding him to bolt up from his bed.

“Hey Burton, it’s me. You got a sec before lights out?”

Ah, Berecca. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to shove away these immense feelings of anger, confusion, and sorrow for now. There’s too much work and research to be done instead of displaying all the colors of the emotional vulnerability wheel. After slapping his cheeks a couple of times to shake off his feelings, Burton turned on his bedside lamp and slid open the door for his friend to enter.

“Hey Berecca, what’s up?”

Berecca sits cross legged on his guest seat pillow and huffs. “Could be better, Bruce sensei gave me an earful about losing today. But it wasn’t my fault! Van and Kappei double teamed me, and I’m not used to fighting like everyone else in our class. Genryusai-sama tends to be a tad bit biased towards Van since he’s his mentor and Kappei’s great uncle, but I still can’t seem to catch a break.” She tugs on her long magenta pink hair. “Sheesh, can’t anybody tell what a delicate lady I am?”

Burton blinks, “Wait, you’re a girl?”

The young genius immediately gets a pillow thrown into his face. “GAAH I’m sorry I’m sorry, it was just a joke I swear!”

Berecca sends an icy glare towards her friend before simmering down. “Serves you right, jerk. Well anyways, I came here to find up what was going on with you. You haven’t been making your infamous energy smoothies nor have you been attending the afternoon seminars lately.”

Burton clenches his fists tight and looks away, unable to meet his childhood friend’s eyes. She senses his uncomfortable demeanor and tilts her head to the side to get a better look at his face.

“Is it because of Ron?”

His eyes widen for a split second before he fixes his face. Berecca’s suspicions were confirmed from this question. “Look, I get it. I won’t pursue any further with the questions for now since I can tell it’s a touchy topic. But I am starting to get worried about you, you gotta eat and you gotta keep up the act of being a normal student or you might get in trouble with the teachers. We already shouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for us chewing that weird ninja gum, so blowing our cover will leave us vulnerable and homeless.”

Berecca makes her way to the door, “But don’t forget that we’re partners, you can tell me anything and I’ll listen to whatever you need to say. You can always count on me.”

Burton flashes her a small smile, “Thanks a lot. I’ll try and get it together by tomorrow, I promise, thanks for checking on me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Berecca smiles back and slides the door shut. Burton reaches over to turn off his bedside lamp and tries to get some sleep.

Burton’s dream is a flashback where he, Berecca, and Ron finished unlocking the secret of ninja gum in their laboratory. He remembers running all around the room with Berecca while Ron stands idly on the ground, supposedly waiting for them to settle down. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this elated, who knew a fat cat was the answer to all their problems? The fun didn’t last too long though before Ron pulls out his katana from his back and nearly cuts him in half. Ron reveals his true intentions as a spy from the Oniwabanshu ninja clan to steal the ninja gum data and to eliminate Berecca and Burton to get rid of the evidence. A swift swing from his katana gave Burton the amount of fear he needs to jolt himself awake.

The young researcher wakes up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily and clutching his chest tight. He looks at the clock to see that it’s 2:38 AM. He’d only been asleep for about 4 – 5 hours. A few beats of silence go by before his empty stomach grumbles loudly, completely forgetting about skipping dinner earlier.

“Huh, I suppose Berecca was onto something about ditching dinner. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to sneak myself a snack to keep my stomach quiet. Like Edison says, “The most certain way to succeed is always to try one more time.”  Not like anyone will be awake to catch me anyways.”

He shuffles out of bed and makes his way out of his room in dire need of some sustenance. He makes his way to the kitchen pantry to grab some of his favorite snacks, crispy cheesy fries, and bottled water before deciding to head to the academy balcony in dire need of some fresh air. Gazing at the nighttime view of Eagle City has always calmed him down whenever he feels like he’s about to enter a negative state of mind. Even when he was still working at the lab.

Burton finally makes his way towards the balcony entrance and feels the brisk late-night air on his face and through his messy blonde hair before stopping dead in his tracks.

Standing near the rails is his former lab partner, Ron, also taking in the cool night air. Ron turns around and freezes for a second before regaining his so-called lone wolf cool guy composure. Burton’s blue eyes meet Ron’s yellows. Their beaming irises becoming makeshift lights in the night all own their own. The only thing to break their silence is the sound of Burton’s stomach growling again, much to his dismay and Ron’s indifference.

Ron huffs, “Don’t worry, I was just leaving.” He makes a slow stride towards the door walking past a frozen Burton, who was still embarrassed from his impatient stomach to do the talking for him.

Once Burton finally comes to his senses, Ron has already left the balcony. He grimaces to himself as he failed once again to give Ron a piece of his mind. How the hell could I have been so scared to say anything to him?? I defeated him back at the lab by sheer luck and quick thinking and now I can’t even bother to spit back at him. Why not now? he thought to himself.

God, I’m pathetic.” Burton drops his water bottle and snack chips and falls to his knees in defeat, no longer caring for the fact that he just kneeled onto his late time snack, crushing the fry chips to bits.

Back in Ron’s room, Ron is practically seething with rage. “Dammit!” He hits his fist hard against his wall, gritting his teeth. “I was only doing my duty as a member of the Oniwabanshu and thus following orders. But why do I keep getting this sharp sting of pain in my chest? I’ve killed and hurt many. I’ve witnessed the gruesome deaths of good and bad people, and yet soft and friendly Burton of all people is what makes me crack?”

Ron sighs and flops backwards onto his bed mat, squeezing his eyes shut, thinking to himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hates me, I can’t say I don’t deserve it. He didn’t even say anything to me back there. But being cold and shady is my life. I get in disguise, I do my job, and I never let anyone get close to me. I swore I would never get attached to anyone…but…

He lifts his hand in the air and stares at his now smooth palm, the callouses no longer present on his skin.

“Why must I hold these unnecessary feelings for him?”

Chapter Text

[BURTON’S POV]

Everything hurts, I can’t even keep my eyes open during class today. The usual lesson over ninja gum’s origins isn’t even enticing to me due to my exhaustion. My heavy eyelids fluttered and glanced around the room to see if I could lay my head down just for a bit. Eventually my eyes landed on Emma and Lucy once my vision went into focus.

Maybe if I just shuffle myself to hide behind Emma and Lucy’s heads, I could hide myself from being seen by Bruce sensei.

I shifted myself over to sit directly behind the girl duo and slowly laid my head down onto my crossed arms until I couldn’t see anything past my bubbly classmates. I started to close my eyes and took this opportunity to rest.

Everything about Ron is starting to flood my head, I know I need to talk to him about his main reason as to why he betrayed us. But I can’t find the courage to confront him about all this. I’m feeling multiple emotions at once and I think it’s starting to eat me up from the inside. He was one of the most interesting and reliable lab partners and friends I’ve ever had. I know Berecca and I have been struggling to find another researcher with our level of intellect to help us with experiments (I get that it sounds rude, but science is no joke to us). So, when he joined our lab to work with us, I was more than ecstatic to see his intelligence be on another level than anything we’ve ever seen before.

I was happy when he worked overtime with us that one time our 751^st experiment went haywire, I enjoyed it when he and I struggled to find a suitable medicine around town for a sick Berecca, and I loved it when he and I would have deep conversations about our ambitions and the future deep into the night. I loved being with him all the time and I would’ve thought he loved doing the same. Was I wrong? Did Ron secretly hate us and simply forged his “feelings” of pleasantry just to steal our data and kill us to get rid of evidence? Did everything we experience together turn out to be a lie?

I lifted my head up slightly and peeked over my crossed arms to see if anyone was watching me. The coast was clear, thankfully. I took a moment to look at Ron at the front of the class, he was sitting next to that girl with the jet-black bob of a haircut. I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt...dissatisfied seeing the two of them behave so close. How did they meet and for how long have they known each other for? I don’t know what their relationship is, but I heard Van and Kappei mentioning they were partners, possibly best friends.

Or maybe even lovers.

My heart sank at the thought of it. The fact that he’s able to move onto adding a new addition to his life like it’s nothing. Is this guy just some heartless monster always taking advantage of anyone he gets in contact with? I suppose that explains why he had no problems tossing me aside.

Geez, I normally don’t let myself get this sappy, but my mind seems to be working in a way that doesn’t befit me in the slightest. What am I even saying? This…this isn’t me at all.

I could feel my throat closing once more. Tears started to sting at the corner of my eyes, and I could feel my nose getting runny, causing me to sniffle and rub my eyes. Emma, with her ears of God, heard this and turned around to find the source of the sound. Much to my dismay, the skilled dancer gasped and turned around fully to face me, which caused Lucy to see what was going on. What’s even worse is that Emma decided to shout out her concern to me.

“Oh my gosh! Burton, are you alright? What happened? And why are you crying?”

Lucy tilts her head sideways, oblivious as ever. “Did you get beat up in a fight?”

The chit chatter from the girls caused the rest of the class to look directly at me. Bruce sensei stopped lecturing, Daisy sensei, who was sitting in the corner of the room, looked up as well, and each kid sitting down began to gawk. Even Ron, who was paying close attention to the lecture, stole a glance out of his peripheral vision to look at me.

Fucking. Why.

I sniffled again and used my jacket sleeve to wipe the snot leaking from my nose. Trying my best not to appear even more deplorable than I already was.

“D-don’t worry Emma, everything’s fine. I just had something on my mind is all.”

Lucy, the cotton candy haired demon child, bellowed a boisterous laugh, “Hahahaha! If it’s some bully messing with you, then I’ll beat them up real good! Just say the word!”

Emma elbowed her friend, raising her voice by the millisecond. “Lucy! Burton doesn’t need any violence to solve his problems! That’s completely unnecessary.”

Van, the white-haired purple striped anime protagonist-looking kid chimes in. “Yeah, and we’ll be able to curb stomp anybody who messes with a friend of ours! They won’t even see me coming when they get a hold of my secret technique.’’

Kappei, the carefree blue ninja boy chuckles, “Yeah right, as if anyone would be afraid of a little bouncy leather ball.”

Van gets offended and stands up to Kappei, who glares back at him, “Oh yeah?? Well, I’d like to see you try going against a true descendant of the Koga ninja clan. Gen’unsai-sama’s training went over your head completely!”

As the children’s banter went on, Jane, Ron’s partner, and a skilled hacker, began to whisper to him (presumably about me). All I could see from here was Ron shaking his head and turning back to face the board.

Bruce sensei looked troubled on what to do before Daisy sensei slammed a ruler on the desk loudly, causing everyone (including Bruce sensei) to jump in surprise and stop talking immediately.

“Burton, why don’t you head to the nurse’s office for today? I will ask one of the students here to volunteer to bring your homework to your room at the end of class.”

I nodded briefly and snatched up all my belongings before making my way to the front of the class to leave. I refused to make eye contact with anybody on my way out.

In the hallway, I ran into Berecca, who was coming back to class from the bathroom before she stopped me.

“Burton? Where are you going? Class isn’t over for another 30 minutes. And why are your eyes red? Did something happen?”

I know she cares about me but honestly, I was tired of all these questions, I just wanted to waste myself away in my room for the rest of the day.

“Berecca, look I can’t talk right now, okay? I’m not feeling so good, I gotta go.” I pushed past her and nearly ran down the hallway to get away. I felt bad dodging her questions, but right now I just needed to be alone. Just for a little while longer.

[RON’S POV]

I watched Burton pitifully dash out the classroom, fumbling with the books in his hands. I tried to ignore the odd sensation in my chest again. I didn’t need a weakness like that distracting me. 30 minutes go by and class ends for the day, now I can finally have some free time. But before I’m able to leave, Jane taps me on the shoulder.

“Aren’t you going to comfort your friend? He seemed pretty flustered back there, seems like he’s really going through it.”

I sighed and once again shook my head. “Burton and I aren’t friends, not anymore. We talked about this. I suppose it’s more accurate to say being friends was a waste of time.”

Jane doesn’t seem convinced, tapping her foot impatiently. “You know, you can’t fool me with that tough guy attitude. It was only for a second, but I could tell you weren’t looking at Burton with nothing but indifference.”

Silence.

She smirks, “I can tell you still feel something else for him other than feign ignorance.”

I sneered, doing my best to keep my voice down. “You’re over exaggerating, I no longer wish to speak with him.”

Liar.

“I completed half my mission of the Oniwabanshu by stealing the ninja gum data, our so called ‘bond’ was nothing but a colossal waste of time and a farse. I do what I must for the sake of the mission. Even if it means living a lie.”

Shut up you damn liar.

Jane shakes her head disapprovingly. “Edgy much? You really don’t know when to give up your pride, don’t you? That’s not healthy you know. Stress causes wrinkles for the skin.”

She shrugs her bag over her shoulder, “Well, whenever you change your mind and want to face reality with the rest of us, you know where to find me. I’m off!”  And with a turn of her heel, Jane exits the classroom.

I exhaled a big sigh I didn’t realize I was holding in. I hate being confronted with unnecessary questions. Burton’s as soft and cheerful as the typical nice guy, it doesn’t take him too long to get out of a funk once he finds something inspirational to keep him distracted. But at the same time, whenever he feels down, the rain clouds hit him hard. How would I even help him to begin with after everything that happened? Hey, I know I stole the research data we’ve been working on for months and I forged a friendship with you and Berecca for just as long only to terminate your existence in the end. But it’s okay! Let’s throw all that emotional turmoil out the window, shake hands, have lunch together, and let bygones be bygones.

Tsk. Pathetic. Jane’s been watching too many of her soap operas.

“Excuse me, Ron. May I have a moment please?” Daisy sensei calls out to me. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

I noticed the small stack of notebooks in her hands and I inwardly grimaced at the realization of what her intentions were for me.

“I need you to deliver these study notes for Burton, knowing him out of everyone in class, he’d hate to miss out on a scientific lecture.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Berecca hastily stepping down the stairs from her seat to meet us at the front of the classroom.

“Daisy sensei! I can bring Burton’s study notes to him! I was already planning on meeting up with him at today’s seminar after class.”

Oh thank God. “Y-yes I already had other plans myself, so I wouldn’t mind if I handed these to--.”

“Nonsense.” Daisy sensei shoves the notebooks into my arms, much to the disappointment of both me and Berecca.

 “As you know, here at WNA Academy we strive to form a strong fellowship with our peers whether any of us are on a mission or not. Forming relations with your classmates will strengthen your bonds during said missions. And I believe you and Burton are due to be partners in the near future.”

“WHAT??” Berecca exclaimed out loud. Meanwhile, I nearly flatlined on the spot.

“Consider this a mini mission of sorts for you. We cannot have our students failing to become diligent ninjas if they cannot work together in the smallest of tasks. Berecca, since the seminar is starting in a few minutes, you can follow me there. Ron has an urgent task to complete before the end of the day.”

My feisty former lab partner sends a cold glare my way and scowls before hesitantly trudging behind Daisy sensei. I’d ask myself what did I ever do to deserve this but I know I’d be quite the hypocrite. Giving up on any hope that anyone else would do Daisy sensei’s bidding for me, I begrudgingly made my way towards Burton’s room.

[BURTON’S POV]

I blew my nose into one of many tissues and discarded it in my tiny trash bin. I didn’t even bother going to the nurse after I left class. I desperately need advice on how to pick myself up from this slump, but this isn’t the right time to engage into conversation when I hardly want to leave my room. Or maybe I just want to believe that it isn't the right time. I couldn’t even make it through one day.

I sighed and curled up on the tatami mat away from my rollout bed. “Maybe if I start reading one of the books I’ve been putting off, perhaps I could--.”

A short knock on the door interrupts my train of thought. Who could that be? Maybe Berecca came to check up on me? Or maybe the lunch lady got word of my well-being? I gotta say, it almost feels like I’m living in a hotel or a well-to-do orphanage sometimes.

I opened the door and to my shock it wasn’t either one of the people I predicted.

“Ah, um. Hi.”

It was Ron.

I stare blankly at him, and he did the same to me but there was more of an awkward air coming off him. In his hands were 3 work notebooks he seemed to be handing out to me.

Ah. I suppose this is who Daisy sensei sent to deliver my study notes for the day.

Finally, Ron breaks the silence by clearing his throat. “Look, I’m here on behalf of sensei. I wasn’t really given much of a choice. Trust me, I’d leave this to Berecca or literally anybody else if I was allowed to do so. So here, take it.”

Ron curtly hands the books to me, for once not meeting my eyes. I hesitantly took the notes from him and I nodded in understanding. It’s dead quiet and a few moments of uncomfortable silence go by before Ron immediately makes an exit without saying another word.

“Wait!!”

Eh? Who said that?

Ron stops moving, his back still facing me.

Hold on, that was me who said that. But why was it me? And why did I call out to him so desperately? I’m supposed to hate that selfish, backstabbing sleazeball.

“Ah…thanks for making the delivery.”

Ron finally turns around to face me with a puzzled look on his usually stern face. I felt myself sweating a bit, as I tried to study what he could possibly be thinking at this very moment. I mentally kicked myself for secretly gazing at his handsome face. He doesn’t show a lot of happy emotions or hardly any at all, but the times where he does display an emotion out of the ordinary, I can’t help myself but to admire him.

He rubs the back of his shaved head and gives a slight nod before turning back around and walking away once more.

I stepped back into my dorm room and ran to my pillow to scream in it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ron actually heard that down the hall. There’s just so many things I need to say to him. I can’t get these weird feelings to go away. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad at that jerk for almost killing us, destroying our lab, and stealing our research. But when I look at him, like a few seconds ago, I don’t know what it is but it looks like he’s hiding something from me too.

“I really am hopeless. I hope my face wasn’t red when we had that stare off that entire time.”

Down the hall, Ron puts his hand over his mouth. His bushy eyebrows are furrowed and his face burns with a dark shade of crimson; keeping his eyes glued to the ground as he speed walks to the cafeteria.

Chapter Text

Today is the day where we head to the training grounds for battle practice. We were lined up for a small elimination round to determine something for our next mission in a month. We were given a piece of ninja gum each, so we had to pick our weapon wisely. Van, Lucy, Emma, Kappei, Ron, Jane, Berecca, and Burton stand in a circle in the arena.

Bruce, Amy, and Daisy sensei stand at the base of the arena to watch our battle tactics and grade our performance.

Bruce sensei stands tall and clears his throat. “Everyone, prepare your gum weapons!”

At the same time, everyone pops a piece of ninja gum into their mouths and begins chewing. Seconds later, each of the students blow a giant bubble nearly encasing their entire bodies until it pops.

Van’s gum weapon is a durable neutralizing basketball called the Trick Ball.

Lucy’s gum weapon is a mangled stop sign with gum stuck to it called a Scrap Saber.

Emma’s gum weapon is a slim skateboard called the Matsuri Board.

Kappei’s gum weapon is a long cylindrical drill called the Drill Beast.

Ron’s gum weapon is a heavy countering mallet called the SK8 Hammer.

Jane’s gum weapon is an unusually large yo-yo called the Ninja Yo-yo.

Berecca’s gum weapon consists of two tiger paws with claws called Paw-xing Gloves.

Burton’s gum weapon is a standard red baton called the IPPON Katana.

Before Bruce sensei can pull out his joke book, Amy sensei uses a small mallet to hit the brass bell, signaling the fight has begun.

Each of the kids fan out of the arena to get in their battle stances. Van starts the battle by throwing his trick ball at Jane, she dodges by slinging her yo-yo to collide with the ball, caused by a flick of the wrist. Kappei also attempts to catch her by surprise by lunging the spinning drill at her feet, only for her to jump onto the rails of the ring away from the two.

“Not so fast boys,” Jane wags her finger. “It was a nice try, but you won’t defeat big sis so easily now.”

Van grins and dribbles his basketball down the arena, “I’ll be the one to decide who the victor of this match is. Heh, obviously it’s gonna be me. Genryusai-sama’s guidance won’t fail me now!”

Kappei yanks his gum weapon out of the ground and points it proudly into the air, “As if! I’m gonna be the one who comes out victorious! Right after I pummel you and Neesan into oblivion!”

Jane giggles and readies her weapon, “This should be fun.” She says as she looks at the bantering boys.

Over by the stair rails, Emma is riding away on her matsuri board from Lucy, ducking and dodging her chaotic friend’s swift swings. As Lucy goes in for the kill, Emma quickly does a kickflip to launch and hold her board up to block Lucy’s attack.

Emma looks shocked, “Wow! You’re really good at this stuff Lucy! But don’t think just because we’re best friends that I’m gonna let you win.”

Lucy flashes Emma a big smile, “Of course! But if that’s the case…” She exclaims before her sweet smiles slowly contorts into a more sinister, creepy grin. “There's no way you'll defeat me with a little skateboard. I’ll be sure to show you no mercy, so get ready!!!”

Lucy laughs and furiously swings at her friend, each swing getting faster with every laugh as Emma skates away again.

She jumps in the air and prepares to slam her weapon down onto Emma. Emma counters this by hopping with her board to grind down on the stair rails before launching herself upwards with a crail grab trick to effectively land her skateboard onto Lucy’s weapon; successfully blocking her offensive attack.

Berecca and Ron are running horizontally along the metal gate walls of the stadium. She’s been chasing him since the match started and it was clear she wasn’t letting him out of her sight for the rest of the battle. Once she realized she wasn’t going to beat Ron in a leg race, she decides to use her paw-xing gloves to chase Ron and climb the wall on all fours…like an actual cat.

Ron looks behind him and is bewildered at what he’s witnessing. Just what in the hell is she doing? He knew almost anything goes in a match, but did those cat gloves possess her into thinking she was a real cat?

“Don’t think I’m gonna let you get away, Ron! I’ll get you one way or another!”

Much to Ron’s annoyance, Burton dashes onto the wall as well to meet him halfway. He wields his classic IPPON katana in his hands as he makes a beeline straight for his former friend.

An amateur ninja would normally fret at the sight of being double teamed with little time to think or react. But Ron is no ordinary ninja and at the very least he certainly isn’t an amateur. Ron decides to do a game of chicken by running full speed ahead at Burton, no longer concerned about Berecca hot on his trail behind him.

This confuses the young scientist, wondering why his opponent refused to take a different direction; yet he decided to take the bait and play Ron’s game as well. As Burton yells out and readies his next attack and Berecca leaps forward to get a nasty swipe onto Ron, Ron dodges last minute and speeds past Burton until he is directly behind him.

In a flash, Ron uses his deftness and agility to briefly press the base of his SK8 Hammer into the small of Burton’s back. His “assistance” pushed Burton forward towards Berecca, but unfortunately, Burton was already mid-swing and could not cancel the attack in time.

Burton ends up accidentally hitting Berecca at full force with his gum weapon and the magenta pompadour girl is launched to the other side of the wall, stuck in a web of gum.

She’s out.

“IPPON!” Bruce sensei yells from the stands. "Burton really brings out the big guns on this one thanks to a clever move from Ron!”

The other kids look up at Berecca’s defeat, some wincing in pity while others get right back into the fray.

Burton is speechless as he comes to terms with what just happened. He fell for that weasel’s trick and was even used to eliminate another player in the process. His own friend at that. He turns around to see the other boy take another swing at him before leaning backwards to swiftly dodge. Burton jumps to Ron and swings his katana at his mallet but is met with a hasty block instead.

Burton and Ron’s gum weapons collide like swords repeatedly. Burton realized that Ron moves too fast between attack and block to leave an opening and Ron realizes that Burton’s quick temper is unfortunately a helpful aid into making quicker attacks that can be difficult to keep up with overtime.

Back over with Kappei, Jane, and Van, the trio also seems to be having a bit of trouble. Kappei uses his drill weapon to repeatedly knock back Van’s trick ball, almost like a game of tennis. Jane comes up with an idea to use her gum weapon for her final plan. She grabs the slip knot and begins swinging the base of the yo-yo in the air like a lasso. She spits out multiple gum wads at Kappei’s shoes leaving him immobile (unbeknownst to him).

Then she unwinds her makeshift lasso string to spin and wrap around Van, swiftly pulling him back to her as he is wrapped up in string like a fly wrapped up in a spider’s web.

Van starts to panic. “WAAAH! Wh-what’s going on? What is this, Neesan??”

This startles Kappei as he tries to make his escape and think of a new plan only to find out that he cannot move from the sticky gum gripping onto his shoes and ankles. “Ahhh!! How did this happen? I can’t move!”

Jane smirks confidently, “Checkmate.”

Kappei hurriedly tries to use his drill to dig around into the ground to free his feet. But it is too late as Jane flings the yo-yo string with Van wrapped in it back to Kappei. The boys scream in terror as they crash into each other, also trapping themselves in a big blob of gum.

Two more students strike out.

“IPPON! Kappei and Van proved to be no match for Jane’s wit!” Amy sensei announces.

The boys groaned and hung their heads in shame. Jane smiles and skips off to find herself a new opponent to take on.

Emma and Lucy somehow make their way into eyeing Burton and Ron’s personal duel. Lucy in particular charges into the fray to include herself in the battle. She dashes towards the boys and swings her weapon down between the two. Her girly giggles giving off a ghastly impression.

“Hey hey, come on come on! Let me play too! I wanna join in on the fun!” She nearly bashes Ron into next week with another massive swing of her staff. He leans backwards Matrix-style and uses his hammer to hit Lucy towards Burton to be his problem. Burton finds himself running away from the maniacally laughing lunatic.

“Play with me, guys! I promise I’ll go easy on you! Burton, you’ll play a game with me riiiight??”

Burton wasn’t having any of that shit. He lifts his head diagonally and spits multiple gum wads into the air. Then he twirls his baton to pelt the gum towards the other kids, like a baseball bat hitting a baseball. Ron holds up his hammer to block the sticky chicle resin but ends up getting some of it stuck on his left arm. Gum gets caught on two of Emma’s skateboard wheels and she’s forced to hop off. Lucy fiercely swipes the gum away, but most of it has encased the brunt of her weapon. As Jane joins in, she unfortunately gets a massive glob of gum stuck in her hair. Some of it covers her right eye, clouding her vision.

“EEEK! THERE’S GUM IN MY HAIR!” She shrieks and aimlessly starts launching her yo-yo at nobody in particular to enact petty revenge. Her hissy fit causes her runaway yo-yo to hit Lucy by surprise from behind, making her trip and fall.

As Emma finishes peeling the gum off her wheels, she goes in for her chance. Emma glides down the arena to skate fast in a circle around each of her classmates. She picks up speed with every lap and even manages to form a blinding whirlwind of dust in the process. Each of the kids (with the exception of Lucy and Jane, who were temporarily distracted) looked around warily to prepare for the unexpected.

Several silhouettes of Emma appeared in the whirlwind, surrounding everyone all at once. Eventually, 4 clones of Emma jumped out of the whirlwind at all angles attacking the kids simultaneously.

Burton twirls his IPPON katana at mach speed to get rid of the imposter before him.

Ron is tackled to the ground.

Lucy counters the clone’s pounce with a nasty swing of her staff but manages to get sand in her uncovered eye and is knocked back into Jane; who also falls over as a result.

Jane finally gets the gum out of her face and rubs her itchy red eye.

Just then, the real Emma pops out of the whirlwind aboard her matsuri board and painfully clashes into the debilitated girls, launching them off the arena where they landed with a tangle of gum.

Only three remain.

“IPPON! Lucy and Jane are out!” Daisy sensei declares.

Emma’s whirlwind subsides as she grins mischievously, but her grin falters when she notices someone is missing.

Burton whips his head around the battlefield to take notice of Ron’s mysterious absence. In the spot where he was seemingly tackled to the ground, a lone traffic cone pathetically lies in that spot. This befuddles the contestants and the teachers as they realize Ron used a decoy to get trapped into the whirlwind.

Before Emma can get a single word out, the traffic cone poofs away and Ron promptly 'teleports' behind her. She freezes up and slowly turns around to see her missing opponent has now been found. Ron kicks her skateboard out of her hands, hitting Burton square in the gut as he falls on his butt. And before anyone knew it, the Oniwabanshu member takes a massive swing of his mallet to sling Emma into the back wall. Her landing is softened by yet another massive glob of gum. 

And then there were two.

“IPPON! Emma has been eliminated, Ron and Burton are the final two standing! Who will win this intense battle of wit and grit?” Bruce sensei shouts aloud.

Burton groans and rubs his stomach. Ron really let him have that one, although Burton wasn’t sure if Ron necessarily meant to hurt him in such a way. He thought about questioning if that was even allowed.

Ron got into his battle stance and started swaying side to side on each foot. Burton couldn’t take much more of this battle. He already didn’t like fighting but was well aware of how important ninja training is to him, mainly because it’s literally in his blood. He still hasn’t even gotten ahold of his emotions from the past couple of days and now he’s standing face to face with his former friend. But maybe this was the emotional closure he needed. If Burton was able to properly defeat and humiliate Ron in front of the entire class, then perhaps he’d be able to serve a little retaliation as a warning.

Burton breathes deep and starts to grit his teeth, focusing on his inner rage and putting forth that energy into his katana. His extreme meditation caused his entire body to be enveloped in a bright yellow light.

Ron closes his eyes and lifts his head up to the sky. He relaxes his shoulders and focuses his steadfast energy into his SK8 Hammer, allowing his smaller form to be encased in a shiny dark blue light.

The teachers and students were in awe as they intensely watched their peers literally and figuratively spark and glow like firecrackers before their very eyes.

The boys opened their eyes and looked directly at each other before readying their weapons behind their backs. Within the next second, the two determined boys darted for one another, letting out a fierce battle cry.

The moment Burton swung his katana at Ron’s sticky left arm and Ron mashes his hammer into Burton’s hip, the impact causes an explosion to combust larger than Emma’s whirlwind. The sheer force and power from hitting each other at the same time causes the ninja boys to catapult themselves backwards at lightning speed.

When it was all over and the dust was cleared, it is revealed that both Ron and Burton have smacked each other out of bounds on opposite sides of the arena walls. Both boys were ensnared into their own mesh of ninja gum.

The match was officially over.

Everyone including the teachers were gob smacked at how the fierce battle turned out. No winner was declared since there wasn’t a single person standing in the end. And the students were to report to the classroom for their results before leaving for the day.

Amy sensei returns to the classroom with a clipboard in her hand. “Alright everyone, settle down. We’ve finished grading your performances and battle tactics. The purpose of this mini battle royale was to determine your strengths, weaknesses, and compatibility with your fellow classmates.”

Nobody said a single word. Daisy sensei continues where Amy sensei left off, “Each of you performed splendidly, some more experienced than others. However, in order to successfully complete a mission with a partner or within a group, a ninja must be able to know when they’re teammate is in a pinch by studying their moves. This is why for our next mission, we have decided to pair you kids up in partners to work together for your next assignment.”

The classroom was dead silent while everyone waited for their chosen partners. Bruce sensei clears his throat. “And just for the record, there will be absolutely no switching partners. Now the pairs until further notice are as follows…”

Van will be paired with Kappei.

Lucy will be paired with Emma.

Berecca will be paired with Jane.

And Ron will be paired with Burton.

Berecca and Burton’s mouths were agape at this revelation while Ron had a dumbfounded stare plastered across his face. Jane shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head.

Bruce sensei guffaws, “Kids don’t look so glum, your faces are as pale as a plum!”

Total silence. Nothing he just said made any sense and neither did his god awful pun.

Class was dismissed for the day and everyone left to get rid of the gum stuck to their clothes and hair.

Burton and Ron took glances at one another from across the room as they left. Two “lucky” individuals paired up (for who knows how long) to work together and bond on their next mission. Neither of them have been able to talk or argue or do anything even remotely related to getting answers from one another this entire time they’ve enrolled into the academy. And now they’re going to be all buddy-buddy for as long as their teachers tell them to.

There’s no way in hell this could possibly go well.

Chapter Text

[BURTON’S POV]

It’s 7:38 in the morning.

Nobody needed the mission to start this early. Who asked for this? Everyone but myself was asleep on the helicopter charting off to “Nowhere, Middleof” in the morning. All I could see from out the window were a bunch of trees that looked like ants from where we were. I’ve had trouble sleeping for a while so I feel like I shouldn’t be mad that we had to leave. Still, I feel like they could’ve done a better job of waking us up.

[FLASHBACK]

The miniature ninja robots that patrol the academy made noise throughout the dorm room hallway. Each robot holds a miniature taiko drum and repeatedly beats the drum with a bachi stick. The sound reverberates throughout the hallway, my dorm room, and my ears. The drum surprisingly has a heavy bass sound, but I suppose if there’s multiple of these robots using the same instrument then I guess it makes sense for the sound to amplify.

Now my ears are ringing. They’re rather good at making nois—wait are those tambourines? Where did they even get those from, we don’t have any music classes here.

I opened my eyes and squinted at my alarm clock. It’s 1:53 AM.

Groaning at the realization that I’m not going to be able to sleep through this, I begrudgingly threw off my blanket and started to get dressed. Once I got into my ninja armor, I slid the door open until it hit the end of the border with a loud ‘clack’.

Ron, who was waiting for me in front of my door, slightly jolted in surprise by the unwelcome sound. He had bags under his eyes and his cheeks were flushed red in what I assume to be embarrassment. Even when he’s sleepy, Ron somehow manages to look as dashing as ever without even trying. In our brief staredown, I felt my face heating up by the millisecond.

I nearly forgot we were partners for the entire mission.

He taps his foot and looks down at the ground before looking up at me with uncomfortable eyes, the rosy-red hue continuing to stain his cheeks. Seeing this meek side of Ron is not normal, he typically has it all together. But I guess since we never talked through anything, this is still going to be one hell of an awkward mission.

I shut the door behind me and walked next to my new partner. I could see the Bottle Collector kids dragging their feet along the floor, apart from Dan, May, and Tyler. Keith and Naomi on the other hand have very scary death glares when they’re tired. Who knew?

Once all 8 of us made it outside the school, we were greeted with Amy and Bruce sensei standing in front of a helicopter. As they were explaining the length of the trip and our drop off location, I took the time to look at each of our classmates. Lucy and Emma were leaning on each other with half-lidded eyelids. Berecca and Jane had the worst bed hair (and I’m pretty sure Berecca still has a giant hair roller stuffed in her pompadour). Kappei and Van are wearing eye masks and had makeshift eyes written in marker over the mask; they’re snoring with their mouths open. Ron’s eyebrows are furrowed tightly as he squints his eyes; he quickly drums his fingertips along his forearms to keep himself awake. More than half the class is half asleep right now.

Everyone jolts awake when Bruce sensei laughs out loud. Nobody was paying attention.

Amy sensei opens the door to the helicopter and orders everyone to walk in a single file line onto the aircraft. After I sat down and put on my seatbelt, everything else became a blur as I fell unconscious.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

I heard my stomach grumbling. I didn’t even have time to make my power smoothies before we left, at the very least I would’ve been able to make it until the afternoon. I sighed and slouched in my seat. I think I remember Amy sensei mentioning that she’d make an announcement close to 8 AM, so it shouldn’t be too much longer now.

Looking at my surroundings I noticed everyone was still fast asleep. The 4 wild kids Van, Lucy, Emma, and Kappei were snoring peacefully. I felt confident those kids will have a long-lasting friendship. Berecca, sporting a gel bead eye mask, is a bit of a heavy snorer when she didn’t get the proper amount of beauty rest required. Jane acted similarly, but instead of an eye mask she wore anti-aging cream on her face.

Do those even work? Imagine spending your entire minimum wage retail paycheck on some glorified facial lotion. I like to believe anything is possible with the power of science, but I guess if age-reversing ninja gum exists I can’t say much about that.

Ron is sleeping with his arms and legs crossed, but his head is leaning on the wall of the helicopter. Ever the model, he is.

If I’m going to get any information as to why Ron betrayed us, I’m gonna need to make sure we have as much alone time as possible. Hopefully we won’t be doing too much activity other than running on this mission. I don’t know how much more I can handle.

Just then, a booming voice called out on the intercom.

“Attention students, we are nearing our destination for the mission. Please be alert and await your instructions from your sensei! It’s a beautiful morning out there, a perfect time to take a look on the bright side wouldn’t you say? GAHAHAHAHAHA!”

This caused some of my classmates to wake up. Van, Kappei, and Emma being the first to do so. Jane and Lucy were next; Berecca and Ron followed soon after. Amy sensei walked out from the cockpit with a big box full of backpacks, water, first-aid kits, emergency snacks, and four mystery keys.

“Good morning, everyone. I hope you were all able to get some rest on the flight. Bruce sensei and I have prepared emergency items for your departure. We realized you all didn’t get a proper meal before we left the academy, so we thought we’d throw in these for your convenience. However, since we are about to drop you guys down, do not eat or drink anything until you land on the ground.”

The collective whines of the kids filled the room. Looks like I’ll be alright after all.

She passed around the box until everyone wore a rucksack stuffed with supplies. On the back of the rucksack was a parachute with a little rubber string attached to activate it. I’ve never been skydiving before, but I wasn’t particularly afraid of heights.

Amy sensei clapped her hands. “Alright everyone, I will once again explain the mission. As you know, each of you have been paired up with your partner for the entirety of the mission.”

She pulled out a map and held it out to show us. In red marker, there was a drawing of a four-point shuriken in the center of the map. There was one black dot on the four edges of the shuriken and a big green dot in the center of the drawing. She used her finger to point.

“Each pair will be dropped off at one of the four different locations: the waterfall (north), the forest (east), the canyon (south), and the grasslands (west). Your goal is to make it to the center of the area where this green dot is and find a chest with your team’s face on it. Use and share the key given to you. Then….”

Amy sensei grabs a purple marker and marks four squares on the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest locations. “Once you retrieve your team’s item inside the chest, you will be directed to one of the purple square landmarks to find your team’s treasure.”

She grabs a yellow marker and draws a golden star around the centered green dot. “Finally, once you grab your treasure you will make your way back to the center of the map. Whichever team makes it back in pairs with your treasure first, wins the challenge.”

The class was silent and had dumbfounded looks on their faces. This entire mission was a back-and-forth fetch-quest. There were so many colors on the map that she listed I couldn’t even remember which ones we had to go to first. I looked at Ron for the slightest hope of help, but all he had was a blank stare plastered across his face. I couldn’t tell if any of this information was sinking in for him or if he’s just that good at playing off stupid.

Bruce sensei’s voice is heard on the intercom, “Do not worry, we have made copies of the color-coded map in advance for you kids! Now, it will be up to you all to remember which spots you will be going to first. Each team will drop down to their locations within 30 minute intervals, so some of you will be waiting longer than others. Not to worry, there are functioning walkie talkies in your backpack that you will use to communicate with us if needed. Do not start until we tell you to, so stay put once you land. We will be waiting for you at the first, but technically second, and final landmark. Remember that each pair will be receiving one map and key each, so don’t even think about leaving your partner behind. Not only will you immediately fail the challenge, but you will be tasked to clean the entire academy for a month. While Amy sensei hands out the maps, take this time amongst yourselves to come up with your team names!”

Amy sensei passes out the maps and each group happily discuss (and argues over) the coolest team name. Ron and I didn’t really say anything to each other, we just kinda sat there and looked at anything but ourselves. I stuffed the map into my backpack, Ron puts the key into his pack, and we waited for further instructions.

Amy sensei clears her throat, “Now to announce the teams.”

Van and Kappei jumped up, “TEAM DINOSHARK!” Childish.

Lucy and Emma high fived, “TEAM ROCKSTAR!” Expected.

Berecca and Jane gave each other the peace sign, “Team Beauty!” Boring.

The class was waiting for us to announce our team name, but they were met with silence. Ron scratched the back of his head and I let out a nervous laugh.

Emma pouts and Lucy stuck her tongue out at us, “Bleh, what a bunch of buzzkills.”

Kappei shouts and raises his hand, “All in favor of Team Buzzkill?”

The remaining classmates, with the exception of Berecca, raise their hands in agreement.

Amy sensei nods. “Then it’s settled.”

Ron’s eye twitches but he doesn’t argue back. I guess we kinda deserved that name at the very least.

Amy sensei checks her watch. “Alright, it’s 8 AM. Prepare yourselves, it is time for your departure. Remember, once 45 seconds of free fall pass, pull the string to bring out your parachute. I will call you up by your team names when it is your turn to go. We are reaching the grasslands first. Team Dinoshark, it is your time to go first. Everyone else, buckle your seatbelts.”

The boys gulped and nervously staggered to the door. Amy sensei unlocked the door and slid it open. A huge gust of wind hit us all square in the face as we watched.

Kappei was sweating bullets, “I uh…don’t really kn-know about this…”

Van, who was also sweating bullets, elbowed his rival and friend. “Wh-what you scared? I thought you said you were the b-best dinoshark around.”

Kappei immediately got offended, “Of course I’m not scared! You’re the who is—WAAAAAAH!”

Amy sensei gave the two bickering boys a push off the helicopter, and they began falling down to their destination. We watched in shock and horror at the entire ordeal. Lucy was bouncing in her seat, “COOL! ME NEXT! ME NEXT!”

Emma’s face was pale. Amy sensei closes the door shut. “You two will have to wait 30 minutes before it is your turn. We will be reaching the canyon next.”

30 minutes go by before Team Rockstar gets called up to jump. Lucy cannot contain her excitement and laughter while Emma takes a painfully long time unbuckling her seatbelt. Once Amy sensei opens the door, Emma finally unbuckles her seatbelt and Lucy grabs her friend’s hand and sprints towards the door.

Emma is practically powerless to get her friend to stop and screams bloody murder as the two hop out of the aircraft. The last thing anyone heard was Lucy’s maniacal laughter mixing in with Emma’s terrified screams.

30 more minutes pass when Team Beauty is called up to land in the forest area. Berecca takes Jane’s hand and they awkwardly step toward the front. They give each other a worried look before looking back at Ron and I. Ron just shrugs while I just give them a shaky thumbs up. Amy sensei goes in to give the girls a push until Berecca nervously steps back and bumps her back into Jane, making the both of them pathetically fall down and out.

The final 30 minutes pass by before it’s our turn to jump to the waterfall area. I really would’ve preferred to travel by bus or train instead of jumping out of a freaking plane.

I wonder if Ron is just as nervous as I was.

As soon as the door opened, Ron confidently jumped out of the airplane.

Wow, he didn’t even wait for me.

I took a deep breath and hopped out, screaming my lungs out as all the fear and anxiety took over my body all at once. I know I felt nervous when I was watching everybody else taking their turns, but it’s so much more different when you’re just free falling for long periods of time with the habitual expectation to land on your feet in just a few seconds. After 45 seconds went by, I pulled my parachute string and a beautiful bright yellow parachute popped out. I could see Ron already had his dark blue parachute out since he jumped a few seconds before I did. What a pretty color it was.

It didn’t take long before the two of us landed in a free patch of grass near some shallow bushes. Ron dusted himself off and pulled out the walkie talkie from his rucksack. I shook out the remaining leaves that were stuck in my hair and made my way over to him.

A voice echoed out from the device; it was Bruce sensei. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have been notified that all four teams have landed in their designated spots. It is now 9:45 AM. From here, you will use your maps and your resources to make your way to each of the destinations. I hope you have been paying attention in Wilderness Survival class. Feel free to use your walkie talkies to communicate with us and your partners. Do not show up to the finish line without your partner unless the two of you are separated AND in need of serious help. This mission is a test of wit, teamwork, and resourcefulness. Do not expect us to merely give you answers that you should know how to do. With that being said, let The Buddy System Challenge begin!”

Ron and I looked at one another. He looked away and stood still for a moment to catch the direction of the brisk wind and immediately headed south. I hurriedly followed suit before snatching a water bottle from my rucksack and chugging it down.

[END OF POV]

Chapter Text

[ TEAM DINOSHARK POV ]

“Bleh, couldn’t we land in a softer spot? The grasslands are full of nothing but sharp grass acres with few trees and muddy puddles.” Van whined while spitting out multiple grass blades staining his tongue.

Kappei straightens his back. “Patience Van, during times like these one must adapt to their surroundings, find the direction of the wind, and locate the nearest water source.”

Van scoffs and stomps in a puddle, splashing Kappei’s legs in the process. “HAAH?? We’ve got water right here! And we can’t even fish in it, it’s full of mud!”

Kappei angrily splashes Van back, “Oi! Knock it off, we gotta look for actual water we can drink from. Not whatever’s in this mess!”

“Hmph, whatever. I won’t lose to this place or you. I’m gonna head east to get to the goal. I bet I can find food and water before you can!” Van dashes off.

“Hey! This is a team effort, sensei told us to work together! I don’t wanna clean the academy for a month because of you!” Kappei runs off after his friend in the direction in what is assumed to be east.

Spoiler alert: It was not east.

[ TEAM ROCKSTAR POV ]

Lucy was gleefully skipping along the rocky trail ahead of her friend while Emma quizzically squints at the compass she’s holding.

“Hmm, I know Miss Lauren told me briefly about how to use a compass, but I can’t seem to remember how it’s supposed to be used.” She pauses before an idea pops into her head. “I’ve got it!”

Lucy stops skipping and turns around, “Hm? What have you got?”

The pro dancer grins, “If we keep real quiet for a sec, I should be able to hear the wind blowing long enough for me to know which direction we gotta go to!”

Lucy raises an eyebrow and sits down on a nearby boulder. “Sure, I guess. I got nothing.”

Emma closes her eyes and raises her hands up to her ears. Lucy just stares at her. A good 30 seconds go by before Emma opens her eyes again and points past her friend. “That way! I can hear animal cries, we just have to climb up these steep hills to get there!”

The twin tailed punk hops up in excitement, “Nice! We’ll be winning this challenge in no time! If I ever see any of our classmates try to steal our item, I’ll annihilate them all! Gyahaahaha!”

Emma sighs and pulls out a harness, “Before that, we need to get up these hills. I’ve got some rock-climbing gear in my pack and so should you. Let’s use these to--.”

But Lucy was already on her way up the cleft by jumping from rock to rock. “See you at the top slowpoke! Gyahaha!”

Emma smiles halfheartedly and follows her energetic friend.

[ TEAM BEAUTY POV ]

Berecca eyes Jane suspiciously from behind, watching her every movement to determine whether she can rely on her partner for the mission. Jane unsurprisingly notices her partner’s skepticism after nearly an hour of silence following an agreement on where to traverse the forest.

Eventually, the skilled hacker caves in. “I can tell you have some concerns with my presence, you can let me know if you’ve got a problem with me.”

Berecca snaps up, “H-how did you know I have questions to ask? I didn’t think I was being all that obvious.”

Jane rolls her eyes, “I just have a hunch. Plus, I’ve heard from Ron that you and Burton used to be friends, lab partners even. And from what he’s told me, it doesn’t look like that friendship ended very well.”

Jane was met with silence from Berecca.

She continues, “Ron has explained his duties of being a part of that strange Ninja Cult numerous times. His secret profession as an intelligence officer for the WNA wasn’t able to help him out in the end since he was chased by the Oniwabanshu for failing his mission. I only got caught up in this mess for doing a sketchy hacking job requested by one of my coworkers, then my computer data was stolen, and those scumbags tried to kill me too! UGH! When I get my hands on that piece of shit he’s done for!”

Berecca squints, “So you’re saying that Ron didn’t have to kill us, but he tried to anyway because he was simply ordered to?”

“That’s what I’m saying.” Jane pushes away a dangling tree branch so they can continue their path. “We were lacking in power at the time and with no other choice, the two of us consumed the ninja gum and escaped. But at the cost of turning into children. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have a nice glass of wine right about now to drink away my sorrows.”

Berecca cuts in, clearly annoyed. “Oh come on! For all I know, you might not have too much to do with this situation Burton and I are in. But do you honestly expect me to feel sympathy for Ron after he tried to kill me and my best friend?”

“I don’t. I’d be pretty pissed too, to be honest. Ron already doesn’t say all that much to begin with, so getting an explanation out of him is already a pain in the ass. Almost to the point where it seems like he doesn’t care at all, but I promise you he’s not like that. Ron is stoic, curt, and lacks social cues like most boys on the planet, but he’s not a heartless monster.”

Berecca walks in front of Jane and stares her down. “Hmph, and what makes you think an assassin like him is gonna get an apology [or at the very least an understanding] from me and Burton?”

Jane taps her chin, “Well I can’t promise things will go smoothly with the boys. But I know Ron’s smart enough not to pull anything funny at the academy. Besides, I’ve seen the way he looks at your friend. It’s not any ordinary stare after all.”

She bends down to grab a bundle of sticks lying on the ground and reaches into her rucksack to grab a few rubber bands and a gummy worm.

This confuses Berecca, “Hey, what are you doing with those? We don’t have time to be goofing around, the sun is gonna start setting in a couple of hours.”

“You know, I may not be the outdoorsy type, but I did learn a thing or two from my older cousins when I was younger. Now, if you can go grab some large leaves and some firewood, I’ll catch us some fish for dinner and let you in on a little secret about Ron. Do we have a deal?”

Berecca huffs and turns on her heel, “Fine! But this secret better be worth it!”

[ TEAM BUZZKILL POV ]

Burton started sweating profusely behind Ron. They had been hiking for 6 hours straight and were just starting to exit the waterfall area. Neither of them spoke a word throughout the entire mission and only stopped to hop on some rocks across a river stream. It didn’t help that the sun was harsh for the month of May and Ron didn’t show any signs of stopping.

As Burton’s head started to hurt and feel dizzy and his peripheral vision started to blur, he feared he was on the verge of passing out. His throat felt so dry and his entire body was damp with sweat. His ears started ringing and his steps became staggered and irregular to the point where Ron could detect an inconsistency in his partner’s movements.

Finally, Ron stopped and turned around. “Stop messing around, we need to—”

SPLASH!

Burton’s unconscious body fell backwards into the water and was carried down the river stream.

“SHOOT!”

Ron ran towards Burton quickly and reached for his arm, he made a swipe and missed. This caused Burton’s body to shift diagonally away from Ron. He reached into his pack to rummage for something to fish him out with but… “ACK!” …he tripped over a rock in the process and fell to the ground.

Seeing his partner continue to flow even faster down the stream, Ron discarded his rucksack completely and made a mad dash after him. His blood ran cold when he looked ahead. Up ahead was a dead-end waterfall much smaller than the ones they’ve come across in the hike, but there was no doubt Burton wouldn’t survive this one if there were rocks at the bottom of the basin.

“BURTON!”

Ron glanced to his surroundings to catch a glimpse of any sticks he could use to fish Burton out, but only found one. At this point, Ron had no choice but to dive in after him. He sprinted a few feet past his partner so he was in between Burton and the brink of the waterfall. Ron grabbed the small stick by his feet and dove into the water. He struggled to stay afloat but eventually managed to fight the current.

In his left hand, he used the stick to stab it firmly into the muddy grass sidelines above the rushing waterfall and extended his right arm outwards to Burton. He grunted and breathed heavily as panic rose up inside him for the first time in a long time. Burton’s body was hurling towards him fast and Ron wasn’t sure if he was actually going to pull off this flimsy plan.

With one final stretch, Ron flicked open his hand and firmly grabbed hold of Burton’s hood, pulling his partner’s body close to him. While holding on tight to the stick, Ron moved Burton’s body by the hood towards his chest and pulled themselves upwards and out of the rushing stream.

After dragging Burton as far away from the waterfall as his current strength could muster, Ron looked for any signs of drowning. He wondered if he had to perform CPR which is something he’s done before but not very often. Ron blushed at the thought but immediately dismissed it by checking for a heartbeat. He laid his head on Burton’s chest to listen to his heart.

He's still breathing.

Ron went to check the pulse spots on Burton’s neck and wrists, there were pulses present there too. Then he listened for any inhaling and exhaling; both were present, but faint. Now that he thinks about it, Burton fell backwards into the water, but the water never went up his nostrils or into his mouth. He was floating on his back the entire time.

An instantaneous wave of relief washes through Ron as he fell backwards onto the mushy grass. He shot Burton an agitated glare, “I really had to do all that just for you.”

He sighs and picks Burton up and carries him on his back. “But I guess I owe it to you, huh, lab partner?”

A few hours later….

Burton stirs awake and yawns. It’s dark outside. He feels a cool compress on his forehead and when he sits up it falls off. And so does the blanket that’s covering his body…. wait a second.

“HOLY SH—! What the hell happened?? Where are my clothes???”

Then the memories started coming back to him. He remembered feeling dizzy when he and Ron were walking and then he blacked out. He was pretty sure he heard something that sounded like a loud splash before his memory completely evaded him. He turned his head to see two ninja uniforms hanging loosely to dry on a nearby tree branch.

“Oh, so that’s what happened. Wait, so that means he went in to save me? What else was he up to while I was out?”

Burton looked up to see a makeshift shelter crafted with sticks and waxy leaves tied together above his head. There was another blanket lying next to the one he was lying on. In front of the shelter was a campfire with fish being roasted rotisserie style on some sticks.

“I know all this was a bit of a rude awakening, but I guess I gotta hand it to Ron for actually paying attention in Wilderness Survival class. Not that I’d ever admit that to his face.”

Burton put on some extra pants and a shirt he kept in his backpack and made his way out of the tent to eat some fish. As he was doing so, Ron stepped out from behind some bushes with a handful of berries in his hands and pockets. He was no longer wearing his ninja uniform and instead sported a regular t-shirt and shorts. The two boys stared at each other for a bit unsure of what to say.

Ron looks to the side, “You’re awake, sorry about the clothes. You were going to catch a cold if you kept them on.”

Burton shakes his head and grabs hold of the roasted fish on a stick. “Forget it, I put two and two together already.”

Ron nods and places the handful of edible berries onto two leaves, handing one of them out to Burton. Burton grabs it and the boys begin to greedily eat their food in silence.

Well, Burton got the alone time with Ron that he wished for before. But now that he’s actually got it, he doesn’t even know where to begin. This guy went from trying to murder him in cold blood, to diving into danger to save his life while endangering his own. And to take extra precautions to take care of him afterwards. Is he doing all this because he has to? Or is it out of pity? There’s no way he’d actually care enough to do this out of the goodness of his heart. He must be aware the academy will get on him for leaving his partner behind.

All these questions were bubbling up inside of Burton until he couldn’t take it anymore, “Why did you save me?”

Ron paused mid bite, “Hm?”

Burton continued, “I said, why did you save me? You could’ve left me for dead when I was unconscious. You tried to kill me before, and this was practically your chance to let it happen without actually instigating it and getting your hands dirty.”

Ron stopped paying attention to his fish and looked up at his former friend. Burton’s eyes seemed uncertain, sad, and…hopeful? What a weird combination.

“I only helped you because I’ll get in trouble if I don’t. I’d rather not cause any more trouble than I already have with WNA. I’m already not supposed to be here, and neither are you, Berecca, and Jane.”

Burton sneered and his face fell in disappointment, “That’s it? So you’re just a coward right? You’re afraid of what some big bad academy will do to you if you fail an assignment? No wonder you went into hiding. You couldn’t even handle me by yourself when I used ninja gum against your katana, now you’re only playing nice just so you don’t have to deal with karma coming after you and your self-serving actions being at the mercy of the school.”

Ouch.

Ron didn’t say anything, but the slight narrowing of his golden eyes suggested his words got to him deep down. He went back to chewing on his fish.

Burton’s anger subsided when he realized Ron wasn’t saying anything back and he went back to eating his fish as well. He didn’t want to feel bad for snapping back because he felt like he had every right to do so, and technically he did. But Burton was never the type to let his anger get to him unless something really got under his skin. Besides, it didn’t help that his feelings for him never went away.

After the boys were done with dinner, Ron began to put out the fire. “We should be fairly close to the 1^st checkpoint right now. We’ll get up at dawn and by the time the afternoon rolls around, we should get there.”

Burton nodded and headed into the tent to lay down. He wondered how Berecca was making out in the forest area. He knew they used to scavenge for edible plants and berries when they hit a real financial struggle, but he wasn’t sure if she’d be able to rely on her partner that’s just as girly as her. Berecca wouldn’t go down without a fight though, so he wasn’t particularly worried about that.

Just then, Ron stepped into the shelter and laid down on his respective blanket with his back facing Burton. Burton squeaked and quickly turned his body around so his back was turned to Ron’s. Why was he feeling sheepish again? He believed he was able to shove whatever remaining feelings he felt for Ron down his throat once and for all. He even admitted that he only saved him so he wouldn’t get into any more trouble with the academy. Nothing Ron did was genuine, even when he jumped into the stream and pulled him out of the water.

Come to think of it, he really could’ve drowned today. Burton felt surprised Ron never mentioned how much of a struggle it was to save him. Does that mean he did mouth-to-mouth…?

Burton’s face steamed like a boiling pot of tomato soup. He covered his face and gasped like a schoolgirl confessing to her friends about her secret crush. Then he started to connect the dots in his head about Ron’s quiet(er) behavior and the extra lengths he went to make sure he was okay. He didn’t even say much at dinner.

Burton whipped his head around to face him, “RON, DID YOU KISS ME??”

Ron flabbergastedly spit and whipped his body around to face Burton, “Wh-what? What are you even talking about Burton?”

Burton begins twiddling his thumbs, “When you pulled me out of the river, didn’t I nearly drown? And when I did, didn’t you have to resuscitate me? S-so when I was knocked out…didn’t you have to…you know…do mouth-to-mouth on me?”

Both boys’ hearts were pounding like mad men. It almost felt painful at how awkward this was to confront this kind of question. How does one even answer this?

Ron’s face was flushed with a dark red hue as his eyebrow started to twitch in embarrassment. “N-no, I didn’t have to do any of that. You fell backwards into the water, so no water went up your nose or in your mouth. All I had to do was check for a pulse and to see if you were still properly breathing.”

Burton’s face started to simmer down and his heartbeat slowed, “Ah, I see. That’s good to hear.”

Ron nodded a little too quickly for his liking, “Yes, I suppose so.”

Burton quirked, “What do you mean ‘you suppose so’, huh? What’s that mean?”

Ron bit his lip and nearly barked back at his partner, “It means nothing okay? Just go to sleep, I’d like to forget about the events of today and I assume you would like to do the same too.” Ron turns his back on Burton.

Burton gives up and turns over as well. “Listen Ron, tomorrow morning I want to talk to you on a serious note, okay? If we’re going to be working together, we need to clear the air between each other in order for us to work as a proper team. Even if we don’t know what will lie ahead of us in terms of social interaction, I need to know what’s going on with you. I want to know why you betrayed us, who are you working for, what’s the deal with you and Jane, what are your plans now, and why Berecca and I are caught up in this. I know that’s a lot for right now, but I need you to be honest with me and Berecca.”

Burton grimaces, “And when you do, you can ignore me and Berecca all you want after you tell us everything and our pair up missions are over. We don’t have to talk anymore, and we’ll put everything we went through behind us for good. Including our past friendship and partnership.”

Ron doesn’t say anything and Burton can’t see his face, but Ron’s eyes widen with shock and a speck of hurt flicks into his eyes on the other side. Ron squeezes his eyes shut to prevent any other emotion rising from the surface. Burton refuses to let any of his own tears leave his eyes, so he turns to lay on his back and tries to get some sleep.

As Team Buzzkill retires for the evening, the other teams have started to do so as well.

Team Dinoshark in the grasslands have set up camp in the middle of a circle of bushes, the two boys playfully arguing and one-upping each other to no end.

Team Rockstar in the canyon area have set up camp in a cave lit by fire, the two bubbly girls talking about what treats they can’t wait to feast on upon returning to the academy.

Team Beauty finally found a place to set up camp next to a nearby stream of water in the forest area. Both girls discuss the secrets of their male best friends and laughing away into the night. Having more fun with each other than they ever thought they would.

With each team (including Team Dinoshark) correcting their path on the way to the 1^st checkpoint area, it seems it’s still anybody’s game to collect their specialized item to get to the treasure. Out of the way of Team Buzzkill and Beauty’s locations, mysterious shadowy figures loom in the distance silently watching.

Chapter Text

[ TEAM DINOSHARK POV ]

Kappei looks up at a tree and cups his hands to his mouth, “OI, VAN! HOW FAR DO YOU THINK WE ARE FROM THE 1^ST CHECKPOINT?”

At 50 feet high stands Van on a sturdy tree branch, “LOOKS LIKE WE’RE ABOUT…” he squints, “….AT LEAST 3 EPISODES OF BATTLE RANGERS AWAY!”

Kappei counts on his fingers, “Let’s see, so that’s about…almost an hour and a half or so from here. Not including commercials. Looks like we’ve got a bit more of a hike to go. But at the very least we should be able to get there by lunchtime. I’m starving.”

Van hops down from branch to branch until he makes it back down to his friend’s level, “What do you think the item and the treasure are going to be? Do you think it’s gonna be like a treasure chest filled with pirate’s gold? Or maybe a bunch of snacks??”

Kappei hums in deep thought, “Maybe, or maybe it could hold the secret of Bushido swordsmanship that Gen’unsai-sama keeps boasting about. That could really help me with my ninjutsu skills. Ever since I flew over to Komerika, I wasn’t too sure about what I could expect to do here other than honing in on my training. I feel like I’ve got a lot to learn and that I’ll always be behind. But what about you? What brings you here?”

Van pauses. He wasn’t expecting his friend to dive in that deep of a conversation. He was hoping he could try to think of anything that wouldn’t remind him of his injured father. But in all truth, that’s exactly what he’s here for.

The boy sighs in defeat, “I’m here to get stronger to fight off the people who hurt my dad. My mom tries to reassure me that he’s getting better each day, but since I’ve never seen his progress for myself, I have no idea if that’s true. The last time I saw him he was in a hospital bed before I was sent off to WNA Academy. I do hope he’s okay…”

Kappei could see Van’s fists start to shake. He had an unusually intense look on his face and suddenly his footsteps became louder as he continued to walk forward. Kappei suddenly felt bad for making the topic of conversation serious.

“H-hey look, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories. Sometimes I’m not always good at reading the room when people ask me about things.”

Van looks at his rival, his emerald green eyes filled with unshed tears. The blue haired boy wraps his arm around him. “Parents Day isn’t for another couple of months, I’m sure when that day comes around, your dad will be more pumped up than ever to kick butt with you! Then you can tell him about all the times you wiped floor with the neighboring class in a tournament battle!”

Kappei bashfully blushes, “And then, you can tell him about the adventure we went on today and how we fell out of a helicopter.”

This was all the support Van needed to lift his spirits. The boy sniffles and wipes his eyes, “Y-yeah, yeah you’re right. I’m gonna tell my dad about all the times I had fun and made new friends here. Plus, he’ll be pumped up to hear about all the times I knocked the other classmates into next week!”

Van turns around to give Kappei a big hug. “Thanks man, that was really neat of you to cheer me up like that. You’re pretty cool to hang around.”

Kappei beams and returns the hug, “Hahaha, no problem Van. You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Buuuut…” Van lets go of his rival and made a mad dash ahead of him. “…I’m still not gonna lose to you! I’ll be the strongest ninja warrior at WNA Academy and I’ll never let you get past me! Not in a million trillion bajillion years!”

Kappei’s face burns red with anger and a little bit of amusement, “HEY! Don’t think that means I’m gonna go soft on you after that! GET BACK HERE!”

The boys run in the direction of the goal, finally leaving the grasslands laughing all the way.

[ TEAM ROCKSTAR POV ]

“LUCY! LUCY, WAKE UP!”

Emma shakes her friend awake in a panic. “We overslept by 2 hours! We could be even further behind than Kappei and Van at this point! C’mon we gotta hurry!”

Lucy grumbles and blinks awake. She looks at Emma running around trying to stamp out the fire they let on for the night. Lucy yawns and gets up to tie her hair into her iconic twin tails. Since she slept in her ninja uniform, all she had to do was put on her backpack. Each time she moves, she drags her feet along the ground. Emma runs up to Lucy whilst jogging in place.

“Lucy here, I’ve got some water left in my water bottle that you can wash your face with. It’s okay if you use it all, I see a creek down below where we’re supposed to be headed so we can get more. Butwedon’thavemuchtimesohere!”

Emma does the unthinkable and splashes the entire water bottle into Lucy’s face. The splash of the cold water droplets was enough to make anyone wide awake after that.

Lucy sputters and coughs, “What the heck?? You got it in my NOSE!”

Emma winces, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to splash you that hard. It’s just that we’re in a hurry and I wanted to pick up the pace since you were dragging your feet. C’mon, we gotta go so let’s—”

Lucy grabs her friend’s arm, “Nuh uh. After that rude awakening, we’re going down the canyon trail my way.”

Lucy reaches into her bag and pops a piece of ninja gum into her mouth. She chews thoroughly before blowing a giant bubble until it pops. Out comes a matsuri board. Lucy grabs Emma’s hand and guides her onto the skateboard as she starts to ride away.

Emma starts to sweat, “W-wait Lucy, there’s a cliff down there. I know we’re in a hurry and we’re trying to find some shortcuts, but it’s too dangerous to go down there even if it’s quicker!”

Lucy wipes away the remaining water droplets on her face and flashes her friend a cheeky grin, “Don’t worry!  I’ll be careful and this path’s more fun anyway. Besides, you think I’m really gonna forget you flinging cold water up my nose? I hate early mornings!!!”

Emma screams for the second time in the span of two days as the two girls dive down the rocky cliffs. Lucy’s maniacal laughter echoes throughout the canyon, making nearby animals look up to see what’s happening. Tears of fear are flying out of Emma’s turquoise eyes unlike her partner who is having the time of her life.

The two continue to ride down the rocky path until they finally reach the end of the canyon.

[ TEAM BEAUTY POV ]

“So, you’re saying you and Burton used to scavenge public parks to find edible plants and berries to eat? Just how bad of a financial situation were guys you in??”

Berecca chuckles, “Well I mean, a lot of times we spent our money on food and extra science supplies WNA weren’t willing to buy for us. And since we were terrible with managing money and we didn’t want to ask anybody for some, we just went to the great outdoors to survive as much as we could.”

Jane shakes her head, “My family and I never went that far when we went camping. Did Ron ever partake in such atrocities?”

“Ron always left by the time we locked up the lab at the end of the day, so he never went with us to forage for food. But there was this one time where he was jogging in the park, and he caught Burton munching on some licorice root in some nearby bushes. Hahaha, I swear he looked just like a deer in the moment! From there, Ron oversaw managing our expenses.”

“That has to be rough, I lived rather comfortably growing up so I can’t imagine having to look outside for fresh food other than fishing on a pier.”

Berecca rolls her eyes, “Lucky for you, princess. Must’ve been nice to eat seared salmon rice bowls in your castle every day. So how much longer do we have to go from here?”

The hacker sighs and pulls out the map, “Beats me, feels like we’ve been walking in circles to me. I wasn’t allowed to bring my laptop here, so I haven’t the slightest idea where we’re going. Maybe we can get a good look atop those trees as soon as we exit the forest?”

“Sounds good to me. Let’s go up ahead into the open space.”

The two girls make their way out of the bushy forest. As they were running, Berecca snags her foot on a grass trap and falls over.

“Berecca? You alright?” Jane goes over and helps her up.

“Yeah, thanks. I think I got my foot caught in some loose twigs on the ground, but I’m fine. Let’s keep moving so we can make it to the cent--”

Just then, a small soda can fell between the two. Jane picked it up and eyed it suspiciously.

Berecca gulped, “Hold on Jane, we don’t know where this cola can came from. It could be a trap. Give it to me and I’ll—”

Jane cracked open the soda can without a second thought.

Before Berecca could retort, a thick smog of purple gas burst from out of the can and enveloped the girls.

Jane coughed and covered her mouth and nose, “WAAH! What is this smoke? A-and why is it purple??”

The pink pompadour girl sneered and shouted, “Ugh! I told you to give it to me before anything bad happened! This gas smells awful too, let’s get away from this spot.”

Jane’s knees locked and she fell to the ground. She wasn’t moving and very possibly fell unconscious from the smoke.

“Huh? Jane? Are you o—?”

Berecca’s vision started to blur and her head began feeling fuzzy. She was getting dizzy by the second and her body suddenly felt heavier than a bag of bricks. Berecca fell down face first into the grass, not moving an inch.

A group of suspicious individuals ominously made their way towards the pair.

[ TEAM BUZZKILL; BURTON’S POV ]

It’s quiet again. Neither of us have said a thing since last night and I still feel a massive wave of uncertainty on how this conversation is gonna go. But I can’t miss this opportunity to talk to him. Right now he’s walking ahead of me, most likely to prevent me from starting up a conversation. Ron’s always been one to march to the beat of his own drum, but I can’t let him do whatever he wants this time.

I caught up to him. “Hey, Ron. I think now is a good time for us to start talking about that thing from last night. This ignoring me business has got to stop.”

Ron kept looking forward.

I had enough of this. He was really starting to piss me off. I walked in front of him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pinned him to a nearby tree.

“I said STOP!”

Ron gives an icy cold glare and looks me dead in the eyes like a predator about to tear apart its prey. I was kind of expecting him to be caught off guard but he’s really scary when he’s mad. Not that that was anything new to me.

I shook Ron by the shoulders, “We. Need. To. Talk. Now. I’m not going to tell you this again. I haven’t been able to get your betrayal out of my head for the longest time. I can’t eat, sleep, focus in class, have fun with friends, or do anything even remotely healthy for a functional human being. Your ignorant nonchalant attitude is driving me crazy and I hate it when you’re like this. Stop acting like these problems don’t exist and just grow up and talk to me already!!!”

Ron grits his teeth and pushes my back against the tree behind me, he grips my shoulders tighter than I did his. “Look. I know what I did was unforgivable. I’m trying to lay low and find out why there’s Oniwabanshu members after me. You’re not the only one with a target on your back. I couldn’t…”

Ron’s grip on my shoulders loosens as he obliviously slides his trembling hands down my forearms in discontent. I tried to ignore the fast flow of blood rushing to my face.

He sighs and looks down at the ground, “I couldn’t stay with the two of you because I had a job to fulfill. I was following orders when I worked with you and Berecca to steal the ninja gum data. And then I was betrayed by the man I used to respect. Jane only got caught in this mess because she unknowingly did a dirty hacking job that ended up in her getting her laptop’s data stolen. Whatever reason the chairman wants you and Berecca dead are probably the same reason why they want us dead as well. That’s why I need…to…”

Ron slowly looks up at me to see my face is uncomfortably beet red. My lips were pressed together in a flat line and my arms were frozen stiff at my sides. Ron responds by giving me a confused stare. I quickly glance multiple times at his hands resting on my forearms to see if he would get the message. He does. And when he does, his face starts to darken as well. He quickly lets go of my forearms and clears his throat.

“Ahem. That is why I need to track down my former boss and take him down. He’s going to try and remove everything he deems pathetic and miniscule compared to him. And while he’s still in charge, you, me, and everyone connected that you know will be in danger.”

I swallow hard. “So…who’s in charge over there? Who’s your boss?”

But before Ron could answer my question, we were interrupted by a familiar booming voice.

“HAH-HA! Behold children, it is I!”

Bruce-sensei. Without even realizing it, we managed to find our way to the 1^st checkpoint on the map. I guess we didn’t realize what area we were walking into. With tensions running high, it seems the both of us completely forgot about the challenge. Even the helicopter we jumped out of was there.

“Congratulations! You have done well to make it this far to the 1^st checkpoint. I hope you two have kept your keys safe along with you! You’ll need it to open the chests right ahead of you.”

Up ahead was a treasure chest with a paper cut-out of our faces stuck to it. Ron pulled out the key from his rucksack and we began to walk forward. Ron put the key in the lock and twisted it open. I hurriedly lifted the lid of the chest and we both peered inside. And what we saw was a scroll and….

Ron squints, “A black light?”

Amy-sensei walked out from inside the helicopter. “Yes, your team’s specialty item is a black light. The two of you will head to the northeastern location on your map which is labeled as the purple square landmark. You will be in the spot between the waterfall and the forest, and you will use the black light and the information written on your scroll to help you find your team’s treasure. Give it a read on what it says.”

Ron held up the scroll and we both read the scripture.

Mucky moss and rushing rivers

The songbirds chirp in the sky

Glittering waters flow in the day

But the moon exposes the lie

I frown at this new knowledge, “Huh. I can’t say I’m the best at riddles and poetry. But I’m up for a new challenge. You think you got an idea on what this means, Ron?”

Ron taps his fingertips along the scroll, “Maybe. I’m guessing the first half tells us where to find the treasure and the second half tells us how to find it. Has anybody else made it here yet?”

Bruce-sensei shakes his head, “Not yet, you two are the first to arrive at the goal. It shouldn’t be too long before the others show up. But of course, we still have walkie talkies to check up on them in case something unexpected happens.”

As we looked around, I could see there were still three other unopened chests with the other kids’ faces on them. I guess it’s a good thing we’re in the lead, but I hope Berecca isn’t having too much trouble on this mission. I know she isn’t too fond of Jane right now but hopefully that’ll change by the end.

Amy-sensei chimes in, “Remember to come back to this exact location when you find your team’s treasure. There will be a special prize for the 1^st place winner and there will be a penalty for the team in 4^th place. Good luck you two, safe travels.”

We waved goodbye and made our way towards the northeastern landmark. I guess that means we could potentially run into Team Beauty at some point if we’re lucky. I pulled out the map from my rucksack and studied it for a bit before stealing a glance over at Ron. He was quiet as usual, but something told me he was also thinking about his other female friend like I was. I guess no matter what, we somehow think alike in some ways.

Okay Burton, now’s your chance to pick up where we left off. Or maybe I shouldn’t do that so soon? We’re focusing on a new part of the challenge and I don’t want us to get distracted. Maybe I should wait to talk about this later when we set up camp again. Just don’t say anything weird. Don’t mention anything about his hands being on my arms and we’re good.

I inwardly grimaced at that memory.

I scratched the back of my head and nervously shifted next to him, “Listen Ron, do you think we could pick back up on our conversation later tonight? I would rather get to the landmark first before bringing up anything awkward and uncomfortable.”

He looks at me, his eyes look slightly softer than any other time he’s looked at me.

Ron nods. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

I sighed in relief. “Good, glad to hear it. I didn’t want to add in what happened earlier before Bruce-sensei showed up. That part’s not important---”

Shit. Didn’t mean to bring that up.

I started to panic and my hands started fumbling with the map. “I-I mean it was important since we were about to talk about some really serious stuff. It was good that you were able to start talking and all. Also did I mention you have very strong hands? You should really loosen your grip, I thought you were gonna take my arms off. It's just it's been a while and--”

Ron clamped my mouth shut with his hand. His face was once again crimson red with second-hand embarrassment from listening to me ramble on. His eyebrows were twitching again and I could tell he was trying hard not to say a word to any of that.

Goodness, why was I even born?

Ron uncovers my mouth and keeps it moving.

I couldn’t get over how many times my face has gotten red this entire mission. I really need to keep it together if I’m going to get along with this guy. But at the very least he hasn’t tried to kill me yet, and I actually got him to talk even for a little bit. I think my plan might actually be working so far. All that’s left to do is get him to talk later tonight and I think we’ll finally be getting somewhere.

Unfortunately for us, we hadn’t the slightest idea we were being watched.

Chapter Text

[ TEAM BEAUTY; BERECCA’S POV ]

I felt a cold hard surface pressing against my cheek. When I grumbled and blinked myself awake, I roughly scraped my cheek against the ground. I flinched and immediately jolted upwards. I tried to rub my face, but I found myself unable to move my hands. And when I attempted to stand, my legs were also unable to move like I needed them to.

My wrists and ankles were bound tight with rope.

Looking at my surroundings, I can see that I’m in a dim dark cave of some sort. There are torches lit with fire on the wall but that appears to be the only interior decoration present. And to my right, I see Jane lying across the room from me. She was also bound with rope and was unresponsive. Panic began to rise from within and I started to worm my body towards her.

“Jane! Jane, wake up!” No response. I inched closer to her but gasped in pain when my knees were scraped raw against the rocky ground.

Damn…this really, really hurts.

I tried my best to ignore the pain and scooched even closer to her. Trying my best to speak in a hushed whisper.

“JANE! Wake up, please!!! We need to get out of here!”

Jane stirred in her sleep and slowly lifted her head up. She squinted to adjust her eyesight and groggily gazed back at me.

“Bere.…cca?”

I exhaled a sigh of relief and nodded.

“Yes, it’s me. But you need to wake up, we’ve been kidnapped and brought to some random cave to who-knows where. Our backpacks and supplies are gone too, so for now we need to find a way to get rid of this rope holding us back and get out of here.”

Jane groaned and attempted to sit up only to fall flat on her face, breaking her trademark sunglasses in the process.

“Oh no! These were my favorite sunglasses! Darn it I just bought this one too.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed my back against the wall to push myself up off the ground. As I did, Jane winced when she took notice of my bruised skin. Her face became unusually concerned.

“Hey, are you okay? Your knees look awful. If I had my first aid kit on me, I could help you out. Damn those bastards for harming such delicate ladies like us. Listen, try to knock that torch down so we can burn these restraints. If you can set us free, I can look at those nasty scratches of yours.”

“Heh, way ahead of you.”

As I moved my body up the wall, I positioned my shoulder to knock the stand holding the torch above my head. I stood on my tip toes but unfortunately I was too short to knock the torch out from where I was standing.

I huffed, “Shoot, can’t reach it.”

Just then, Jane had a silly idea. She snickered, “H-hey, why don’t you use your pompadour to lift and push the torch out of the holder so it can fall?”

I paused, that might not be a bad idea. Can’t say I approve of my hair being used for dirty work, but I didn’t have any better ideas at the moment.

“Well, can’t hurt to try. Here goes nothing.”

I bent down, shimmied along the wall, and positioned my pompadour directly under the torch. I balanced on my tip toes again and as I slowly stood up, the top of my poof steadily pushed the torch handle out of the holder until it fell on the floor. I quickly shifted to the side away from where it fell so the fire wouldn’t burn me.

Jane grins and winks, “Nice teamwork!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. I sat down and hovered my ankles over the fallen torch until the flames burned the tight rope numbing my legs. Once I was able to freely move my legs, I hovered my wrists bound with rope over the fire until I was completely free. I made my way over to Jane and freed her as well.

I collapsed to the ground, rubbing my aching wrists and ankles. “I freaking hate this, what did we do to deserve getting ambushed and kidnapped? I bet Ron has something to do with this I just know it.”

Jane tears off two pieces of fabric from the sleeves of her ninja unform and wraps them around my bleeding knees. “I’m not so sure if Ron has anything to do with instigating this since he and I were simultaneously attacked by the Oniwabanshu before we transferred to WNA. I think whoever is responsible for this is the same one who ordered Ron to eliminate you and Burton.”

I looked down at my feet deep in thought, “Burton…I hope he’s okay. He’s not too shabby at defending himself but he can be a bit oblivious to his surroundings sometimes. He's always been like that ever since we were kids--well, I mean like kid kids. But you know what I mean. I’m just worried he might get assassinated in secret when there’s nobody around to witness it. Do you really think he’ll be okay?”

Once Jane was finished with her makeshift bandages, she held out her hand to help me up.

“I don’t think Ron would be dumb enough to make such a risky decision when he’s expected to return to the academy after this. He’d be the #1 suspect after all. Plus, from what I told you last night, Ron pretends to appear to have everything together when he doesn’t. I can tell he’s been feeling rather guilty about trying to kill the both of you; it’s written all over his face.”

Before I could say anything in response, we started to hear distant shouting and quick footsteps from behind us. Specifically voices we didn’t recognize.

Jane grits her teeth. “Crap, I think our kidnappers have returned.”

I grabbed the torch from off and ground and used my other hand to grab Jane’s hand, “No time to think, we need to run!”

The two of us ran away from the voices as fast as our numb legs could carry us. This entire situation was crazy, we couldn’t even fathom how far our kidnappers took us from where we initially were in the forest. We have no idea how long we were gone, but we weren’t necessarily starving so I can’t imagine we were knocked out for too long. Several kunais were being thrown our way and without our weapons, all we could do was clumsily dodge any incoming objects.

We continued to run until we reached the end of the line. An unstable rocky cliff with dark, murky water flowing beneath. We looked down at the water and then each other with uncertainty. There was no way to tell what was at the bottom of it just by looking, it was too dark to see. There could be rocks down there to tear us to shreds for all we know. But without our weapons or any way to defend ourselves, we were powerless, desperate for an escape, and vulnerable to attack.

I discarded the torch, squeezed Jane’s hand tight, and leapt off the cliff with her.

[ TEAM BUZZKILL; BURTON’S POV ]

Amy-sensei’s voice spoke out from the walkie talkies.

“Attention students. It is now 3 PM. If you haven’t already made it to the 1^st checkpoint by now, you should be close. We will reach out to any remaining teams who need help with directions. Good luck to you all.”

I looked up at the sun blocked by the trees. Ron and I have been walking northeast for a couple of hours now and I’m positive we were getting closer to our destination marked on the map. Right now, it looks like we’re in the wetlands. The ground is damp and muddy, there are tall, forested trees surrounding us, and the water is shallow and filled with plentiful amounts of vegetation. Thankfully the shade provided by the trees made this hike a lot easier to traverse. I didn’t feel anywhere near as overheated as I did yesterday.

However, I couldn’t stand the constant sound of loud sloshes each time either one of us took a step in the mud. I felt gross and sticky. I didn’t like anything in this area. Also, the birds here are super loud and kind of annoying.

I really hope we can find a dry place to rest before nightfall.

Ron peeks over my shoulder and points at the map, “You see those two broken tree stumps over there? I think if we go past them, we should be at the spot.”

I looked down at the map where Ron was pointing and looked forward at the tree stumps. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Shouldn’t be too long now.”

Ron nodded and carefully stepped around a frog resting on a lily pad. Its cute little ribbit suggested a kind greeting or a thank you for Ron’s willingness to not destroy its favorite seat. He gave a slight smile to his new friend.

I couldn’t let this go unnoticed, “You appreciate animals too, huh? You ever own any pets?”

He shakes his head, “No. My parents never allowed me to keep pets. It didn’t help that both of them were allergic to pet dander. One day when I found a stray cat on a stormy day after school and brought it back home, my parents were furious. They immediately put on face masks and gloves and threw the cat back out into the street.”

I closed my mouth to stifle my next thought and frowned.

He continued, “They scolded me for several minutes until I couldn’t take the emotional stress anymore and I locked myself in my room. I remember feeling an intense amount of sorrow for the poor thing. I didn’t cry much as a kid or even now, but when I did cry it was for a long time. When I was looking out my bedroom window, I couldn’t shake the memory of the cat meowing at the house with sad eyes and slowly walking away in the pouring rain. I have no idea what happened to the little one after that day. I could tell my parents felt guilty about throwing the cat out, so they bought me a stuffed animal of a cat the next day. It wasn’t the same as the real deal and I even felt angry just looking at it. So much that I wanted to tear it to shreds like a mad dog. But looking at its green button eyes reminded me of the little cat’s eyes. In the end I kept the toy as a memory of a friend.”

Ron looked at me when he heard quiet sniffles and became immediately perplexed. I had tears running down my face and my nose was runny. My eyes were red and glistening with tears.

“Th-that’s so s-sad. I’m s-so sorry Ron.”

Ron looked uncomfortable as he reached into his backpack to hand me some tissues. “It’s fine, I try not to think about that moment very much anymore. I’ve pushed it to the back of my head so it’s not a big deal anymore. Also, your face is disgusting.”

I sniffled hard and looked at my partner with a grossly pitiful face. I stuffed the tissues up both my nostrils and wiped my face with my sleeve. “Eh? Do I r-really look that gross?”

Ron was taken aback by my ridiculous face and let out a small laugh. When was the last time I’ve ever heard him laugh? It was short, but it felt lighthearted and weirdly sincere. I couldn’t help but smile.

We kept it moving past the broken tree stumps covered in moss until we came across an area with a small rushing waterfall. On the right of the waterfall was a small-scale hollow grotto perfect for taking temporary shelter.

I raised a victory fist in the air. “Thank goodness! I thought we were never going to find a place to settle down.”

Ron eyed his surroundings skeptically and pulled out the riddle scroll from his rucksack. “Aside from praising the choir of birds on the way here and the rushing waterfall over there, I don’t see how this last part is related to finding our team’s treasure.”

I stepped over to him and gave the scroll a read. “Well, it says something about the moon exposing some sort of lie, right? So I’m guessing we just have to wait until nighttime and look around for any hints. This actually works out because in the meantime we can set up camp in this grotto and look for food. And by the time we’re done with that stuff, nighttime should roll around soon.”

“Yeah, I agree. Well, in that case I’ll go grab some wood from up in the dry parts of the trees for the campfire. Can you help set up our sleeping spots? Once we’re both done we can look for food together and then…”

He paused.

“…And then we can talk while we look for food since we’ll be busy figuring out the riddle at night.”

I gasped inwardly.

Is he finally going to talk? He opened up earlier about a little bit of his personal life, so maybe now he might be trying to work through his poor communication skills? Maybe we won’t have to forget about our past friendship after all.

I hugged my forearms and gave a small nod. “Ron, thank you…I would like that very much.”

Ron gave a thumbs up and the two of us split up to complete our tasks.

[ MEANWHILE AT THE 1^ST CHECKPOINT ]

Van and Kappei fell forward on top of one another. Bruce-sensei was there to meet them with paper fans and Amy-sensei brought out a spray bottle.

“Are you boys alright? You look like you’ve been having some trouble getting here.” Amy-sensei asked as she used the spray bottle to cool down the boys’ faces.

Van gave them a weak smile. “Y-yup! We got lost a few times and took a bunch of bathroom breaks, but we made it!”

Kappei took the fan from Bruce-sensei’s hands and began to cool himself with it. “We’re the first ones to make it here, right?”

Bruce-sensei shook his head, “Team Buzzkill made it here first a few hours ago. They’re already on their way to the 2^nd checkpoint to find their treasure.”

The boys groaned and pounded their fists on the ground. “Dang it…”

Amy-sensei smiled, “Well if you want to be in 1^st place, I’d recommend you two use your key to grab your item. There’s a chest with your faces on it over there.”

This was enough to excite the boys into action again as they ran over each other to try and open the chest first.

Just then, the sound of rolling wheels could be heard in the distance. Bursting out of the trees came Emma and Lucy right on time.

“KYAHAHAHA! Hiya boys! We’re not too late to join in on the fun, are we?”

Emma stumbled off the skateboard to catch her breath. “Please…tell us we’re at least second place sensei.”

Bruce and Amy looked at each other, at the boys, and then gave a slow shake of their heads to the girls. Emma bonked her head on the ground in defeat.

Lucy sneered, “Hmph, whatever. We can still try and win this if we’re quick enough.”

Amy-sensei cleared her throat, “Listen everyone, while you were on your way here, did you happen to run into any of the teams by chance? Specifically Team Beauty?”

Lucy and Emma cocked their heads to the side in confusion while Kappei and Van simply shrugged.

Van: “Beats me.”

Kappei: “Haven’t seen ‘em.”

Emma: “We didn’t come across anybody.”

Lucy: “Nope!”

Bruce and Amy-sensei exchanged worried looks. All of the teams didn’t have an idea as to why they were asked that.

Kappei raised his hand, “Why do you ask, sensei?”

Bruce-sensei clasps his hands together, “Well, as I’ve mentioned before, Team Buzzkill made it here hours ago. But when the time limit neared for everyone reaching the 1^st goal, Team Beauty was the only one that didn’t arrive. Not to mention, each walkie talkie has a tracking device chip in it. And according to Amy-sensei’s laptop, their signal looks like they stayed in the northeast area since earlier this morning. They started in the east but after they were supposed to collect their item here, they were to report to the southwest area. And now that it’s past the afternoon, it’s become a cause for concern.”

Well, this is worrisome.

Van jumped up, “EH?? You’re saying they could be in trouble?”

Kappei stands next to his partner and tosses aside the item in his hand. “Sensei, please forget about the challenge. This could be an emergency.” 

Emma reaches for Lucy’s hand and squeezes it tight, “Please let us help them! I want to protect my friends no matter what!”

Lucy squeezes Emma’s hand back and raises it in the air, “There's no way those baddies will stand a chance against us!”

Bruce and Amy-sensei smiled at the kids, openly proud of their determination. Bruce-sensei beams and takes the helicopter ignition keys out of his pocket. His sunglasses gleam with resolve.

“Well then children, shall we go on an emergency rescue mission?”

Chapter Text

[ TEAM BEAUTY; JANE’S POV ]

Once we splashed into the water, we swam away underwater from the diving spot until reaching the end of the room. Looking around frantically, Berecca noticed a small opening in the wall big enough for us to swim through. We traversed through the convenient passageway and immediately swam up for air.

Berecca choked, “Looks like…*cough cough*…we made it.”

I sputtered and wiped my mouth, “Y-yeah, seems like it. But where do we go now?”

We took a moment to scan the area but of course we failed to find any surface to travel on foot. This became rather troubling since it wouldn’t be long before we gave into exhaustion.

I darted my head back and forth as my breathing quickened, “What do we do? I don’t have a lot of stamina for rigorous physical activity like this. There’s no land anywhere and we can’t go back or we’ll be killed!”

Berecca bobbed her head underwater like a duck much to my confusion and adding onto my growing anxiety. At least 15 seconds passed before she came back up.

“Okay here me out. So I know our options are extremely limited right now, and we’ll most likely be killed if we try to go back the way we came from. But I do see an old sewage pipe on the side of the wall. It looks big enough for us both to go through. So what if we were to—”

Oh heck no.

“Absolutely not!” I exclaimed. “What are the odds of that nasty pipe actually leading to the surface? It’s filthy and riddled with germs and other nasties.”

Berecca looked at me like I was crazy, “You do know that sewage must start from somewhere, right? We’re just at the bottom of it all. But I’m sure if we go through it, we’ll be able to make it to the surface again! I know it’s nasty and we’re gonna smell like a dirty toilet for a while, but once we escape, we can try getting off this muck and scum in some cleaner, fresh water.”

I looked at the water and gagged. “Is that really the only way?”

“Only one way to find out. Come on, take a deep breath. We gotta get moving.” Berecca took several breaths before diving out of my sight.

I cringed and also took several deep breaths before descending into the murky water after my partner.

You better be right about this, Berecca.

[ TEAM BUZZKILL; RON’S POV ]

Nighttime is approaching.

Burton and I didn’t have to search far at all for food since there were already fish swimming in the pond in front of our campsite. That definitely made our progress go a lot faster, now we’ll have enough food for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow.

I peeked over at Burton struggling to properly catch his prey. He slipped and fell a few times before asking me to help him out. I’m just worried he’ll accidentally stab himself in the foot.

I skewered my catch on the sticks and set them above the roasting fire to cook.

I think this might be a good time to talk.

I sat on the edge of the grotto and patted the spot next to me. “Burton, put your catch over the fire. I think I’m ready to talk.”

Burton jumped in surprise, immediately discarding his fresh fish. I sighed in disappointment.

I suppose I’ll have to share my catch with him. Not like he caught much anyway.

Burton set his stick spear aside and stumbled over to sit next to me. He twiddled with his thumbs and looked at me out of the corner of his eye, patiently waiting.

Damn, I guess I have to initiate the conversation. I was hoping he would ask me a question to star—

“SOWHYDIDYOUTRYTOKILLUS?” Burton exclaimed before clamming his mouth shut.

Well that didn’t take very long.

“Ahem. I mean, why did you try to kill us? We were friends and lab partners. I know I haven’t known you as long as Berecca, but I really treasured our time together every day. Working with you and spending time with you has been one of the most exciting moments of my life. From what I understand you were just following orders, but the fact that you went through with it and almost came close to ending our lives is what stings.”

I didn’t say anything.

“You know, Berecca may be a bit of a hot head. But she’s a very genuine person and doesn’t always like to show her vulnerable side. She’s a lot more angry at your betrayal than I am, but in secret she’s told me how messed up she was feeling when you left us. It isn’t easy hiding her feelings deep down, but you really hurt her. You hurt us. I want to know why you were sent to steal the ninja gum in the first place and why eliminating us was so important to the plan.”

I looked down at my reflection in the water.

“My former boss, Director Allen, leader of WNA’s Intelligence division is the one who ordered me to steal the ninja gum data. I don’t know what he wants to do with it; that’s not my business as an underling. But I used to admire his strong sense of determination as a well-respected ninja in the industry. That all changed when I failed my mission and he sent the Oniwabanshu to finish me off.”

Burton listens intently without saying a word.

“I imagine eliminating you and Berecca was only an extra step to cover my tracks and get rid of any evidence. When you essentially work as a “secret janitor”, you have to be okay with killing people. Many times, I have asked myself why must I rob these citizens of their lives and if they truly deserve it. Training was intense every day and only the strong survived. Over time, I’ve grown numb to murder and torture.”

I could see Burton looking at me with (I assumed was) disgust out of the corner of my eye. I expected as much since I knew he could never understand. But it still hurt nonetheless.

“My former job as an intelligence officer for WNA was compromised when I was defeated by you. I suppose anyone who fails to complete their mission is considered nothing more than mere trash on the side of the road. Perhaps I was destined to meet such a fate for my sins.”

Burton calmly reached over and held onto my hand.

“Stop it, you’re not trash.”

I looked at him with disbelief and repulsion. I slapped his hand away.

“Enough with this nonsense, don’t act like I don’t deserve to be called trash. Do you honestly believe someone like me isn’t destined for hell for bloodying my hands in this cult?”

I found myself standing up on my feet and looking down in anguish at Burton. Those delicate, beautiful azure eyes gazing into my own with distress and heartache.

“I tried to murder you; I betrayed you. I threw away you and Berecca’s trust like a candy wrapper. I stole your data, escaped, and officially declared our friendship to be dead. Don’t act like I haven’t caused you both pain and turmoil for all those months. I walked into this new shitty way of life but I was left with no other choice. You can’t honestly believe you didn’t hate me for ruining all your hard work, can you? Or are you just that simpleminded to trust and forgive anyone who hurts you?”

Burton eyes started to well up with tears. Seeing such agony on his face made my own heart sink and twist. I felt like it wouldn’t be long before I gave into my suppressed emotions too.

“I’m trained to have nothing. I’m groomed to feel nothing.”

I was crying.

I couldn’t remember when I started feeling hot tears roll down my face, but I was definitely crying. My face was heated with anger and shame. I made a nasty choking sob noise as more tears fell down my cheeks. My nose was runny, my eyes stung, and I was frozen in place as my fists shook involuntarily at my sides.

“From the moment I chose my new life to be in this heartless, cold-blooded cult filled with nothing but ruthless sociopathic murderers, I WILL ALWAYS BE NOTH—"

A dull thud sound lightly echoed in the grotto.

Burton had punched me square in the face.

I blinked several times before I put my hand up to my nose. It was bleeding. I didn’t think he had it in him, but he managed to get a serious hit on me.

Burton then embraced me tight, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

“Please…please stop Ron, you’re not nothing. You’ve never been nothing, I promise. I don’t want to hear you say that about yourself…”

I had enough. I couldn’t stand emotional intimacy; it made me sick to my stomach.

“Let me go. Now.”

Burton shook his head and squeezed me tighter.

“No! I knew deep down you had your reasons for your deception. A-and I will admit, I was extremely angry with you. To be honest, I still am. I tried to take my anger out on you in that tournament battle from a while ago because I didn’t understand anything that was going on with you. I was furious that you deceived us, escaped, and then came back into our lives to potentially finish the job. I wanted petty revenge. I wanted nothing more than to see the humiliation on your face when I crushed you in a ninja battle. Berecca wanted it too.”

Burton pulled back but kept his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were now overflowing with tears as they fell down his cheeks and his face was red from crying. But through it all, he had a sad smile on his face.

“But for whatever reason, no matter how angry or sad I became, I could never let you go. Maybe it’s just my soft nature, but I was always fond of you Ron. Every time we worked on an experiment together, it excited me. At first, I was simply excited just to have another guy friend to talk to while working, but eventually I started to feel different. I always wanted to be around you and get to know you for who you are. As quiet as you are, it never bothered me. You were my perfect partner, and I could always rely on you for anything, even in a pinch. I appreciated that; I appreciated you.”

Was he sympathizing with me?

Burton’s grip on my shoulders got a little tighter.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with us after our time at WNA is over. I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again. But for the time that we are together right now, I want to spend it understanding you and trusting you again. I want there to be transparency between us from now on. Which means no more secrets and if either of us is in trouble, we have to be willing to talk about what’s bothering us. I believe from there we can try building the pieces of our broken friendship back together again."

He paused. "....If you’d ever want to do that with me.”

I hugged Burton tightly much to his surprise and buried my face into his shoulder. The blood trickling from my nose ran down Burton’s ninja uniform. I dug my nails into his back and nodded solemnly.

“…I’m sorry.”

I could feel Burton leaning on my head and smiling into my hair. We just stood there holding one another blissfully in silence, save for the occasional sniffles and choked sobs. I wasn’t used to having this much affection with a friend, it felt nice. For some reason, I didn’t want this moment to end.

I turned my face over and winced in pain. Burton let go of me and nervously laughed.

“Oops, sorry about that. That was several months’ worth of pent-up anger and frustration. I didn’t bruise you too hard, did I?”

I shook my hand and reached into my rucksack for the first-aid kit. “Forget about it, I deserved it at the very least. Berecca might do more damage than you, anyway.”

Burton laughed, “Yeah, she can really be a handful sometimes.”

While I tended to my bruised nose, Burton looked out at the night sky. Or what he could see from it. We were still surrounded by a barrier of tall trees as far as the eye could see. It’s a shame we couldn’t see the moon on such a night…. or so we thought.

Burton squints and looks up at the trees, shielding his eyes with his hand. “Wait a second, what’s that?”

Up in the barrage of tree leaves revealed a singular opening where the night sky was exposed. From the sky, the moon shone down a ray of moonlight through the opening and onto a small rocky ledge. After I finished bandaging my nose and stopped the bleeding, we climbed up on the short ledge and searched around. The only other thing we could find was some soil and a small patch of purple water hyacinth flowers.

I unhooked the flashlight off my belt. “Hmm, let’s try the black light we got from sensei.”

I clicked on the black light and hovered it above the ground. We couldn’t find anything until I wavered the light over the hyacinths. The flowers had bright powder blue spots all over them and on the soil beneath their stems.

“Look Ron!” Burton exclaimed. “Maybe if we dig up around the flowers, we can find that treasure! I think this is it!”

We dug around the hyacinths until we pulled out a pink crystal orb underneath its roots.

Burton beamed and gave me a big hug, “WE DID IT!”

Unfortunately, Burton hugged me so hard, we fell off the ledge with the flowers and landed into the shallow water on our backs. We laughed harder than we had in years. It almost felt like the old times when we were sharing a laugh as adults.

I turned my head to see a face full of delight and contentment. Water droplets were sliding down Burton's cheeks while the shallow water below us flawlessly rustled through his golden hair. His chest heaved in and out from the laughter he was unable to stifle down any longer. The gentle moonlight shining on his face gave a natural glow and put any other artificial light known to man to shame. Nighttime was officially here.

He really is beautiful.

I felt my heart begin to swell; I wonder if Burton could feel it too? I wouldn’t mind being exposed to this foreign emotion if it meant I could get to spend time with him like this.

“Excuse me boys, I believe that little orb you’ve got there belongs to us.”

An unfamiliar voice got our attention. We quickly stood up and got into our defensive battle poses. There was a group of masked individuals standing in the entranceway of our campsite. One of the masked men in front removed their mask and discarded it to the side.

I gapsed and glared daggers at my opponent, “Tsukikage!”

Burton looked at me and back at the strange man. “Huh? Who the heck is Tsukikage?”

Tsukikage took out his katanas, prepared to attack at a moment’s notice. “It truly is a pleasure to see you again, Ron. It’s honestly such a shame you’ve proven to be such a failure to Director Allen.”

“DIRECTOR AL—” I firmly put my hand on Burton’s shoulder to quiet him.

“Burton, grab the ninja gum and the walkie talkies from the backpack and get out of here. You need to contact sensei for this emergency. Make sure everyone else is safe.”

Burton looked at me in disbelief, “What? No way am I leaving you behind. There’s no way you can take them all on your own.”

Burton grabs two pieces of ninja gum from his pocket and places one in my hand. “Don’t expect me to leave you to die and do everything on your own. I chose to stay with you, remember?”

My heart flipped.

The egotistical Oniwabanshu member groaned. “I’ve had just about enough of this needless banter. Your sacrifices will surely please the director. Goodbye, forever.”

Just then, the sounds of whirring became louder and louder as they approached. We looked up into the sky to see a helicopter hovering above us. Bruce and Amy-sensei came to help us! Our anxieties were eased as we saw our classmates hop out of the helicopter.

Van, Lucy, Emma, Kappei, and Amy-sensei landed on the ground in front of us, ready to defend us.

“Sensei! Everyone! How did you find us?” I asked.

Burton cut in, “And how did you know we were in trouble?”

Amy-sensei clinks her kunai weapons together as she eyes the enemy. “Berecca and Jane’s signals lead us here; they’re missing. We figured there might be trouble brewing in this area, so we decided to put the challenge on hold and investigate for ourselves.”

Burton and I dropped our defenses. “Wait…Jane’s missing? And Berecca too?”

“ENOUGH!”

Tsukikage snatches a boomerang he keeps strapped along his back and throws it at me. Burton pushes me out of the way and gets his arm sliced in the process.

“Burton!” I yelled out and held onto his shoulders, kneeling with him. “Why did you do that? Are you alright?”

Tsukikage clicks his tongue in annoyance. “I may have missed my initial target, but I already have a score to settle with the two of you. Regardless, the rest of you are just extras."

Van chews a piece of ninja gum and brings out his Trick Ball. “Just you try us!”

Kappei follows suit and brings out the Drill Beast weapon. “We won’t give up!”

Lucy does the same and whirls around her Scrap Saber. “KYAHA! Bring it on!”

Emma blows a bubble and whips out the DJ Scratch weapon. “Come on!”

Amy-sensei readies several shuriken and kunai at her disposal. “Pathetic swine.”

Ron angrily crunches his ninja gum and blows a bubble to bring out the GR8 Gear.

“All of you mutton, on your feet! This sacred marsh shall be your place of death!”

Tsukikage and his men charge at us in a fury. The battle rages on as we fight for our lives in what was supposed to be an educational challenge turned death battle.

Chapter Text

[ BURTON’S POV ]

“Ron, I’m fine. I don’t need you to fight for me, I can still get up.”

Ron shook his head and stepped in front of me. He had that scary look on his face again when he felt threatened.

“He hit your dominant arm. It might not be a deep cut but it’s going to sting for a while, and it’ll be too distracting for you to ignore. It’s best you stay hidden and patch it up. I’ll take care of this.”

Ron dashed into the fight with his fellow peers. He jumped in the air with his GR8 Gear wielded high and smashed his mallet on the ground creating a power buster shockwave move. The force of the ground shaking attack knocked several masked men on their feet as Ron continued forward to target Tsukikage.

Van and Kappei faced two enemies back-to-back. Van dribbled his trick ball around the men to distract them before simply throwing the ball in their faces several times to stun them.

“Kappei! Do it now!” Van yelled out to his friend.

Kappei used this opportunity to use his drill beast weapon to drill a massive hole into the ground under the opponents’ feet. The masked men fell into the chasm with ease.

Kappei ran up to the chasm and grinned mischievously, “See you next fall!”

Van scrunched up his face in disgust, “Gross, you’ve been hanging around Bruce-sensei too much lately. That joke was beyond terrible.”

Kappei grimaces and gags, “I feel like I need to brush my teeth for letting that one come out.”

Lucy and Emma are faced with three enemies. Emma dodges a katana swing aimed at her neck by ducking down. However, the diagonal slice of the sword cuts her blue hair band instead, letting her dark green dreadlocks fall down her shoulders.

“Yikes!” Emma’s face pales. “That was a close one.”

Lucy knocks Emma’s opponent away and tosses her friend one of her spiked hair rings. “Here, take this for now. It’ll help keep your hair out of the way when you’re fighting.”

Emma was touched, “Really? Are you sure?”

Lucy quickly does her own hair in a single ponytail. “Of course! We’ll look even cooler as ponytail twinsies fighting off the bad guys!”

Emma slings the aux cord attached to her dj scratch weapon to lasso the enemies. “Alright Lucy, I’ll accept your offer. As thanks, let me show you how to create that whirlwind trick I made from the battle royale last month. Just follow my lead but keep your weapon on hand.”

Emma pops another piece of ninja gum in her mouth and starts chewing until she blows a bubble. The bubble pops and out comes a matsuri board. “Hop on!”

Lucy hops aboard the skateboard and the two girls ride around the masked men in a circle. Emma’s aux cord from the dj scratch weapon tightens around the enemies until they’re immobilized. A watery whirlpool envelops around the Oniwabanshu as several shadowy silhouettes of Lucy’s frame are in view within the water. Her psychotic laughter echoes eerily as the aqua tornado gets stronger and stronger.

Lucy’s laughter is heard more clearly as she appears from the eye of the tornado, she lifts up her eyepatch to reveal a shiny glint of her red eye to her foes. She painfully clashes down her scrap saber weapon onto the masked men.

Amy-sensei has more of a defensive moveset since she cannot consume ninja gum. She is a master at blocking incoming kicks and punches as well as making sure no harm came to her students. Amy-sensei ruthlessly threw numerous kunais at the heads and necks of the Oniwabanshu, but only managed to deal damage to their arms, hands, and legs.

She glared at her foe, “You worthless imbeciles believe you could ever kill us off? Clearly you underestimate the power of WNA’s youngest disciples.”

She delivers a nasty front kick, knocking the katana out of the hands of her combatant. A stray shuriken is thrown her way, but as she tilts her head to the side, the sharp-edged star only ends up grazing her cheek.

The determined instructor smirks and wipes her cheek with the back of her hand.  “Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

I rummaged through my rucksack for the first-aid kit to bandage my arm. I could see my teammates working their hardest to fight off the bad guys. Whether they were working in pairs or individually, each person has a unique way of fighting that works for them. I felt proud to be their friend. If only Berecca and Jane were here to help. I reached into my pack and grabbed my walkie talkie, I considered trying to contact Jane and Berecca for their status.

I need to hurry up and get out there to help them. I think Amy-sensei’s holding her weight just fine for now, so maybe I can go and help Ron for now. Then once this is over, we can try to get information out of their leader to find out where—EEK!

Suddenly, Ron slid in front of me and used a wide range attack to swipe away the flurry of shuriken headed for my face. Chills went down my spine as the reality just sank in that I was moments away from death.

Ron was breathing heavily and had multiple scratches and cuts on his clothes. Just now he reminds me of those superheroes swooping in to save people in trouble. Unlike the other students (and aside from sensei), he was bruised more severely. Most likely because his opponent was on Ron’s level of competency as an assassin.

Ron turned his head to look back at me. His golden eyes hardened with what looked like anger and bloodlust yet gleamed with resolve and unwavering strength. “Burton, are you okay?”

I could feel my face heating up as I stared back at him like an idiot with pure fascination and awe. “Uh-huh.”

Ron smiled at me and continued to fight Tsukikage. This was the adrenaline rush I needed to join in the fight. I shoved my walkie talkie in my pocket, chewed on a piece of ninja gum, and blew a giant bubble until an IPPON Katana popped out. I ran to join Ron and crashed my weapon onto one of Tsukikage’s katanas.

“Listen you bastard, what did you do to Berecca and Jane? Where are they?”

Tsukikage grinned and jumped away from the two of us. “Those little ladies were napping soundly the last I saw them earlier this morning. Blondie and those two girls knew too much about the secret power of ninja gum to be kept alive. Ron’s failed his mission so bad even one of those empty-headed kids could do his job better than him. A ninja who fails his mission is better off dead. If anyone were to get their hands on one piece, they could unlock all their potential hidden powers passed down from their ancestors. Director Allen’s got big plans with that gum that will forever change the course of Eagle City and its citizens. We can’t just have anyone having access to unlimited top-secret knowledge and power.”  

Ron stamps his giant mallet on the ground. “Where. Are. They. Now.”

Tsukikage sighs. “Let’s see…far away, dark cave, no possible way of escape. They couldn’t have been asleep for too long. Our men should’ve finished the job in the afternoon so they must be dead by now.”

Each of the students and Amy-sensei turned around in shock to hear the news of their fallen comrades. My heart sank and my breathing started to pick up by the second. I looked over at Ron with anxiety and I could see that his face was frozen in disbelief and unearthed pain.

He snaps his fingers as if he just remembered something important.

“Oh and by the way, that pink crystal orb you collected from the flowers isn’t some fun “treasure” you can hide away in your little toy box. It’s a long-lost ancient gem used for power enhancement. Can’t tell you what the power enhancement is for just yet.”

I blinked myself back to reality and took the gem out of my pocket.

Amy-sensei squints at the dazzling crystal, clearly confused. “That…wasn’t the treasure the kids were supposed to find.”

The man laughs, “Of course it wasn’t! It belonged to us; we simply hid it there for safekeeping when we ended up running into those loudmouth girls. It was quite hard to obtain it, you know. A close friend of mine and I had to spill blood just to get our hands on that. Hmhmhm, I wonder if that’s what your black light picked up on instead.”

I felt sick to my stomach.

He pulls out a small glass orb out of his pocket with the word “Trust” painted on it.

“This is the so-called “treasure” you annoying little shits were supposed to find in the pond. A cheap, mediocre prize with pointless calligraphy splattered across it. Not very fitting for the new rulers of Eagle City.”

Tsukikage effortlessly shatters the glass ball with his hand, letting the remains carelessly fall to the ground.

“As I’ve said before, you’re all in the way of our master plan. Each of you will be removed from our little game one by one. No matter how long it takes, we’ll make sure none of you will…. wait, what’s that sound?”

Each of us looked at him with confusion while some others tried to listen for what he was hearing.

Emma was the first of us to pipe up, “Wait! I heard something too! It sounds like…screaming? Girls screaming?”

 Girls screaming? Wait, could it be…?

The sounds of the screams got louder until two figures fell from atop the waterfall and landed on top of Tsukikage. The two seemingly female figures groaned in discomfort and lifted their heads up.

I stepped forward, my eyes becoming watery. “Berecca! Jane! You’re alright!”

Relief washed through our teammates. Our friends were okay! But where did they come from? And for how long were they up there? And why did they smell like wet rotting garbage?

I snapped out of my trance and elbowed Ron, “Ron.”

My partner nodded and the two of us ran towards Tsukikage. “Jane! Berecca! SCATTER!”

Thinking fast, the two girls leapt off their landing cushion as Ron and I readied our weapons against him. The two of us yelled out a roaring battle cry and whacked Tsukikage in the face, launching his body atop the rushing waterfall. He quickly gets up to his feet and spits down at us.

“Hmph, forget it. We’ll find a way to get that crystal back. Besides, we’ve got something else that’ll come in handy for later.” He pulls out a device from behind his back and tosses it in the air like a baseball.

Is that a walkie talkie? Why would that be an ace up his sleeve?

“Don’t think just because we’re retreating for the moment means that your life is no longer in danger. Anyone who dares to make an enemy of the Oniwabanshu is forever fated to meet their bloody end. Men, fall back.”

And with that, Tsukikage and his men disappear in the night away from our sights.

The group of kids ran towards Berecca and Jane in worry before quickly turning away.

Van: “What’s that horrible smell?”

Kappei: “EURGH, it smells like my grandpa’s old rotten fish meals!”

Emma: “Please tell me you’ll soak off in the fresh water ponds before we takeoff…”

Lucy: “They’re both as filthy as dirty toilets!”

Jane and Berecca were both angry and offended at their current state of personal hygiene. I guess they were expecting group hugs and happy reunions but only ended up getting ostracized from the group.

Amy-sensei pinches her nose. “You two, go rinse yourselves off. I’ll make sure you two have the privacy to do so. As for everyone else, I’ll call Bruce-sensei to come down so you can all aboard the helicopter. We’re going back to WNA Academy.”

The happy cheers from the students continued as I kneeled on the watery ground. Ron kneeled with me and put his hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?”

I didn’t say anything, I just stared at my reflection in the water.

Then I threw up.

Once the others climbed aboard the helicopter, we waited at least 15 minutes before Berecca, Jane, Amy-sensei, and myself were ready to leave.

[ ON THE HELICOPTER BACK TO WNA ]

Most of the students were sleeping, save for Ron and me. Everyone was understandably exhausted and was snoring away. Berecca and Jane, who managed to get most of the dirty sewage smell off their bodies and hair, were also sleeping soundly with their classmates.

I couldn’t stop thinking of how we came to find the pink crystal. Those LED blue spots we saw from the black light on those flowers were actually droplets of blood. Who did they have to kill to get their hands on that shiny piece of rock? And what type of power did they need to enhance for that crystal anyway? Plus, there’s that thing with the walkie talkie device. Did they steal Berecca or Jane’s?

My train of thought was interrupted when Ron tapped me on the shoulder. “I can hear you thinking. You don’t look too happy despite us surviving.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest. “Ron, this isn’t a victory at all. We may have escaped in one piece, but there are so many threats hanging above our heads right now. Berecca and Jane were kidnapped and almost killed without having a clue about where exactly they were, we made an enemy with the Oniwabanshu by unintentionally stealing their power gem, and I have a feeling that walkie talkie Tsukikage has serves a much more sinister purpose than we realize.”

Ron pulls out a blanket from under his seat and lays it over me. “Listen Burton, having shinobi blood means you are destined for a life of danger. The way you want to go about protecting yourself and the ones you love matters in the long run. It can be scary when it dawns on you that you don’t have a choice but to fight when you run into a force to be reckoned with. With Berecca, Jane, the kids, and sensei by your side you won’t have to fight alone anymore. You can rest easy knowing you have allies you can trust.”

I took half the blanket off my shoulders and wrapped the other half around Ron. I leaned on his shoulder and held onto his hand under the blanket. “And you. I have you too.”

I couldn’t see him from where I was leaning on his shoulder, but Ron’s face was flushed with a dark red hue. I could feel his hand trembling and his still frame shifting towards my own. Since when did Ron get so good at comforting others? Last I checked he couldn’t even look anyone in the eye when he lied. I felt like now I could get a little bit of rest knowing I had my friend back.

[ A few hours later… ]

We made it back to WNA.

The rest of the kids went to bed including the teachers. I went to bed as well, but I wasn’t able to sleep after getting off the helicopter. There were a lot of things I needed to catch Berecca up to speed tomorrow about Ron and the pink crystal we found. I wasn’t feeling as queasy as I did during the fight, but I did feel my anxiety bubbling in my gut again. I feel like I might as well let Jane in on this too.

I don’t know what to do anymore and I don’t know what to expect. How is it that none of these children feel panic or dread? Were they born without a shred of fear? Berecca and Jane probably handled their kidnapping situation perfectly if they were able to escape within a few hours of being held hostage. Ron can handle just about anything thrown at him. But me? I always find a way to get myself in trouble no matter where I go. And through it all, I’ve put everyone else at the academy in danger.

BLIP! ♫

I got a text message on my phone. It’s from Ron.

Ron: Are you awake?

I began texting him back.

Burton: Yeah, somehow. What’s up?

Ron: Something told me you’d still be up. Are you still thinking about earlier?

Burton: Haha, you know me well.

Ron: Did you want to talk about it?

Burton: Not at the moment, no.

Ron: Understood. Night.

Burton: Wait that doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk to you!

Ron: Okay?

Burton: Look can you come to my room? I don’t think I can be alone tonight anymore.

Ron: What are you 4 years-old? You want a bedtime story and warm milk too?

Burton: ☹

Ron: Fine, give me 2 minutes.

Burton: Thanks.

A few minutes later, a quick knock sounded at my door.

I opened it and dragged Ron inside without letting anyone see. I held him tight and didn’t let go. I didn’t realize how much I needed a friend right now, but with Berecca still asleep, I wasn’t sure who else I could turn to at this time. Tears were spilling down my cheeks and I couldn’t get them to stop. I fell down to my knees and he fell down to catch me.

Ron awkwardly patted my back and returned the hug.

He sat there comforting me for what felt like hours until I eventually fell asleep in his arms. I don’t know when he fell asleep as well, but he seemed to be more at peace spending time with me in the moment than he ever had in years.

Chapter Text

I woke up to the sound of laughter from outside the room. I stretched and looked over to the side to see Ron snoring softly next to me. Smiling to myself, I resist the urge to move the dreadlocks covering his eyes.

It was nice of Ron to stay with me last night. I feel bad and a little embarrassed for crying like a child in front of him. Pretty sure he didn’t have to stay over, but I suppose after all we went through on the mission it’d be hard to just ignore each other’s presence. He looks peaceful sleeping like that, almost like he hasn’t slept this well since we became friends 3 years ago.

Ron grumbles and stirs himself awake.

“Nnn…Burton?”

My eyes shot open and I lifted my head off my pillow.

“M-morning! You look like you were sleeping well, hahaha.”

Ron rubs his eyes. “Morning, guess we slept through the alarms. Good thing they didn’t force us to wake up. Are you feeling alright?”

I nodded, nervously patting my hands on my pillow. “Yeah, I’m okay now. I guess I just needed a good cry and I didn’t know how to go about it. Long story short, I haven’t really been in the best mental state for a while now.”

Ron looks to the side, unsure of what to say.

I put on my glasses and rested my hand on Ron's shoulder. “Hey, forget about the regular clothes today. Let’s just go out in our pajamas and do nothing all day.”

The two of us made our way outside of my room to go wash up. Outside waiting for us was Jane and Berecca. Jane had a cunning smirk on her face while Berecca impatiently tapped her foot.

“Good afternoon boys! You two certainly had a long night’s sleep huh?” Jane giggles.

Guess it isn’t as early as we thought.

Berecca sneers at Ron, “So what’s he doing here? I heard you’ve been spending a lot of quality time with my lab partner.”

Ron narrows his eyes, clearly agitated. “How long were you guys standing there?”

I interjected, “Berecca, there’s something important we need to talk to you about. Ron and I learned a lot of information while you two were gone and we’re gonna need some help. Also, we want to hear what happened to you guys when you got kidnapped by Tsukikage and his crew. Jane, we want you to join in on the conversation too. Just wait for us to wash up and we’ll meet you in the dining hall.”

She huffs, “Fine. Come on, Jane.”

Jane waves to us and follows her partner down the hallway.

[ 10 MINUTES LATER ]

“So, what you’re saying is…” Berecca takes a large bite of her miso salmon dish.

“Ron was ordered by Director Allen to kill us in cold blood and steal our research. But then he failed, so Allen sent his goons in after Ron to kill him and us. And now Tsukikage, who is also working for Allen, is after a magical power gem that you found in the middle of the wetlands to increase the power of his hidden ninja abilities?”

I briefly waved my hand in a so-so gesture. “Eh, I guess that covers a fair chunk of what we’re saying.”

Jane rests her elbows on the table.

“We didn’t even make it to the 1^st checkpoint from the challenge before we were kidnapped. It’s hard to tell where we were given how dark that cave was. We had to swim out through a nasty sewer pipe in order to escape. Unfortunately, we never got our gear back, so those thieves took off with all our stuff. Also what's the gem for?”

I frowned as I topped my rice bowl with egg and fish. "He didn't tell us, apparently that's the one thing he refused to share with us."

Berecca taps her fingernails on the table, her fixated glare never leaving her face. Of course her eyes would still be on Ron. He had some explaining to do.

Ron sets his spoonful of omurice down on his plate.

“I deeply apologize for all that I’ve put you all through. I put my mission first instead of those who I care for and in turn caused a major catastrophic event for all of us. I no longer wish to be considered a threat.”

I could tell this wasn’t convincing her.

 “Listen, Ron and I were able to talk things through during the mission and I don’t think he’s a threat to us anymore. He and I decided to make a promise to one another to let each other know about any potential danger in the future. We need to work together to bring down Director Allen from his tyranny. He even apologized to me beforehand and saved me multiple times from certain death.”

The pinkette doesn’t look amused, she glowers at Ron suspiciously.

“Ron, I trust Burton. But I can’t say I can trust you at the moment or if I ever will after what you did. Is there any indication that you are being genuine right now?”

Ron pauses for a moment before looking Berecca in her sky-blue eyes.

“I always pushed down the feeling of regret and shame down my throat when it came to facing you and Burton. I don’t feel as if there is anything I can do in this world to be truly forgiven. I went into a cult with blind respect for a man I once believed to be an honorary ninja, only to be betrayed just like you were. I do believe I deserved it. I don’t ask for forgiveness or friendship; I only wish to protect those around me and to learn how to atone so I can become the person I really want to be.”

There’s a long, scary staredown between the two before Berecca puts her hand out to Ron. Her stern stare became softer and more understanding.

 “I do think the two of us are in need of a private conversation by ourselves later. But if you’re willing to change for the better to fight off our new enemy, I can put my pride aside for a truce.”

Ron smiles and grabs her hand. And as he does so, a sharp shock buzzes through his body from shaking her hand.

Berecca grins and reveals a hand buzzer she taped onto her palm in advance.

 “I borrowed this little toy from Van for a prank. That’s for almost killing us. And for pulling that sneaky trick in the mini tournament.”

Ron rubs his uncomfortably numb hand.

“Sure, I suppose I can take that as somewhat of a punishment.”

She extends her other free hand.

 “But at the very least, your willingness to help us is a start.”

The two of them officially shook hands and started to have their own conversation full of laughs, sly remarks, and genuine smiles. Just like the old days.

I looked over at Jane, who was also pleased at the result of their banter. “Looks like things might turn out okay, huh?”

“Yes! I think this might be a good start for everyone to turn over a new leaf. And besides, if Ron hasn’t told you yet, I’m a professional hacker capable of getting into anything. I can always find a way to give you guys a hand.”

I sighed in relief, “That sounds great! And hey by the way, do you think you could tell me about you and Ron’s relationship? I’m kind of curious to know your past and how you two met.”

“Hm?” Jane looks at me in confusion before laughing, “Oh don’t worry! It’s nothing all that special, we know each other through work. And besides…”

She leans in closer to me, her voice at a low whisper.

“I already know of your secret crush on Ron. I’ve seen how the two of you interact together, even when you’re both mad. You boys are so easy to read.”

She winks at me and my entire face instantly fumes.

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. She knows? How long has she known for? What kind of
“interaction” is she talking about that he and I had? Does Berecca know anything about this? DOES RON KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS??

Berecca and Ron are expectantly looking at me, waiting for an explanation for what happened. I darted my eyes back and forth and gestured Jane to help me out.

“Burton, I’ll be rooting for your success!” The hacker gave me a thumbs up.

Thanks Jane.

I anxiously chugged down my energy smoothie and hurriedly ate up my meuniere set. Ron and Berecca just shrugged and continued to eat their meals.

..............................................................................

After lunch, the four of us decided to meet at the hideout to discuss our plan for taking down Director Allen. Van, Kappei, Lucy, and Emma were also spread out and chatting amongst themselves at the hideout but didn’t take part in our conversation. Jane was sitting on a small bean bag chair with her laptop, Berecca was playing a video game on the community game console, Ron was leaning back against the hideout wall, and I was pacing back and forth while snacking on potato chips.

The quick comforting sounds of click-clacks on her keyboard fill the silence in the room.

“You know, I think we might be able to take down Allen if we run into Tsukikage and place a tracker on him. I could use the academy’s tracking bugs they use on our walkie talkies to somehow plant it on their person. Maybe it would bring us close to their hideout when we were trapped in that cave?”

Ron closes his eyes and hums to himself.

“Not on their person exactly, we need to place the bug on something he’d never get rid of no matter where he goes.”

Berecca, who is laying on her stomach on the bean bag chair, chimes in.

“What if we put it on his receding hairline?”

I choked on my potato chips, Jane chortles, and Ron clears his throat while trying not to smile.

I swallowed down my food hard and took a few choked breaths before speaking.

“I-I think he’d kill us in one go out of anger if we tried to do that, Berecca. Perhaps we could set an elaborate trap to catch him off guard and get information out of him?”

Jane sucks her teeth in dissent.

“That would take too long. Our ninja powers aren’t the strongest and it would be too dangerous if he were to escape. He could endanger everyone at the academy. Plus, it’s not guaranteed he’ll tell us anything useful. And I don’t want to be the one giving him food or water.”

Berecca furiously mashes the A button on her controller. “Not to mention if we manage to find their cave hideout, there’s no telling how long the hike will take or if we’ll be able to escape again.”

“Then why don’t you place it underneath the cross-guard of his katana?”

A random voice came out of nowhere. We all looked up and around to find the source of the voice only to realize it was Genryusai-sama, Kappei’s great uncle.

“Hello there, I apologize for joining the discussion unannounced. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and it seemed like you were all having a bit of trouble.”

I rubbed my salt-covered fingers on my pants and straightened my posture. “Genryusai-sama! We need your wisdom; do you think all of us can defeat Allen and his men?”

The old man ponders and pokes at his bushy white mustache. “It is hard to say. I’ve heard from Bruce and Amy-sensei about your near fatal encounter during yesterday’s mission. I applaud all of you for your strength. However, it appears you’ve quite literally only scraped by. It could be possible with a bigger army, but with you kids alone it might not be enough.”

Each of us looked disappointed.

“I’ve had a gut instinct for a long time about Director Allen’s motivations and behavior. And I can’t seem to shake the feeling there might be other traitors in our midst as well.”

It took that one word for every one of us to be alert.

Traitor.

Technically we were already familiar with traitors among us (at least Berecca and I were). But having a member of the WNA Council be a traitor can have devastating consequences. Who knew the kinds of disaster and destruction they’ll bring upon us?

I took notice of Ron, who flinched and looked down at his feet, obviously unsettled by the new point of topic. He had a perturbed expression on his face and his glittery golden eyes were trembling slightly. He unconsciously grips his forearms and apprehensively drums his fingertips along his sleeves.

[ LATER THAT NIGHT; RON’S POV ]

Everyone enjoys a nice hot meal prepared by the lovely cafeteria lady. Well, everyone except for me. I wasn’t feeling very hungry and I hardly touched my sandwich. Van and Kappei normally try to challenge me to see who can eat the most food the quickest, but it seems like tonight they’re just going to have to go against each other.

I excused myself from the dinner table and gave my remaining leftovers to the boys. Jane and Berecca waved goodnight to me while Burton simply stared at me with wonder. I didn’t let him analyze any emotion on my face in time before I turned the corner into the hallway.

I decided to take a visit to the rooftop. There’s a cool breeze flowing through the air, making the humidity seem tolerable. I needed the fresh nighttime air for some alone time and to cool my head off.

Genryusai-sama’s words stuck with me since this afternoon.

A traitor, huh? Kind of ironic that word bothers me now. Hardly anything used to get under my skin and now I’m beginning to experience these emotions I often mocked. I feel like spending time with Burton has made me gone soft.

“Oh? There you are.”

It’s Burton. He approaches and sits next to me on the balcony edges. “I was looking for you since you didn’t touch any of your food. Everything okay?”

I continued facing forward and stayed silent. Burton shifts his body closer to mine and turns his face and body to look directly at me.

“Listen if it’s about what Genryusai-sama said earlier today, don’t sweat it. I can tell you’re no longer the same person you were when you left us. People make mistakes, some obviously much bigger than others. But you’re human and you’ve changed, I’ve seen it for myself.”

I gripped the stone ledge underneath my palms.

“It’s not that easy to just let it go. I’m coming to terms with the person I used to be and I don’t like how I’m feeling about it.”

Burton chuckles. “That’s called ‘guilt’ and ‘shame’. We all go through those feelings when we self-reflect on our actions. It means you’re actively thinking about your past errors and flaws so you can become a better person in the future."

I finally turned to face my friend and quirked an eyebrow. “You call something as barbaric as “attempted murder” a flaw?”

Burton pauses and shrugs suggestively, “Well, I guess you could call it…a fatal flaw?”

…………

“Snrk.”

I let a small snicker escape from my lips.

“That’s awful, I think Bruce-sensei’s humor is rubbing off on you.”

Burton chuckles and grins in embarrassment and slight satisfaction. “Hey now, my quips are nowhere near as insufferable as sensei’s. And besides, I made you laugh. So, you basically admitted that you liked my joke.”

 “It wasn’t that funny of a joke, idiot.”

I looked Burton in the eyes and gave him a playfully warm smile.

“But I do like it when you make me laugh.”

Once again, me and Burton’s eyes pool into each other’s in the night. His irises were a deeper hue of blue than the night sky watching over us. It was almost as if we didn’t even need the lights posted on the rooftop.

A few moments of silence went by where it somehow didn’t feel awkward. Neither of us were flustered or stumbling over our words for once. This time it felt…natural. Being with Burton in this moment felt so relaxing and comforting that I found myself never wanting it to end.

I found myself unconsciously glancing down at his slightly parted lips and watched him do the same to mine. We both looked back up at one another before Burton’s eyes widened and cheeks reddened.

Should I go for it? Or is it too soon?

I placed my hand forward on the ledge and considered leaning in until…

Groooowl.

My stomach grumbled. I nearly forgot I didn’t eat any dinner. This brought both of us back to reality and we quickly moved back from each other.

“Ah well, I guess there’s your appetite. I knew you’d get it back eventually.” Burton nervously twiddles his thumbs and fixes his gaze onto his hands.

I mentally cursed. “I suppose I am feeling a little peckish.”

The young scientist scans his eyes down onto the street below us. There’s a truck slowly driving down the road with a faint waft of smoke emitting out the side. “You know, there’s a roasted sweet potato truck that goes through the area every now and then. Why don’t we chase it down, grab a couple of bags, and chow down?”

It’s not a fully balanced meal, but it’s better than nothing.

The two of us hopped down the roof and raced down the street until we reached the ishi yakiimo (roasted sweet potato) truck. We paid for our roasted snack and started to leave until Burton tripped over his shoelaces and fell to the ground. His purple-framed glasses fell off his face, thankfully not broken. A young girl in a Chinese blue tang suit wrapped in a yellow sash picked up Burton’s glasses from off the ground.

“Here you go--oh hey! You’re those kids who won that mini battle royale tournament at WNA right? You guys were amazing out there. I was quite entertained!”

Burton and I exchanged quizzical looks. Burton stepped forward and puts his glasses back on his face, “Uh, thanks? How did you know about that by the way?”

The girl gasped and curtsied. “Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Hongfa, I also attend WNA Academy, and I come by on the weekends to help my papa with his sweet potato truck. He’s the one driving.”

Odd. I would’ve thought roasted sweet potatoes would be available only in the fall and winter. We’re nearing the end of springtime.

Burton extends his hand to the girl. “Good to know, I'm Burton. And this is Ron.”

I simply held my hand up and put it back down.

Hongfa encases her hands with Burton’s and gives him a lovestruck stare and a wink. “The pleasure is all mine. I look forward to battling with you someday.”

I frowned for a second before elbowing Burton. “Nice meeting you too, thanks for the potatoes.”

“Ah wait! Since you’re our 1000^th customer, you get a prize!”

The girl takes out a small box from the passenger seat of the truck. She hands me a jar of strawberry milk candy and Burton receives an old miniature two-way radio.

“Come back anytime!”

The two of us left Hongfa and made our way back to the academy. I took out one of the hot potatoes and began to snack on one.

“Ron, do you really think we’re going to be okay? I’m thinking of a plan to prepare for Tsukikage’s next attack. But we're going to need a lot of help. Earlier, I asked Genryusai-sama if he knew anything about the pink crystal we found, and I think we might be holding onto something we should’ve never come in contact with. He’s planning on testing it out in class tomorrow to see how the power enhancement works.”

I stopped chewing on my sweet potato and looked up at the sky.

“I don’t believe we are ready yet since we hardly know anything about our enemy’s whereabouts. The Oniwabanshu constantly moves locations to prevent from being ambushed, so I can’t say I know where they are now. If push comes to shove, perhaps we could request to barricade the school and limit any newcomers. However, I do not think all hope is lost. If we were able to defeat him with limited weapons and a smaller crew, maybe it’s not impossible to see the end of this.”

Burton smiled and looked up at the sky with me.

“You know, Emma told me once that you were very dependable like a grownup. I’m starting to see what she means by that.”

I lightly pushed his arm. “I’m fairly sure I was always mature, unlike you. Berecca’s better, but she’s on thin ice.”

Burton looked offended and pushed me back. “Hey! I have a Ph.D. for crying out loud! I’m plenty mature! And I’m not just younger than I look too despite our situation. Darn, Emma. I’ll show her who's dependable one day.”

The two of us shared many laughs until we eventually reached the academy. We said goodnight to one another and retired for the evening to get ready for class tomorrow.

We weren’t sure what to expect, but tomorrow’s event in class would prove to be a moment we weren’t prepared for.

Chapter Text

The next day we got a visit from Genryusai-sama in class. We were told he was going to demonstrate the power of the orb we found during the mission. Casual chatter filled the classroom while we waited for him to arrive.

Jane taps her fingertips along the wooden desk. “This treasure you two found better be worth the hassle Berecca and I had to go through. If I find out this orb turns out to be a sham, I’m seriously going to get mad.”

Berecca turns her back around to face her friend. “I doubt it, I don’t see how a rock could be the answer or at the very least a powerful aid in taking over Eagle City.”

Ron shakes his head. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”

Genryusai arrives at the classroom and everyone immediately clams up.

“Good morning everyone, today’s going to be a rather serious lesson here today. As you all know, Burton and Ron unintentionally came across a rare pink orb during your last mission. From what me and your instructors were able to understand, it appears we are dealing with a very dangerous force of nature.”

The students murmur quietly in curiosity and anxiety amongst themselves. Burton feels a light tap on his shoulder and sees a small, folded paper note in Ron’s hand. He grabs the note and discreetly opens it up.

Stay strong, we’ll get through this.

        – R.

Burton turned around to see his stone-faced friend looking down at him with adamant eyes. He gives a slight nod in which Burton returns.

Genryusai-sama continues. “In order for us to show how much power this stone holds, we are going to need a temporary volunteer.”

Gumchi appeared from a puff of smoke atop the grandmaster’s head. Goro the cat hopped up from behind Ron and Jane’s seats and scampered to the front of the class next to Gumchi. Ron squints at the fat cat in curiosity.

Kappei gives a worried look and raises his hand, “Wait! I don’t think it’s a good idea to use Gumchi for this experiment, we don’t know what’ll happen.”

Berecca stands up and slams her hand on the desk, making Burton jump. “Yeah! Do you think I’ll just let you make an example out of Gumchi and my little Goro? You just said this thing was very dangerous.”

Daisy-sensei steps in. “We wouldn’t be testing this on Goro, but Gumchi. Everyone at the council meeting made an executive decision to allow Gumchi to be our volunteer.”

Amy-sensei also chimes in. “Rest assured, we will make sure no harm befalls our friend here. The point of this demonstration is to show each of you the power this artifact holds and why it should not be taken lightly. Gumchi, if you would.”

“Gamutchi! Helpie! Happy-chi!”

The small yellow blob excitedly stands proud in front of the class ready for anything. While Berecca calmed down, Kappei still had a feeling of dread. The rest of the class (with the obvious exception of Lucy) waited with nervous anticipation.

Genryusai-sama took the pink crystal orb out of his pocket and held it out in front of Gumchi. Gumchi innocently stares at the sparkly item with wonderous eyes before it suddenly pauses. It continues to gaze at the entrancing glow and shine for a few more seconds before its body starts to twitch.

We all took notice of the immediate change in demeanor. Suddenly the air in the room felt heavier as we continued to watch.

Gumchi’s body began to glow with a dark purple aura and their eyes shone a piercing dark red. Their stubby teeth gnashed together and we could clearly see sharp fangs beginning to form in their mouth. The longer Gumchi was exposed to the orb, the more mangled its originally plump body became. The scary new appearance even made Goro step back and drop his ears down in fear.

Kappei had enough and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“P-please! Uncle, STOP!!!”

Hearing his grand nephew’s pleas, the elder swiftly put the gleaming orb back into his pocket and snapped his fingers in front of Gumchi. Gumchi glowered for a few seconds before the ominous aura surrounding them dissipated, their newly sharpened teeth returned to their original form, and their eyes were no longer glinting with malice. Gumchi appeared to be dizzy but shook its head quickly before returning to its normal happy-go-lucky attitude.

Kappei ran down to the front of the classroom and snatched up Gumchi, glaring at his great uncle with tears in his eyes.

“How could you make an example out of Gumchi like that? They’ve done nothing but protect us from danger and be our friend and you make them into this abomination just to teach us a lesson?? They didn’t even realize this was happening to them! You’re horrible and I hate you!!!”

Kappei furiously runs out of the classroom with Gumchi in his arms. Van stands up from his seat and hurriedly chases after his friend without saying a word to anybody.

Berecca steps down to the front of the classroom as well and scoops Goro up in her arms.

“Goro very well could’ve been a potential lab rat for this demonstration. I could never let something so demonic like that happen to my dear cat. I’m lucky that Gumchi doesn’t seem to be harmed, but I do believe you owe Kappei a proper apology.”

Berecca also leaves the classroom.

There’s an awkward silence lingering in the air. Nobody knew what to say. Genryusai-sama solemnly bows his head in regret.

Daisy-sensei cleared her throat, “Listen students, we understand that this is a very scary event to witness. However, it is crucial to know the potential dangers you could be up against. There is no telling when space ninja or regular Oniwabanshu with this kind of power could attack you. Fortunately, Gumchi wasn’t able to reach their full power of enhancement when under the influence of the orb’s mystical properties. Anything is possible in the world of ninjutsu. Your friends, family, and colleagues might possibly be put in situations where you could be fighting against them and you don’t know how to go about it. Whatever hardships you face, whatever looks scary and unnerving, you must fight on. It is okay to be scared, but never run away.”

Nobody says a word; class ends early after sensei’s speech.

As everyone gathers their belongings, Burton ponders in his seat.

“I think I’m torn on whether I should go talk to Berecca or comfort Kappei. I know Van ran after him but I’m not sure how smoothly that’s gonna go. And while Berecca tends to be rather strong-willed, it’s obvious this all got under her skin.”

Jane places her hand on my shoulder. “Then why don’t I go talk to her? Maybe I can get her to relax with me. As for Kappei, I think he’ll be alright with his friend by his side. Those two fight a lot but they’re actually quite close. You saw how Van went after him without acknowledging anyone.”

“Are you sure? I’m the closest to her and we’ve been best friends since forever ago. I may not look like it, but I’ve been told that I’m the nurturing type.”

Ron discreetly looks to the side and inwardly chuckles.

“Nope!” Jane boops the young scientist on the nose. “You lack what we girls call ‘tact’, Burton. The same could honestly be said for Ron here, but that’s a story for another day. Now how about you boys go and enjoy the rest of the day while I try to calm her down? See ya!”

She hurriedly makes her way out of the classroom with the rest of the students and instructors. Ron stands next to his friend in utter bewilderment.

“Ron, what should we do now? We’ve got the entire day to ourselves.”

“I want to take a look at that orb Genryusai-sama was holding onto. I’m fairly certain today’s showing is what Tsukikage was warning us about. Question: Gumchi is an alien right?”

Burton nods. “A type of space ninja I’d reckon. Why?”

“If what we saw today is what happens when a space ninja is under the control of the orb’s power, then imagine what would happen if an entire horde of space aliens were possessed by that thing. The other space ninja already oppose us, so the power enhancement orb would just make them even stronger.”

 “You’re right! We weren’t able to find their hideout yet, so perhaps Tsukikage and his men are waiting for the right time to strike. They must’ve wanted the orb to mind control the space ninja and attack us when we least expect it. Although I’m not sure if they plan to wipe out WNA as a whole or just us.”

“If that’s the case, you can go head to lunch and I’ll go talk to Genryusai-sama myself about holding onto the orb for a while. I think I might be able to convince him with good reasoning. I won’t be long.”

Burton gives Ron a thumbs up. “Okay, let me know if you have any trouble. See you soon.”

The two boys temporarily go their separate ways.

………………………………………………………………………….............

Burton ignores his food and fumbles with the cheap two-way radio Hongfa gave him last night. He randomly pushes the buttons and as they do, a small dialing sound emits with each button press.

“I wonder if anyone still uses these? It looks pretty busted and worn down, but it’s obviously still active. I might be able to ask Jane to—”

SKRTCH!

Suddenly, the radio buzzes and scratches, making Burton jump in surprise. The static noises continue for a few seconds until a mysterious, seemingly robotic voice speaks.

“H..e..llo-o…Burton.”

The young scientist gasped and looked around for anyone listening in. Lucy and Emma were a couple of tables away from him but didn’t seem to notice his presence. Burton swallowed and held onto the button to speak.

“U-um, who is this? Hongfa, is that you? Why do you sound like that?”

Around the corner came Berecca shuffling into the cafeteria and Jane following close behind her. They seemed to have finished up their talk. On the opposite entrance of the cafeteria, Ron entered the area with the orb held tight in his hand. Looks like his little chat with the teachers went well after all.

“Ron, Berecca, Jane! Get over here quick!”

The three individuals made their way over to Burton, each of them eyeing his radio skeptically. Ron was the first to speak.

“This is the toy that girl gave you at the sweet potato stand, right? Why are you messing with it?”

Berecca tilts her head to the side in curiosity. “Hm? What girl?”

Burton rudely pushed his finger to Berecca’s lips. “SHHHHH! Listen to this!”

The pinkette swatted Burton’s finger away from her mouth and leaned in to listen to the radio’s transmission. Ron and Jane followed suit.

“You will do well to heed to what I say. In exactly one week’s time, WNA Academy will be under attack. To prevent any casualties, surrender at once and bring the sacred power enhancement crystal to the abandoned Gum Factory. Come alone, or we will attack mercilessly.”

The air in the room got heavy again, but it only seemed like time stopped with the four people present in the conversation. Ron’s eyes widened and immediately hardened as he came to a realization.

“Is this Tsukikage?”

A broken dark chuckle emanated from the device.

“Hebimaru, nice to meet ya. I’ve heard a lot about you kid ninja-folk from him. Shishishishi, sounds like he’s had quite the week running around with you kiddies.”

Everyone frowned and looked at one another. They didn’t recognize that particular name. Could it be another one of Allen’s henchmen? Burton’s hands started to shake as he clumsily pressed the button to speak.

“Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to hurt us and those at WNA? Peoples’ lives are at stake!”

Jane sits next to Burton and snatches the device out of his hand.

“Do you honestly expect your thinly veiled threats will actually work on us? You need to know that the crystal you’re seeking is dangerous. Have you ever considered what would happen if the space ninja became possessed and refused to follow orders from anyone? That would mean you all would potentially release a mass horde of psychotic blood thirsty space ninja on the city!”

Hebimaru let out a long sigh from the other side of the intercom.

“If you’d like some motivation, then perhaps I should let it be known that we have a hostage at our disposal. She’s a noisy one, that girl. But I promise you we’ll take good care of her for you. If only one of you arrives at the abandoned factory with the orb in tow, we’ll release the hostage safely to you. Consider it a business opportunity.”

Berecca hesitantly takes the radio out of Jane’s hands. “And if we don’t?”

“We’ll storm WNA without warning, eliminate anyone who gets in our way, and the girl dies.”

A large feeling of dread hangs over the heads of the young teens. One of them actually has to take the place of the hostage and give up one of the most powerful weapons on Earth. There didn’t seem to be any sort of reprieve given they are now on a strict time limit.

“I will always be here to give you an update on the situation and the hostage’s wellbeing. So, I highly suggest one of you continues to hold onto the two-way radio at all times. For each call that you miss, the shadow ninja will inflict damage upon the girl. See you soon~”

Ron snatched the intercom from Berecca's hands.

"Shadow ninja? What about the Oniwaban--?"

The squad heard what sounded like someone licking their lips before the transmission cut off completely.

Burton banged his fists on the table, Berecca sneered and flicked the radio across the table with her hand, and Ron looked like he wanted to destroy the radio into pieces.

This noise from Burton and Berecca caused Emma and Lucy to finally look over at their classmates from the end of the table. Emma being the first of the two to speak up.

“Hey, you guys look pretty tense over there. Doushita no?”

For some time, the team didn’t know how to respond. They knew it was important to relay this information to the headmaster as soon as possible, but getting the kids in the way will put them in danger. Van and Kappei slowly entered the cafeteria as the intense staredown was happening and stopped in their tracks to see what was going on. For once, they were quiet and simply waited to see why nobody was saying anything. Kappei’s eyes, nose, and face were red; he seemed to have been crying rather hard. Van supportively had his arm around his weeping friend’s shoulders.  

Burton sighed and buried his face in his hands.   “Everyone, gather around. There’s something important we need to talk to you about.”   

Jane reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. “Scratch that, everyone follow us. I’ve got a voice recording on my phone for you and the teachers to listen to.”  

……………………………………………………………………..................

“This is a matter of grave concern, children. It appears WNA will have to go into lockdown mode until we can guarantee the safety of our students and staff.”  The headmaster rubs his shiny bald head in distress.

Amy, Bruce, and Daisy-sensei along with Genryusai-sama, Max (Van’s dad), Lauren Warren (Emma’s agent), The Bottle Collectors, and Ezet (who is silently cowering in the corner) were all present at the meeting with the original crew.   

Burton steps forward. “Sir, I think the hostage may have been Hongfa. Ron and I haven’t seen her since last night when she was helping her father run their sweet potato truck. I have a feeling she might’ve been kidnapped right after we left. And according to Lauren’s records of attendance, the last time Hongfa’s student ID was authorized was around 5 PM last night. And she hasn’t scanned her ID back on the campus ever since.”  

Bruce-sensei crosses his arms. “And did you two happen to see her father at the time?” 

 Ron and Burton both shake their heads no.  

Dan, the leader of The Bottle Collectors, scoffs at Burton and Ron.   

“Hmph! And you two expect to be extraordinary ninjas, you couldn’t even get the man’s face to potentially track him down for information! This is why we’re doomed as a society in the world of ninjutsu! In order to be a perfect ninja, one must—”  

Tyler, Dan’s best friend, places his giant hand over his chatty friend’s mouth.  

“I apologize about Dan; he can’t help but get excited when an opportunity for him to preach his ideals on what a perfect ninja should be.”  

Max raises his hand. “Headmaster, might I ask that we secretly lead a small team to temporarily infiltrate the factory and spy on the enemy? If we get an idea on what they’re up to, we could prepare to evacuate the students to a safe location days before the attack, and possibly even retrieve Hongfa from their clutches.”   

The headmaster nods. “I think that sounds like a fine idea. We could have a set group of individuals inspect the abandoned factory tonight! Genryusai-sama, I’ll have you select the party going in for the mission.”  

“Alright! Way to go, dad!” Van runs up to his father and hugs his father's legs tight.  

Lucy growls and angrily stamps her foot. 

 “HUUUH?? Who says I’m going anywhere? I want to fight someone with my friends and show them what happens when you cross us!”  

Jane tries to calm the angry girl next to her. “Now now Lucy, this isn’t something that should be taken lightly like a monthly mission. People could die if we don’t play our cards right. Specifically, people that you care for like Emma, your friends, or yourself.”  

Lucy pouts and turns her head away.

Genryusai-sama nods and stands next to the headmaster’s desk. “Well then, the group that will be going will be Max, Amy-sensei, Daisy-sensei, and…. I suppose we can ask a fellow staff member to volunteer. However, we are still in need of one more person.” 

Silence.    

“I’ll go with them.”  

Everyone turns to find the source of the voice, it was Ron.  

Burton gasped and looked at his friend in disbelief. “Ron…what did you just say?”  

Jane raises her hand in concern.   

“Genryusai-sama, although each of us have been blown away by Ron’s skill and raw power, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to send a student out on such a life-threatening mission.”  

May calls out from the back of the room.   

“Nah, I think he has what it takes to stand by the teachers. I can respect his work ethic and combat skills, it’s not like anybody’s I’ve ever seen. Besides, he did make it to the finals with me, Tyler, Dan, Lucy, and Burton. And as his fellow rival, I can confidently say he's got this!”  

Keith tucks a strand of his golden hair behind his ear. “I must agree. Ron fights with an exemplary bout of grace. It’s no wonder he’s one of WNA’s top students.”  

Naomi hums to herself. “I have not fought him myself, but even I was impressed by his agile movements and battle tactics.”  

Ezet gives a thumbs up of approval in the corner of the room. His anxieties getting the best of him once again.

“Very well then.” The headmaster concludes. “Ron will be added to the list of volunteers to scope out the factory. All four of you mentioned, including the remaining volunteer to be announced, will meet at the WNA entrance at 9:00 PM tonight. From there, you will discuss your plan and return to the academy in 3 days’ time at 9:00 PM. You are all dismissed for the evening.”   

[ 9:00 PM THAT EVENING…. ]    

The group of spies stood at the WNA entrance as planned later that evening. Each person changed into their stealth ninja uniforms and were supplied with a rucksack full of food and supplies to get them through the 3-day mission. As they were given the signal to leave by Genryusai-sama, someone wasn’t willing to let one of them leave.  

“Ron! WAIT!”  

Burton had sprinted his way all throughout the school to stop his friend from pursuing the mission. He panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath and nearly fell down the concrete stairs. Ron ran towards Burton to catch him from falling.  

“Burton! What are you doing here? We were just about to leave.”  

Burton grips Ron’s forearms tightly.

“Ron please don’t go on this mission. You heard Jane, it’s not safe for any of us! You need to leave this to the adults.” 

Ron could feel his friend’s hands trembling on his arms. He had the look of pure panic in his eyes. The former assassin looked back at his comrades, and they immediately walked off to give the boys some space. Ron sighed and grabbed ahold of Burton’s hands, giving them a slight squeeze. 

"I’m not doing this simply because they needed an extra person to go along, I’m doing this because I realized protecting those that I’ve become close to is important to me. Before I only thought about myself and took the lonely road whenever I did anything. I didn’t feel the need to make connections, accomplish any dreams I used to have, or simply go out of my way to make small talk. For a decade and a half, I’ve steeled myself into becoming a cold-hearted monster that didn’t need anyone to get by. I felt nothing for myself and didn’t feel the need to find any worth in living up to my best potential. I’ve always felt like I was alive, just dissociated. But after becoming friends with you, Berecca, Jane, and the other kids, I realized that I didn’t want to be forced to kill anyone or isolate myself from those who accept me. I know I may not come back from this expedition. But if it means hundreds of students and teachers will be able to wake up the next day and live another day without fear, then I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”   

Hot tears are flowing down Burton’s cheeks. His lip quivers and lets out a choked sob.

“Burton, you reaching out to me three years ago at the lab has been one of the happiest moments of my life. It’s hard to explain, but I found myself having these weird, sort of uncomfortable feelings in my chest that made me feel…homely? I always pushed them down and tried to ignore it. But every time I saw you, heard your voice, or thought about you, I suddenly felt the urge to drop my weapons, open my eyes, and focus my gaze on the one person that made me feel like I didn’t have to drown in these constant feelings of inadequacy and alienation.”  

Ron lifts Burton’s chin with his thumb and index finger and gives him a small, but soft smile. 

“I know I said it’s possible I may not come back, but I will do my best to make it back to you as soon as possible. That way we can continue to spend time with our friends at the academy. And make more memories together.”  

Burton sniffles and pauses.

Ron patiently waits for his friend to process his emotions and the entire word essay he just dumped on him. Burton looks down at his feet for a moment before moving his hands up Ron’s arms to grip his shoulders, leaning in, and placing a quick soft kiss on his cheek.  Ron gasps and freezes in place. By the time Burton pulled away (though not letting go of Ron’s shoulders), both of the boys had a look of embarrassment on their burning faces. However, that awkwardness was accompanied by heartfelt satisfaction.  

“You better make it back here, Ron. Or I swear I’ll get Jane, Berecca, and Lucy to chase you down faster than you can sense that somebody's on your trail. You know there's nothing stopping those gals.”  

Ron chuckles. “Idiot, of course I’ll make it back. Now get out of here before you get caught by any of the loitering staff on lookout. You need to get prepared for when they barricade the school and evacuate the students. We've got an academy to protect and we'll be sure to bring back Hongfa safe and sound.”  

Burton softly caresses his thumb against Ron's right shoulder before running up the stairs to the academy. He looks back at Ron one more time and waves to him with a tearful smile. Ron’s eyes softened with care and dedication before turning away to follow his team. With a loud huff, Burton slaps his cheeks to pull himself together before proudly striding into the academy.

Chapter Text

[  BURTON’S POV; 3:00 PM  ]      

The next day, I found myself sunbathing on the rooftop. Classes were cancelled for obvious reasons until the situation with our new enemy was settled. Unsurprisingly, some students here and there became concerned with the evacuation and lockdown. Throughout it all, I was still worried but I was still pondering about something else.

The thought of Ron plagues my mind.  

Everyone knows he’s capable of looking after himself more than any student here at WNA. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s willingly putting himself in danger with the other teachers. Even with Max, Amy and Daisy-sensei by his side, there’s still the possibility of something going wrong with the rescue. I was initially going to suggest that we bring more people along for the mission, but that might increase their chances of getting caught instead of actually helping. 

I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I’m forgetting something important.  

“Hm? What are you doing up here?” 

I opened my eyes to see Ezet standing over me. Gumchi happily accompanied him in his daily afternoon walk.  

“Ezet? I’m just here to take my mind off of things. I can see you made a new friend.”  

Gumchi hugs Ezet’s head and snuggles into his beanie. The alien boy smiles for a split second before immediately masking his happiness.  

“I don’t mind if they tag along with me, it’s nice to have someone to talk to.”  

I instantly sat up and faced myself towards the new kid.   

“What?? I’ve been trying to be your friend for weeks and you always pushed me away! That’s not fair, you know.”  

Ezet shrugged and sheepishly dug his hand into his beanie to scratch his pointy ears.   “That aside, I can practically hear your thoughts from a mile away. You’re in our secret relaxation spot, so spit it out and tell me what’s wrong.”  

I looked down at the roof tiles before looking back up at Ezet.  “I’m worried about Ron. I know he’s hardly been gone for over 24 hours, but I’m not sure how many enemies they could run into while they’re on their mission. Hebimaru might be lurking there with Tsukikage close by, plus I can’t just sit back and do nothing while Ron’s team fights off the enemy!”  

“Who’s Hebimaru and Tsukikage? And I thought his name was Pon?”  

I gave him a nervous smile and shook my head.   “No, it’s Ron. Tsukikage is the Oniwabanshu ninja my class fought on our last mission a few days ago. And Hebimaru is the guy Jane, Ron, Berecca, and I spoke to on the two-way radio yesterday afternoon. Jane played the voice recording on her phone when we were in the headmaster’s office, so you should’ve been able to hear it. Unless you weren’t paying attention?”  

“Of course I was paying attention! I may have had things on my mind as well yesterday, but I never get sidetracked for anything! I am the epitome of a stone-cold soldier.”  

Various images of Ezet freaking out over absolutely nothing flashed through my mind like a flip book animation.   

You sure are buddy, you sure are.    

“Anyway Ezet, I’ll get out of you and Gumchi’s way. I have to meet up with Jane and Berecca soon for a meeting, I’ll catch you later.” 

“Ah, hold on Burton. If you feel worried about P—eh…I mean Ron, then why don’t you just use your communicator? Give him updates on your status while asking for his.” 

Did he just say ‘communicator’ instead of a phone?    

“Y-yeah, I’ll be sure to do that, thanks. See ya around!”  

I hopped down from the rooftop tiles onto the balcony and dashed into the building.  

On my way to the empty classroom, I saw Kappei and Genryusai-sama having a discussion with Van close behind the pair. Neither of them appears to be as distraught as yesterday, perhaps they’re talking things out from Gumchi’s transformation scare? I saw the young ninja master in training gave his great uncle a big hug, Van was smiling from ear-to-ear behind the two.  

Looks like things worked out after all, good for them.  

Emma, Lucy, and Billy were sitting in one of the calligraphy rooms with Naomi to try out traditional sweets from Oedo. The girls gleefully munched on their candies and snacks without a care in the world. Billy eyed the candy before putting one in his mouth; he winced and complained at the bitter taste.   

I honestly envy their carefreeness; I no longer have that life anymore. Even when I was given a second chance to be a kid again.    

A very large group consisting of Dan, Tyler, Keith, May, Cluv, Damian, Sheila, and Heart were outside in the courtyard playing what looked like to be Daruma-san ga Koronda (Red light, green light). Dan was the one standing at the tree while the other kids attempted to best the high-spirited lad. Heart lost his balance and knocked himself into Sheila and Damian. Now he’s gotten himself into an argument with the three of them over his mistake.  

Wow, even Dan’s finding some way to have fun. There must be something I’m doing wrong here if even the most uptight person in the school is enjoying themselves.  

Once I finally made it to the empty classroom, Berecca and Jane were already posted and waiting for me. I closed and locked the door shut to prevent anyone walking in on our private conversation. Jane tosses me a canned smoothie drink from one of the school vending machines.  

“Hey Burton, how are you doing? You ready to get this show on the road?”  

I clumsily tried to catch the canned beverage before finally clutching ahold of it.  “Yeah, s-sure. Hopefully I didn’t keep you ladies waiting for too long. Also Berecca, how are your knees doing? Are they feeling better?”  

Berecca had freshly new gauze wrapped around her kneecaps. I recall her telling me how she scraped them raw when they got kidnapped a short while ago. Jane only had scratches on her arms and rope burn marking her wrists and ankles.   

Berecca waved her hand off.  “Forget about it, I can still move around as long as I don’t run. But enough of that, we wanted to talk about a glaring issue you two lovebirds forgot about yesterday.”

“Glaring issue? What are you talking ab—”

My body froze like an ice pop when my brain finally registered what my childhood friend just told me. I heavily exhaled the remaining air filling my lungs until all I could muster were haggled breaths. My face burst with a bright red color and while I couldn’t see it, my eyes were shaky and darting back and forth.

Berecca continued, clearly unamused.

“Snap out of it, you freaking lovesick weirdo. I’m saying you forgot that your boyfriend’s holding onto the power enhancement orb. He went on his mission with the teachers without giving the orb back to you for safekeeping.”

“L-listen here you arrogant pompous bobblehead! R-R-Ron’s not my b-b-boyfriend! A-a-a-and I certainly didn’t—”

Wait.

Wait.

Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait.

“We forgot WHAT NOW???”

Jane lightly bops me on the head. “Quiet down, and yes you two were so disgustingly in love that you failed to realize the enemy will have exactly what they’ve been looking for if Ron gets caught.”

Shoot, that must’ve been what was on my mind today.

“We’re not sure if he’s aware he has it on him, but I imagine he had to take it out of his coat pocket when he changed into his ninja uniform. I’ve known Ron for years through work, even longer than you two. And while he is quite dense, he normally doesn’t forget important details given to him. Maybe he did keep it on his person because he figured nothing would happen to the crystal?”

I re-adjusted my glasses and fixed up my messy hair.

“Berecca and I can attest to that. Ron helped us out a bunch at the lab, it’s honestly a wonder how we managed to survive without him.”

“Jane and I were thinking of messaging Ron to be careful with it, but I have a feeling we could be distracting him. If he didn’t put his ninja phone on silent, the sound would definitely attract the attention of those goons. It would be bad to compromise the mission and blow their cover. That said, we’re better off waiting for the next two and a half days for them to come back.”

The more I thought about Berecca’s suggestion, the more I began to have some mixed feelings about it.

“Hold on you two, I understand messaging Ron so soon is rather risky. I get that we’re supposed to be mindful of communication between two parties. However, I don’t know if Ron is also aware he has it on him. Maybe if I send him a message to let him know, he’ll be more careful.”

Jane and Berecca wag their fingers at me like reprimanding mothers.

“Absolutely not!”

I pouted. “Come on, sending one message to him can’t hurt, right?”

Jane wags her finger again and Berecca crosses her arms to form an ‘X’.

This is going to be difficult, seems like I’m not going to convince them so easily. But I still wish to see Ron safe, why can’t they understand that? Well, I can see how Berecca might not think much of it but still.

Either way, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to budge with this.

With that, we ended our meeting and disbursed to pack our belongings for emergency evacuation.

[ 10:30 PM THAT NIGHT ]

I lay awake in my room for the umpteenth time. I knew I had to do something to warn Ron but I knew it wasn’t a good idea to reach out to him. What if my message puts him and the others in danger? We should only be communicating when it’s an absolute emergency and technically students are prohibited from sending messages to other students on a mission. Mainly because it can give away their location.

Or potentially cost them their lives.

I swallowed hard. It was conflicting trying to decide what to do. I could either hold off and wait and see what happens in the next two days. Or I could potentially risk the safety of my cherished friend and teachers over a text message that may or may not come back to bite Ron and I in the butt.

“Alright! I won’t send him a message and that’s final! I’ll go to bed, prepare to pack in the morning and when Ron comes back from his pursuit, we’ll discuss our next course of action.”

I shut off my light and buried myself underneath my blanket. There’s no way I’m going to let temptation get to me. According to Jane, Ron’s probably realized he forgot to hand the crystal off to me anyway, so he’s got to be extra careful now.

That’s right, I’m not gonna let anything change my mind about all this. Yup. Nothing.

I turned over and peeked my head out from under the covers before diving back in.

Absolutely. Positively. Nothing.

At least five painstakingly long minutes went by before I slowly poked my head out of my blanket once more and stared at my phone on my nightstand.

“Well, I suppose it’s just like Edison said… “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”  I know I shouldn’t do this, but I’ll never know unless I try.”

[ RON’S POV; 7:30 PM EARLIER THAT SAME EVENING ]

The rescue mission group hides atop a nearby building from the abandoned gum factory. Max leads the group and gives instructions to Daisy-sensei, Amy-sensei, me, and Carmen, a last-minute volunteer to join us on our expedition. Apparently, she’s a fitness instructor at WNA.

“Alright everyone, remember your positions. Amy-sensei and Daisy-sensei will enter the building with Ron and I, but you ladies will be in charge of taking out any loitering enemies guarding Hongfa. It might be best for you two to separate to cover more ground, but the choice is yours. Ron will be the one to scope out her location once you two give him the signal to proceed. I’ll find out what our main enemy is planning in their main quarters. Carmen, you make sure nobody enters the factory by patrolling the outer perimeters of the factory. Any questions?”

Amy-sensei flips her hair behind her shoulder.

“Sounds like you’ve got all the easy work, huh? Leaving all the work to us ladies and poor Ron. How rude.”

Max shifts uncomfortably. “O-Oh! I didn’t mean to make it seem that way. I can take on another task if you like—”

Amy-sensei giggles, “I’m just kidding, you’re just as easy to tease as Bruce-sensei, Max. It’s honestly quite entertaining.”

Carmen-sensei and I gave Amy-sensei a tired smile while Daisy-sensei simply didn’t react, perhaps she was used to her coworker’s sense of humor?

Max cleared his throat.

“O-Of course, I knew that. Anyway, I’m sure everyone knows not to use their ninja phones for communication. We will be using the earphone communicators given to you. We’ll meet back at this spot at 10:30 PM. Remember that there could be space ninja possibly lurking around, so be very careful.”

Everyone agrees and heads to their positions. Max and I hid towards the entrance and waited a couple of minutes before Carmen-sensei gives us the signal to proceed from above. It’s dark, dank, and musty in here. As expected from a building that hasn’t been in use for over 5 years. I don’t know what I expected to be in a gum factory other than mountains of gum, but there seemed to be a combination of large wooden crates, metal shipping containers, and unused dusty conveyor belts. We looked up to see a few oranje space ninja floating around in the air, seemingly on patrol duty.

 It would definitely compromise the mission if they spotted us in an instant.

 We waited for the floating freaks to leave before sneaking past them.

“Ron, we’ll be parting ways pretty soon. Do you think you’ll be able to find Hongfa on your own? From what I recall, you brought the pink orb with you as well. You know you'll be putting a target on your back, right?”

“Yes. While I haven’t gone against the Shadow Ninja, the Oniwabanshu shouldn’t be anything I can’t handle. I used to work under Allen, you see. It was a very regrettable decision in the long run.”

Max sympathetically puts a hand on my shoulder. “There’s always time to change for the better, I always tell my son Van that so he always carries compassion in his heart. I’m happy to see he’s made some great friends.”

I couldn’t help but feel guilty when he called me a friend of Van’s. I know I didn’t outright target him like I did Burton and Berecca. But I still would understand the rage and grief one would feel to lose a loved one, despite being trained to feel nothing in the cult. As much as it makes my stomach churn, it felt nice to be recognized as a trustworthy ally to someone.

“I’ll be sure to continue to look after him so he and Kappei stay out of trouble. Thank you and good luck Max.”

With that, Max heads towards the left side of the factory and climbs the rusty metal stairs as quietly as he can. As soon as Max left, I could hear some footsteps in the distance as well as something that sounded like a gargled cry. Thinking quickly, I climbed into one of the large wooden crates and hid in there. My landing wasn't very soft, however, as I appeared to have fallen in a crate of old bubble gum. I suppose the previous staff didn't bother discarding this last box.

Curiosity and boredom got the best of me and I found myself wondering how the gum tasted. I picked one up; it was dusty, unusually hard, and no longer held its sweet scent.

Am I really going to do something Burton would do?

I blew the dust off the gum and rubbed it vigorously against my uniform, then I tossed a piece into my mouth and instantly regretted it. The classic bubblegum flavor was stale and tasted like clumps of sugar cubes fell on the floor. The outer shell broke apart like a shattered jawbreaker and the pieces on the inside felt rather sharp against my gums and tongue.

I could've sworn I was starting to taste my own blood.

I quickly (and quietly) spit out the gross chicle resin on the inside of the crate. That was beyond a bad idea, no wonder this factory went out of business. I doubt it would've tasted any better even if it wasn't expired.

That’s the last time I think of something Burton would do.

I waited at least a couple of minutes before climbing out of the wooden crate to see if the coast was clear and continued on my path. This empty warehouse is rather cryptic, but I can definitely see why they’d want to “set up shop” here. I highly doubt anyone would want to traverse through this dusty old place.

“There’s chewed gum in this crate! I think he went over there!”

Crap! Did they find me already?

With nowhere else to go, I ran through what seemed to be a maze of metal shipping containers. I looked behind my shoulder to see two ninjas in purple and black uniforms were hot on my trail and began to throw kunais and shuriken in my direction. Alongside them were green mimiron space ninja chasing me too. I reached into my pocket and grabbed one of my sais to deflect the attack.

This is bad. If I stay in this maze with them, they’ll have me cornered in no time.

I leaped diagonally onto the side of the metal crate and wall jumped from side-to-side until I exited the maze. I looked around and noticed multiple unused conveyer belts leading in different directions all around the factory. One of the belts in particular led upwards and I could see an office door in the distance.

Pretty sure that could be the manager’s office or a tech room of sorts. Either way, it’s going to be my immediate destination of choice.

As soon as I jumped onto the rubber belt, I could hear the sound of heavy machinery powering on and several metal gears turning in sync. Before I knew it, I nearly tripped over myself when I realized someone had activated the conveyer belt to stop me from moving forward. As I jogged in place, I frantically looked to my left and right until I spotted another ninja with their hands firmly grasped on a lever. I couldn’t tell if they were part of the Oniwabanshu or whatever the shadow ninja were supposed to be. Behind me at the very end of the belt I was running on, several blue chocomin space ninjas slithered my way with mischievous grins.

I was cornered without any allies to back me up.

One of the shadow ninja chasing me found out where I went and planned to meet me on the moving conveyor belts. That is until Amy-sensei came out of nowhere and kicked the living daylights out of them. Her skilled attack knocked the enemy down and successfully made impact with the green mimiron space ninja that were chasing me at the bottom. She landed beside me and began to jog in place with me.

“Sensei!”

“Hello there, Ron. Daisy-sensei and I would be happy to lend you a hand if you like.”

She pointed past me and I followed her finger to see Daisy-sensei punching the enemy holding the lever multiple times in the face. I didn’t want to admit it, but I secretly feared both of these ladies. Amy-sensei scoops me up and carries me under her arm with ease. She looked like she was enjoying this.

“Hold on tight, young man!”

Wait, hold on to wh—

She winks and gracefully jumps from moving belt-to-belt, successfully dodging each enemy in her way. With her free hand, she effortlessly throws several kunais out of her pocket and lands a hit on each foe in her path.

Are her pockets a bottomless pit of weapons at her disposal? Even I haven’t mastered on how to hide an endless number of weapons on my person.

Daisy-sensei finishes beating up her opponent and simply throws them from the top of the stairwell, squashing the chocomin moving on the conveyor belt in the process. Delightfully stoic. I nearly forgot that’s how I used to be not too long ago before turning over a new leaf.

One shadow ninja poofed into the air in front of Amy-sensei and I and prepared to use their katana to slice us in half. However, their plans were immediately squandered as a cinderblock dropped onto their head from above. The cinderblock poofed away but the shadow ninja still continued to fall to the ground.

Sensei and I looked up to see Carmen-sensei waving at us from a hole in the ceiling. Good to hear she still had our backs even from outside the factory.

Amy-sensei sets me down next to Daisy-sensei. “How was that? Did you have fun?”

All of the color drained from my face as I gawked at the three of them in amazement. Perhaps I should ask all three of them to train with our class someday? It would be much more interesting to go against a professional.

“Sensei, I’m starting to wonder if all three of you should be fighting against our class someday as an assignment. It would be cool for us all battle someone with more combat training experience than us students going against one another.”

Daisy-sensei cracks her knuckles and moves her neck from side-to-side.

“It was no trouble at all and we’ll be sure to bring it up with Carmen later. We’re going to meet up with Max near the boss’ main quarters. Do you think you’ll be alright from here on out?”

I nodded.

“Yes, thank you for all of your help.”

Daisy-sensei obliged. “Understood, we’ll see you soon.”

My instructors waved goodbye and left me by myself once more. I ran down the hallway towards the main office door from earlier. I looked at the bottom of the door to see there was a light on. Not wanting to make my presence known yet, I pressed my ear against the door. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear anything; it could be soundproofed for all I know. I grabbed two sais from off my belt and readied myself. I took a deep breath and kicked the door down in one go.

The first thing that got my attention was a pink gammumi and purple gammuo space ninja occupying the office. There was a bundle of rope placed under the seat but what puzzled me was that Hongfa wasn’t sitting in the chair. The room was completely empty save for a single computer resting on a desk and a large old camera standing on a tripod at the end of the room.

What the hell is going on? Where’s Hongfa? Did she already find a way to escape before we got here? And what the heck are these things doing in her place?

“Gammu gammu!”

The weird pink blob panicked before gargling an order to the purple blob. They bickered for a short while and didn’t seem like they knew what to do. I’m starting to get the feeling even space ninja don’t always get along with each other.

In the midst of my confusion, I felt an arm snake around my neck and another arm was used to grab ahold of my right wrist and twist it, making me drop my weapon.

“AAGH! Wh-what the hell? Who are—GAAACK!”

I felt a sharp, blistering pain dig its way into my left shoulder blade and was kicked down to the ground. I gasped and coughed in a fit of shock.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here, I guess WNA listened to us after all.”

Wait, that voice!

I attempted to get back on my feet but was immediately denied the notion when a heavy foot stomped onto my back. I felt the dagger being roughly pulled out of my shoulder blade. I cried out in anguish and my breathing quickened into heavy, agitated pants.

“Don’t you think your approach towards him was a little harsh, Hebimaru-chan~? He is a long-time friend of mine after all.”

Shit...

I saw a pair of legs enter my line of vision. They squatted down to my level, snickering at me with proud malevolence. But the person I expected to see wasn’t Tsukikage or the man on the intercom named Hebimaru, despite hearing both of their voices. The person who appeared before me was a girl with dark brown hair tied up in a bun, piercing ruby red eyes, and she wore a dark blue Chinese blue tang suit wrapped in a yellow sash.

No...

I’ve seen this attire before and I’ve certainly seen this girl before.

It was Hongfa.

Chapter Text

[ THE NEXT MORNING AT 9 AM; BURTON’S POV ]

I gathered all of my belongings together and closed my suitcase; complimentary from the WNA. My eyes were glazed over with exhaustion and concern. I had bags under my eyes, my throat was dry, and my head throbbed. I roughly ran my hand from my forehead down to my mouth to wake myself up. It was annoying how I was starting to get used to getting more sleep and now I’ve reverted back to being sleep deprived. I’m feeling hungry but with no appetite once more. I grabbed my backpack and shrugged the strap over my shoulder. And as I did, I knocked over a small plastic photo frame that was resting on my desk. I picked it up off the floor and turned it around. In the photo was a picture of my class.

It was me, Berecca, Ron, Jane, Kappei, Van, Lucy, Emma, Daisy-sensei, Bruce-sensei, and Amy-sensei. Amy-sensei and Daisy-sensei were standing at the left and right opposite sides of the class with very small, but heartwarming smiles on their faces. Bruce-sensei was standing in the middle behind the class, trying to get them to simmer down and stay in their seats.

Lucy and Emma were sitting next to each other in the back row, holding their hands up high in the air with bright wide smiles. Lucy is standing up in her chair and Emma is only halfway out of her seat. On the right side of the girls, Van and Kappei were playfighting as usual. Van firmly planted his palm onto Kappei’s cap and was rustling his friend’s short, sky-blue hair. Kappei returned the favor by shoving his finger up Van’s nose. Both boys were nearly falling out of their own chairs, but still had playful grins on their faces.

In the front row on the left side, Berecca had the same cute and adorable smile I remember from when we were little kids. Except this time, she was looking out of the corner of her eye behind her. Her eyebrow twitched and she looked like she was slightly annoyed with our classmates’ typical banter but didn’t want to break face. I was sitting next to her with my hands clasped together, my feet and body facing forward, and with a big smile. The only problem was that I was blinking, so nobody could see my eyes.

And finally on the right side of us, Jane and Ron finished the roster. Jane sat at the end of the row and was turning her body halfway around in exasperation. Apparently when Kappei was reaching over to playfight with Van, he managed to accidentally kick the legs of Jane’s chair. And now she was glaring at the two with fire in her eyes. And in between Jane and me was Ron sitting criss-crossed applesauce in his chair. For some reason he just feels content sitting like that; even his feet weren’t touching the floor. He stared at the camera with his customary vacant expression and no smile.

The picture was chaotic, disorganized, and unorthodox by the standards of a proper classroom photo. Not everyone was smiling, at least half the students weren’t sitting properly in their chairs, and almost everyone was doing everything wrong.

And it was perfect.

I used my left index finger to lightly stroke the side of the picture with Ron on it. He said he would be back here with his team in one more day, so it shouldn’t be too long before we’re reunited once more. But for now, I need to meet up with the rest of my class for our evacuation. I took the picture out of the frame and tucked the photo into my pocket before exiting my room.

I met up with my class in one of the empty calligraphy rooms. Bruce-sensei was in charge of leading our group towards the temporary shelter. Berecca and Jane were already sitting next to each other along with Ezet, Van, Kappei, Emma, and Lucy. Van stopped talking to his buddies and waved at me.

“Oi! Burton! You’re finally here, maybe now we can get going so we can get some grub!”

Kappei tilted his head to the side with a quizzical expression. “Hey, you don’t look so good. Everything alright?”

I waved them off and tried my hardest to put on my best fake smile.

“I’m fine, just didn’t get enough sleep last night. Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long.”

Bruce-sensei did a head count of everyone in the room and stood up. “Now that everyone’s here, we can head to the front entrance to get on the bus to the shelter!”

Each of us walked in a single file line to the front of the school. On the way there, we could see many other classes including The Bottle Collectors. Their normal upbeat demeanor was replaced with quietness. Not one kid said a word. In fact, most of the students we passed by weren’t saying much of anything this morning. It was very depressing.

When I got on the bus, I didn’t sit next to anyone. I could tell Jane and Berecca were worried about me since they kept looking back at me from the front row, but I decided to ignore them. The only thing on my mind was Ron returning safely and the future of WNA Academy.

My train of thoughts was interrupted when a voice called out to me.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

I didn’t look at them and continued to stare out the window. “No, you can sit here.”

The feminine sounding voice seemed content.

“Lovely! Thank you so much. The bus was starting to get full and I was worried I’d have to stand or go find another bus.”

They sat next to me and placed their bag under the seat.

“This trip’s getting pretty serious, right? I came back from spending time with my parents and now the academy’s undergoing an emergency evacuation? Talk about about hectic timing. I’m still trying to get a read on what’s going on.”

I nodded in agreement. I don’t know what it is about this person, but they seemed a little overly excited to chit-chat despite everyone else’s obviously gloom moods. I typically don’t like to label others as an annoyance, but I can’t say I was too happy to talk at the moment.

“I would certainly like to get something to eat as well. I’ve got a craving for some steamed pork buns right about now.”

As the bus began to move, I started to wonder if I was going to get any sleep on here. If not, I could always crash as soon as we get to the shelter. But with this random individual chatting my ears off, I don’t know how I’m going to survive.

I could see the student hold out their hand to me out of the corner of my eye.

“Ah, where are my manners? I’ve been mouthing off this whole time without introducing myself. My name is Hongfa, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Burton. Nice to meet you t—"

My breathing came to a halt and I whipped my head around to finally face them. It was a young girl. It was the same girl who gave Ron and I those roasted sweet potatoes, the same girl who Ron and his comrades were putting themselves in danger to save, and the same girl whose unknown safety kick-started the emergency evacuation of the entire academy.

“HONGFA??”

The young girl known as Hongfa looked at me with a confused stare, but didn’t lose the kind smile on her face.

“Y-yes, that’s what I said. Is there a problem?”

I can’t believe it. I don’t believe it.

This girl is the one the academy went into a frenzy over! But her hair wasn’t tied up in a bun like when we first saw her the other night. Her long black hair was undone and rested on her shoulders and was barely covering one of her burgundy eyes. She wore a dark gray beanie, a long black sweater, crimson pants, and black lace-up boots.

A few of my friends that overheard my shout looked over their seats to hear what was going on. I sat up straight in my seat to get a better look at my “bus buddy”.

“Hongfa, what are you doing here? How are you even here? We thought you were kidnapped by Tsukikage and Hebimaru!”

Hongfa looked at me, clearly uncomfortable with my assertion. She put her hand down.

“Um Burton, like I said about a minute ago, I took some time off from WNA to spend time with my parents for a while. I’ve only been gone about a week, and I’ve been enjoying myself quite a lot, I’ll have you know. Also, who are Hebi...manu and Tsukige anyway?”

This isn’t making any sense.

“Okay now you’ve GOT to be lying. We met each other a couple of days ago for the first time! My friend Ron was with me when we stopped by you and your father’s roasted sweet potato truck at nighttime!”

Hongfa’s expression very slowly and cautiously changed to a look of downright bewilderment, embarrassment, and apprehension.

“Burton, nobody in my family owns a sweet potato truck. We never have; my father works as an accountant full-time.”

I could feel time freeze once more. I could see Berecca and Jane getting up from their seats and walking up to us. Van and Kappei noticed and followed suit. However, I wasn’t directly paying attention to any of them or hearing anybody’s words. People were calling out to me and I could hear several different voices amongst one another, but I blocked it all out.

The news of Hongfa’s safety never being in jeopardy felt overbearing, like someone was continuously pushing a large weight onto my shoulders while I was sinking in quicksand. Everything started to flash before my eyes: meeting Hongfa for the “first time”, receiving the two-way radio, her “kidnapping”, Ron holding onto the power enhancing crystal, Ron and the other teachers leaving the academy, Ron eventually realizing there is no hostage, Ron potentially getting ambushed, Ron getting ki—.

“BURTON!”

I snapped out of it when I felt two hands firmly grip onto my shoulders and shook me violently. Panic welded within me as I realized what could hypothetically transpire in a few days, hours, or minutes time. My eyes felt simultaneously hollow with heartbreak and full of horror and panic. Berecca was the one shaking my shoulders but was looking at me with anxiousness like everyone else. At this point, Hongfa had stepped out of her seat and nervously hid behind Jane out of fear. Kappei, Van, Lucy, and Emma all waited for me to explain myself all the while ignoring Bruce-sensei’s warnings to return to our seats from the bus driver’s seat.

I inhaled and pathetically exhaled a staggering breath from my lungs before speaking.

“G-guys…I think we made a huge mistake.”

[ REWIND BACK AT THE ABANDONED GUM FACTORY; 10:25 PM ]

“Heheheh, looks like little Ronnie here got himself caught in a spider’s web.”

The person resembling Hongfa snickered down at Ron and spat in his face. Ron turned his head to rub his cheek against his shoulder. The “girl” looked exactly like the Hongfa he and Burton met her a few nights ago, but there was one clear flaw. Their voice. This imposter looked like Hongfa and had the ability to sound like her. However, in this very moment, this little girl sounded like a disgusting snarky rat.

Tsukikage.

“Hey Hebimaru, how about getting him to talk? We’ve already gotten every physical item off him. Perhaps we can get a read on what the preschoolers are planning?”

It’s honestly a miracle these two managed to be as successful as they are. Each one-liner that came out of their mouths sounded like it came from a villain in a children’s storybook. Despite that, the assassins had Ron bound to a chair with the rope he saw earlier. The blood from the stab wound in his shoulder blade seeped into the rope around his back. His ankles were also tied with rope to the chair legs. His head and body hurt from how rough they were handling him.

With a snap of their fingers, a puff of smoke turned Tsukikage’s disguise back into his normal self. He approached Ron slowly and bent down to his level.

“Now don’t think we’re stupid, we know you didn’t come here alone. But to be honest, we could care less about the extras who arrived with you. You’re the only one we need so we’re gonna need you to tell us where that pink crystal orb is.”

Ron scoffed and glared into Tsukikage’s eyes. Hebimaru kicks Ron’s chair over on the ground from behind. Ron grunts and grits his teeth as he tries to keep his pain to himself. He bends down and grabs Ron roughly by the back of his head.

“I’m going to ask you again, runt. Where. Is. The. Crystal?”

Beep beep! ♪

A short tune emitted from Ron’s pockets. Ron’s eyes widen and he darted his head back and forth to keep their attention solely on him.

“Shishishi, well that was easy. Here, let me get that for you.”

Hebimaru let go of Ron’s head and his forehead smacked against the ground. He rummaged through Ron’s pockets until he pulled out his phone. The smaller ninja groaned against the ground and tried to move his body. His nose still ached from when Burton punched him a while ago, now he feels as if he'll have to redress the wound.

“Ah ah ah! Stay still, this’ll only take a moment.”

Hebimaru and Tsukikage looked at Ron’s phone to see a singular text on the screen. One coming from Burton in particular. Hebimaru opens the message and reads aloud.

Dear Ron,

The gang and I (along with the rest of the school) are planning to pack up and move to the Periwinkle Pines Shelter 50 miles out from the academy for a little while. The headmaster planned to send a small group of their most powerful ninjas out to fight off the shadow ninja and anyone working for Director Allen in two days time once you all come back. It’s been worrisome trying to think of anything other than you and your partners on the mission. Honestly, I’m really scared of what’s yet to come for us all. I know you told me to have faith in you and I still do, of course. It’s just I don’t know what condition Hongfa is in and if they really hurt her. And if they did do such a thing, it’s very likely they’re going to give the same treatment to all of you. I couldn’t bear to witness any of you being hurt, so I truly wish for everyone’s safety. It’s hard to put it in words since I’m not very good at building up towards something bigger, but part of the reason why I’m able to keep moving forward and become a more confident person is because of the stronger bond we were able to build by reconciling. With the support from everyone, I believe we will prevail. Hahaha, it’s weird because I feel like I’m saying a lot of corny things right now but it’s true. I hope to see you soon, Ron. I miss you a lot and the others and I will be waiting for you with open arms when you get back.

P.S. There might be some space ninja lurking around in the factory, so be sure to keep that orb safe and sound. I forgot to ask for it back before you left.

Ron winced.

It was just like Burton to ignore all the warnings he was given to seek the well-being of a friend in need.

The red-haired man dug through Ron’s other pocket and took out the glimmering pink ore in question. He lifted Ron’s chair back up from off the ground and grabbed his chin to force Ron to look him in the eyes.

“Not only is that ugly little shack about to be burned to the ground, but we’ll make sure anyone who is still in the academy is wiped out if they get in our way. We’ll throw away all the ninja gum, use the crystal to mind control the space ninjas, and reform the world into our perfect society. Starting with Eagle City.”

Ron’s pupils were shaking, the stoic armor he spent a decade and a half to perfect was starting to crack.

“You can’t! You’d cause a worldwide panic! Are you even aware of the forces that would come after you all to take you down? How much chaos and destruction you’ll cause? What reason would any of you feel the need to give Allen this much power?”

Tsukikage tilts his head to the side.

“It’s not just Allen getting the power, it’s Master Shadow too. We’ve joined forces to share utopia together. And we don’t need no small-town rookie ninjas putting your little kiddie pool in the middle of a league organization.”

“Master Shadow? Why are you working with—"

He removes one of his twin samurai swords from the side of his belt and points the tip at Ron’s neck.

“And we’ll start by making you watch. We’ll off your colleagues, your lady friend, and especially that pig-faced geek one-by-one in cold blood. Then, we’ll do you the pleasure of ending your miserable life when it’s all over. But don’t worry, you’ll get to see her one last time before you depart from this mortal realm.”

Just then, both men stopped their threats when they heard footsteps and crashing noises in the distance. The two space ninja in the corner of the room cowered in fear and ran towards the door to escape. Ron’s ears perked up in curiosity.

“Ron! It’s us! We’re here to get you out! Get back!”

It was Max’s voice.

Tsukikage and Hebimaru both exchange glances and nods and put on their face masks. Tsukikage put his sword along the side of Ron's chair, meditated, and moved his hands behind his back.

A loud crash rang through everyone’s ears as the door flew off its hinges completely. Before anyone got another word in, the two men threw down a couple of smoke bombs. The smoke was pink, heavy, and hard to see through. Max and Carmen-sensei rushed through the smog to untie Ron from the chair. Amy-sensei called out from outside the office room.

“Quickly everyone, this way!”

Max and Carmen-sensei successfully untied Ron and helped him out of the office. Ron turned to glare at the masked men.

“Hongfa’s not here, this was all a setup! Let’s get out of here!”

“W-wait—”

Daisy-sensei poked her head out from the doorway and threw the pink and purple space ninja at Hebimaru and Tsukikage’s faces, knocking them down to the ground. The squad ran out of the factory and escaped. They hopped from roof to roof for about 20 minutes until they decided to rest in a distant forest near the mountains.

While Max and Daisy-sensei set up camp for the evening, Carmen-sensei went to find Ron. She saw him sitting by a water stream with a walkie talkie in his hand. She moved a strand of her long red hair away from her face and bent down to his level.

“Hi Ron, I’m here to heal you. Would you mind telling me where it hurts?”

Ron curtly waved his hand. “That’s alright, I can tend to them on my own.”

Carmen-sensei isn’t persuaded.

“Come now, I used to be a nurse back in the day, so I’ve still got some skills under my belt. I also saw blood on the rope that was tied around your back. Did they perhaps injure you there?”

Ron was about to open his mouth when Amy-sensei arrived with emergency snacks and water. She set them down on the ground in front of his camping tent.

“Here Ron, regain your energy with these. We’ll all be heading down for bed soon, so take your time. Carmen, he’s probably feeling shock at the moment, so let’s leave him alone for now.”

Carmen-sensei bowed deeply and hurriedly followed her superior.

Ron sighed, put the walkie talkie back in his pocket, and stood up to gaze at the moon. The crescent moon glimmered through the clouds and shone a beautiful glow on his face. Ron opened his water bottle and chugged down its contents. He crumpled and discarded the empty plastic bottle and crushed the granola bar in his hand.

“The time we’ve spent apart has made me long to see you even more. It feels as if a lifetime has passed since the last we’ve seen one another. But don’t worry, I won’t be much longer.”

Ron smirks.

“I promise I’m coming back for you, Burton.”

Chapter Text

[ FAST FORWARD TO THE DAY AFTER RON’S INFILTRATION; BURTON’S POV ]

We made it to the Periwinkle Pines Shelter. Each person got off the charter buses and were assigned to their designated rooms after checking in. Me and the crew along with Bruce-sensei, Genryusai-sama, Agent Warren, the headmaster, and Hongfa all gathered in a community lounge room for a private meeting. Kappei and Van hovered over Hongfa in curiousity.

“Woah! So…this is Hongfa! We’ve heard so much about you and your kidnapping!”

Van chimes in. “Do you have some sort of body double?”

Jane glares at the two boys, causing them to back off for being tactless. She steps in front of the two and gives the young girl a reassuring smile.

“I’m very sorry about these two, they just don’t know how to properly contain their emotions yet. Now could you please go over your vacation with your parents?”

Hongfa obliged.

“My parents and I went to the hotsprings for about a week. It was just me, my mom, and my dad. They wanted to take me somewhere to relax as a reward for working so hard at the academy. I had no idea about Hebimaru, Tsukikage, Director Allen, or the Shadow Ninja. We don’t own a sweet potato truck or anything. As I mentioned to Burton earlier, my father works as an accountant for the diet building.”

I was sitting in a chair and nervously squeezing my fists together in my lap. I kept my gaze on Hongfa, who was blatantly aware I was burning holes into the back of her head.

This situation went from bad, to worse, to catastrophic in the span of 2 hours. She still looked displeased with the state of affairs she was involuntary dragged into. The adults in the room were completely on edge while they tried to figure out their next steps.

Agent Warren quickly raised her hand.

“E-Excuse me, might I suggest we reach out to Max for a status report?”

Genryusai-sama shook his head. “At this point it’s too risky to alert them of the situation when they’re already a day and a half into their mission. One wrong step and we could jeopardize the entire expedition.”

At this point in the conversation, I was alert.

“But Genryusai-sama! If we don’t say anything at all, they really could get hurt or worse! We can’t just let them figure it out for themselves! We were told that Allen and the shadow ninja were Don’t any of you understand that they were lured there to get ambushed and killed?”

Berecca puts a hand on my shoulder to try and calm me down.

“Burton, they do bring up a decent point. It’d be one thing if they just started the rescue mission, but they’re nearly 2 days in. They could be hiding, or in the middle of battle, or sleeping to catch up on their rest. We don’t know if they’re currently running away or trying to patch their wounds. Any sort of notification could mean they’re one step shorter to getting in trouble.”

I looked at my childhood friend in disbelief. The headmaster also concurred with Berecca’s statement.

“While warning them is undoubtedly helpful for obvious reasons, we don’t know what type of situation they could be in now. It would be best to wait for them to arrive tomorrow morning.”

I got out of my chair, nearly knocking it over.

“That’s stupid! Why wouldn’t we say anything to warn them? Has everyone just lost their minds? How would you feel if you weren’t warned about a new piece of crucial information that could potentially save the lives of many? Is everyone really okay with this? Just letting them fall into the hands of the enemy when this clearly could’ve been avoided?”

Berecca looked taken aback by my remark.

“Nobody’s saying they don’t care, we just can’t risk their safety when they’re already this far into the mission. Hebimaru already told us over the radio that if we don’t follow his commands, the academy will be raided. And if they were willing to “kill” their fake hostage, then they’re definitely going to kill anyone else they feel like.”

I grit my teeth and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“THEN TELL ME WHY WE CAN’T SAVE THE ONES WE CARE ABOUT IF THEY COULD BE MURDERED AT ANY MOMENT??”

Emma whined and tugged on the sleeve of her white fluffy jacket.

“Burton, you’re scaring me.”

Kappei and Van were also looking quite worried at their friend. Both felt passionately as angry as I was but didn’t expect that I would blow up in everyone’s faces. Lucy comforted Emma but didn’t show fear unlike the other kids. Ezet stayed silent the entire time, he looked like he was in the middle of thinking. Jane kept looking down at her feet while Hongfa looked like she was on the verge of tears. Berecca’s eyes were welling up with angry tears.

Everyone in the room was as quiet as a mouse.

Ezet raised his hand abruptly.

“Everyone, is it really out of our control to notify them of these sudden changes? We might need them to make their way to our location to come up with a backup plan. Is there not a way for us to track where the enemy is or where our rescue team is?”

I took a moment to pause my angry outburst before looking down at the floor. Jane raises her hand sheepishly.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put a tracker on Ron or anyone on the team in time. However, I do believe I have something up my sleeve that could be of assistance to us. I just need more time.”

Bruce-sensei walked in front of the scared kids to shield them from any more of my shouts.

“Um, h-how about we take five for now? And by five, I mean five hours because clearly everyone is scared and doesn’t know what to do. We won’t be able to work as a team if we continue to argue like this.”

Wow. I didn’t expect Bruce-sensei to be the voice of reason here. I could’ve sworn he was about to pull out another one of his horrendous jokes at a time like this.

Agent Warren interjects.

“Yes, I do believe that is the best course of action for now. Surely we’ll be able to bring our heads together later after we’ve cooled down and are well rested?”

I didn’t let it show but that last part of her sentence struck a nerve with me. I couldn’t just rest knowing my friend was in grave danger. I was this close to taking matters into my own hands.

“That sounds like a lovely idea.”

Wait, that voice…

I gasped and whipped my head around to the front entrance of the community room. Standing in front of us tall and proud was Amy, Daisy, and Carmen-sensei, Max, and…

“RON!!!”

I ran full speed ahead to the door and nearly jumped into his arms for a tight hug. He caught me by the waist with both hands and stood as still as a rock. I pulled my face away from being buried into his shoulder and looked into his eyes.

“Ron! You’re okay! I was so worried about you and everyone! I thought you all weren’t supposed to be back for another day?”

Ron just looks at me with his pyrite eyes. He had a blank expression on his face but gave me a small hug in return.

“Something came up in our plans to sneak into the factory and save the hostage. So we had to retreat.”

He tilts his head over to the side and looks in the direction of Hongfa, who cowers and hides behind Jane again. “And I can see she’s been found safe and sound.”

Max walks past us and bows.

“We deeply apologize for the abrupt visit; we learned about the setup when Ron explained to us about his confrontation with Tsukikage and Hebimaru. There is no telling when Master Shadow and Director Allen could attack the academy. Has everyone been evacuated?”

Genryusai-sama nods.

“Yes, everyone enrolled in the academy is here. Was anybody injured?”

“Just Ron.” Max says. “He sustained a stab wound deep into one of his shoulder blades.”

I gasped and let go of my friend. “R-Ron, I'm so sorry. I didn't know, are you okay?”

The headmaster interrupts Ron from getting a chance to speak.

“It is good to see you are all back relatively unharmed. We were just discussing our next course of action for battle. Students, if you don’t mind, we will include you all in our secondary meeting five hours from now. You are dismissed.”

I huffed in annoyance and took Ron by the hand to lead him out of the conference room. Berecca, Jane, and the rest of the kids followed suit.

…………………………………………………………………….

Later that evening, I enjoyed chowing down on my takoyaki dinner. Everyone was gobbling up their meals as usual apart from Ron.

“Ron, aren’t you going to eat your omurice? The cafeteria lady said she made it special for you for making a safe return.”

The silent boy shakes his head.

“Not tonight, I can’t say I’m feeling terribly hungry right now. I think I’ll just grab a burger and eat it in my room.”

He prepares to get up from his seat. My breath hitches in a fit of anxiety and I found myself lightly tugging at the ends of his jacket.

“H-hey if you don’t feel like eating something heavy, that’s okay. Would you perhaps want to go over our next plan of action with me? I’ve been working on something really cool that I think will help us fight off our enemy.”

A sudden realization hit me.

“Say…where’s the crystal you've been holding onto? They didn't get it back did they?”

He pauses, but once again shakes his head.

“No, I gave it to one of the instructors for safekeeping. But I’ll meet up with you later, thank you.”

He puts his hands together. “Gochisousama deshita.” And pushes his plate of jumbo omurice towards Keith sitting across from me and left the dining table. The posh boy beamed and gratefully ate the leftovers before ordering five more plates of the same thing.

On his way out, Billy and Heart was entering the dining area. Heart wasn't paying attention and accidentally elbowed Ron hard into his back. He immediately apologized and even groveled on the ground, much to Billy’s embarrassment. Ron simply waved it off and exited the cafeteria. He didn't even flinch on impact.

It wasn’t weird to see Ron not wanting to be a part of our group activities. But I wonder if something happened to him that got under his skin during the mission.

Jane, who was watching the entire event go down, pulled out her laptop from her satchel bag she carried around with her. She eyed her surroundings skeptically to make sure nobody was watching before typing away. Berecca, nosy as she is, couldn’t help but peek over her friend’s shoulder to watch her work.

Instead of joining the others for video games, I locked myself in room of the empty lounge rooms. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to work on but I just knew I needed to keep myself busy somehow.

I dug through my backpack and began to go through my blueprints to finish writing out my homemade recipe for chemistry ninja gum. These were not meant to be chewed or ingested, however. So far, I’ve created a prototype of these miniscule “candies” back at the lab in the hideout to be mixed an aqueous solution containing carbon dioxide (such as soda pop) and launched at the enemy to ensnare them in a sticky trap.

With special permission from Genryusai-sama and the headmaster, I was given the OK to modify the academy's summertime water guns for my project. First, you place several pieces of chemistry gum into the empty slots at the top where the ammo goes. Next, you open the plug from the side of the water gun to fill in the canister with a fizzy drink. I modified that extra part myself. Then you aim and when you pull the trigger, the chem gum gets dropped into the carbonated substance. And finally, the gum mixed with the soda blasts out of the water gun and expands instantly, trapping the enemy into an undeniably messy glob.

The kicker is that since gum in general is hydrophobic, I decided to add a larger ratio of resin and rubber in the chemical gum to allow the gooey substance to explode onto the enemy when hit was a strong enough force. That way the large amount of gum that pops will be enough to expand and stop a fully grown adult in their tracks.

Ah, I nearly forgot how satisfying it is to get work done when you've got a threat every other day!

About an hour later, I heard several loud bangs on the door.

“Heeey Burtooon! It’s Lucy, Emma, Berecca, and Jane! We’re here to grab you for tonight’s meeting. Hope you’re ready for it!”

I heard a small ‘ouch’ from behind the door. Sounds like Emma might’ve coerced her friend to speak a little nicer to others. I put away all my materials, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and left the room.

“Hey girls, I’m here. We can get going now.”

The four girls were in shock as they gawked at the room behind me. Almost every part of the wall was covered in gum and wet with soda. The room smelled of bubblegum with a hint of cleaning products and fizzy pop.

“Ah, don’t mind the mess. I was in the middle of testing out my newest experiment and I think I’ve made some really good progress."

Lucy laughed. “Kyahaha! That looks like a lot of fun!”

Jane shrugs. “Well, just be sure to clean it up later.”

Berecca doesn't say anything. 

Emma beams. “Great! Now let’s get going!”

Suddenly Emma stops mid-stride and looks around. Jane, Lucy, Berecca, and I didn’t know what she was searching for.

“What’s wrong, Emma?” Berecca asked her.

“I…don’t know. I thought I heard footsteps just a moment ago.”

She peeked around the hallway a little more before giving up.

“Oh well, maybe I just heard Goro sneaking about or something. Sorry about that, we can leave now.”

As Emma and Lucy headed out, Jane stopped me.

“Hey Burton, got a minute? I want to show you something Berecca and I noticed while I was digging through my computer files at dinner."

Berecca pointed at my backpack.

"Oh and don’t forget your science experiment, we’re definitely going to need that.”

[ MEANWHILE AT WNA HEADQUARTERS ]

In a cold, dark room lit with soft green lights on the floor and ceiling, three men inhabited the area for a private meeting. At the bottom of the staircase was Hebimaru paying his respect to his masters.

“Master Shadow. Director Allen. I have come with great news. WNA Academy has fallen for our trap and we managed to retrieve the power-enhancing crystal like we planned.”

At the top of the lengthy staircase, one individual appeared to be a tall, shadowy figure dressed in a black ninja uniform, a white crow mask with eyes blacked out, and a long, flowing white scarf wrapped around their neck. Standing next to Master Shadow was a large, round man wearing a red ninja garb with a white sash and short brown hair with menacing brown eyes.

The masked figure nodded but didn’t say a word. They held out their hand expectantly and Hebimaru flickered over to his master to drop the shining gem in their palm.

“However, we were unable to capture all of the staff members in the process. And some of our space ninja have faced quite a number of casualties during their infiltration, but we still have plenty left to use in your takeover with Director Allen. Tsukikage and I were able to fetch more than one gift for the both of you besides the crystal. We do believe it will be very much worth your time.”

The mysterious shadowed figure known as Master Shadow nodded and put their hand on their chin in thought before speaking. The figure’s true voice was disguised with a modified voice changer.

“Well done, be sure to bring that ‘extra present’ you promised me.”

“Yes!”

With that, Hebimaru jumps into the air and disappears. The large man known as Director Allen, head of the WNA Intelligence Division, grins mischievously.

“At last, it is time to commence our master plan with our secret weapon.”

Master Shadow gave Allen the crystal to hold onto. Allen inspected the translucent rock with amazement before shoving it into his pocket. Hebimaru came back into the room wheeling in a tall hand truck dolly cart covered by a sizeable blue sheet.

[ BACK AT PERIWINKLE PINES SHELTER; BURTON’S POV ]

Agent Warren cleared her throat and set her manila folder on the table to begin the meeting.

“Good evening, I hope everyone of you is feeling refreshed and rejuvenated compared to earlier this afternoon. Our plan is to go over who are we going to send into battle against the—”

Wincing in guilt, I raised my hand up high and stood up from my seat.

“Agent Warren, I'm very sorry for the interruption. But could you please wait a moment? I have something important I want to mention first.”

“Oh! Yes, of course.”

That poor lady, she’s just trying to do her job. But I can’t let this opportunity pass me by. I hope she can forgive me.

I turned to look at Ron.

“Ron, please go over with everyone what happened at the gum factory.”

“We staked out the place at 7:30 PM that evening. Carmen-sensei was on lookout outside the building so she was on the roof. Amy and Daisy-sensei went inside with Max and I, but were in charge of taking out any potential lurkers or bodyguards that could get in our way. Max split up to find the boss’ quarters while I searched for Hongfa. I got caught by shadow ninja and space ninja on the way, but Carmen [from the rooftop], Amy, and Daisy-sensei joined in to help me and fought them all off. We split up once more and I entered their tech office where I encountered Hebimaru and Tsukikage along with two other pink and purple space ninja. They told me of their plan to use the power-enhancement crystal to mind control an army of space ninja to reform Eagle City into their perfect society. Along with taking out anyone affiliated with WNA.”

I nodded. I took a quick glance at my surroundings while he continued to speak. There were documents laid out in front of the instructors, water glasses placed on a coaster on the table along with one soda bottle in front of Lucy. I touched the right side of my pocket and felt a small round ball rolling around inside.

Perfect.

I looked over at Jane and she got the message.

“Ron, what ever happened to the crystal you were holding onto? It’s important we don't let it fall into the wrong hands.”

“I gave it to Carmen-sensei in the lobby for safekeeping. She told me she would be sure to deliver it to Genryusai-sama by the time the meeting started.”

Carmen-sensei jumped up in surprise and shook her hands frantically.

“N-No! I promise you, I never held onto it! I never even got to see what color it was.”

The poor red-haired woman looked desperate to defend her case. Unfortunately, she was so shy and kindhearted that she couldn't bring herself to stand up for herself.

Berecca brought herself into the conversation as well.

“But Ron, why would you give it to someone when you promised Burton that you wouldn't let anybody else hold onto it?”

Ron stared deadpan at the pinkette.

“The only thing I promised was to be sure I completed my mission and come back safely with the others.”

I clicked my tongue in disbelief.

“Ron, I didn't think you'd be one to break your promises and start lying again. I'm afraid that was the wrong answer, I'm disappointed in you.”

I placed my hands behind my back and pulled out the modified water gun I had stored in my backpack. I shoved a piece of chem gum I had in my pocket into the ammo slots, snatched the used plastic bottle of soda sitting on front of Lucy, and fired the colorful toy at my “friend”.

Ron gasped and was launched into the back end of the wall at lightning speed. Just like my prototype experiments, it was a success. Ron was struggling to escape and move his body from the massive gum wad he was trapped in.

“B-Burton, what is the meaning of this? What did you shoot me with?”

Everyone in the room with the exception of Jane, Berecca, and I were shocked and even angered at the escalation of events.

“Burton! What the heck are you doing to our friend?” Van yelled out to me.

Kappei joined in. “You know how strong-willed Ron is, he’s always been blunt like that!”

I frowned regrettably and put the water gun back into my backpack before crossing my arms.

“I'm sorry to say this isn't like the reliable, strong-willed Ron we've gotten to know. Or at the very least, the secretly sensitive one I’ve come to admire deep down. Everything about you has been alarmingly different in more ways than one that were easy to notice to those close to him. From your distaste towards omurice, to your side-stepping avoidance about the whereabouts of the crystal, to your apathetic attitude towards getting accidently elbowed at full force directly into your supposed stab wound injury in your back.”

Ron narrowed his eyes at me in disgust and anger.

“There’s something else I need to confess very quickly for context. A few days ago in the afternoon before the infiltration team left the academy, Genryusai-sama spoke to us at the secret hideout and gave us a very good idea. He suggested for one of us to put a tracker bug underneath the cross guard of one of our enemy's special katana he likes to wield around everywhere he goes.”

Jane cut in.

“From there, I modified a homemade tracker using spare parts from the academy’s computer lab and handed it off to Ron before he was assigned to leave. I was able to track the location of the enemy once Ron was able to put it on the sword in a place his opponent would never expect. Perhaps a certain somebody placed their beloved weapon down a little too close to our friend? What a very foolish mistake.”

Finally, Berecca added herself in.

“Once the tracker bug got stuck to an item and activated with a press of his fingers, Jane got a signal on her computer of its whereabouts. And during dinnertime tonight, she just so happened to notice the active tracker had made its way into the shelter. Something that was never supposed to return somehow made its way back to us. I wonder how that happened?”

At this point, “Ron” dropped any hints of emotion on his face.

There's no doubt about it.

I took a deep breath and faced my so-called “friend”.

“Now, I just have one very important question to ask you…”

I took slow steps towards him and looked at him dead in the eyes. His hollow pyrite eyes stared back into mine with boredom and a glint of annoyance.

“…What the hell did you do to Ron, Tsukikage?"

Chapter Text

[ WNA HEADQUARTERS SECRET ROOM; RON'S POV ]

“Well done, be sure to bring that ‘extra present’ you promised me.”

“Yes!”

With that, Hebimaru disappears. The large man known as Director Allen, head of the WNA Intelligence Division, grins mischievously.

“At last, it is time to commence our master plan with our secret weapon.”

Master Shadow gave Allen the crystal to hold onto. Allen inspected the translucent rock with amazement before shoving it into his pocket.

“You’re positive this is the one? I recall there being other particular ninjas at the academy whose power is far more powerful than you could imagine. I’ve had my eye on a certain twin-tailed individual for quite some time.”

Director Allen rubs his hands together. 

“Yes, this is the one. That ‘hellspawn’ you’ve been stalking isn’t going to take orders from anybody. One wrong choice of words or a change in tone and she’ll use her powers to turn our bodies inside out. This one has extraordinary power and intelligence unlike any ninja I’ve ever seen. He’s a powerhouse, loyal to a fault, and managed to evade danger thrown at him for nearly half his life. I’m not letting him go.”

Hebimaru came back into the room wheeling in a tall hand–truck dolly cart covered by a sizable blue sheet. Master Shadow walked down the stairs with his partner to inspect the ‘cargo' and whispered.

“Oh? And what of your throwaway? Do you suspect it won’t be long before his identity is revealed?”

Allen laughs and whispers not-so quietly. “Tsukikage? Ha! The Oniwabanshu are meant to be used like old toys. Once you’ve played with them for a while, eventually a new toy comes along and the old one is as good as forgotten!”

Hebimaru stops wheeling in the dolly at the foot of the stairs and bows respectively. He then steps away from the item and kneels behind it. The sheet appears to be moving around in a frantic manner. This makes the round man smile as he rips the sheet off the cart. Attached to the hand-truck dolly was a person strapped in a straight jacket, their torso and ankles were bound tight with rope, and had duct tape slapped on their mouth.

Of course, that individual was me.

“It’s very nice to see you again, Ron. How have you been?”

Allen proceeds to rip the duct tape off my mouth in one swipe. I grunted and gnashed my teeth together in a beastly snarl.

“ALLEN! You don’t know how much damage you’re going to do to the city! The entire world as we know it is going to collapse if you massacre innocent people who don’t follow your twisted standards!”

“That’s rather unfortunate you think that. And also rather hypocritical. You were the one who decided to join the Oniwabanshu to work for me, a man you idolized so fondly. I always planned to paint the world with perfect ninja bowing down to my every will. Those who plan to rebel and speak freely within our new way of living will instantly be wiped out.”

 I practically barked at Master Shadow in distress. 

“And what about you?? Don’t you see how much of a colossal psychopath he is? I used to work under him and he threw me to the wolves as soon as I failed. What makes you think partnering with him is even the least bit beneficial to you and your henchmen? What makes you think he won't betray you?”

The masked man cocks his head to the side. 

“We have only partnered together because we don't wish to put our men at war against each other. Allen will have his territory to call his own, as will I. So long as he does not interfere in the affairs of the shadow ninja, I could care less who he slaughters. I wish to protect the citizens of my society into a utopia of uniformed ninjas. Allen wishes to also have a line of perfect ninja running the world. Although I refused to step in the sea of blood he occasionally swims in.”

Allen takes out the power-enhancing crystal out of his pocket.

“And with this rare artifact, the space ninja will be under our control to swarm the city and drive out the filthy peasants of the world. Master Shadow here has mind control powers, so he’s perfectly capable of hypnotizing humans to do his bidding as he pleases.”

I stopped squirming and narrowed my eyes. “I don’t see how this has anything to do with me.”

Master Shadow quips up. “You see, Ron. Allen here has sung your praises to the heavens above about your dutiful work ethic and strong capabilities. Despite the amount of trouble you’ve given him, he and I both realized you were the final missing piece of the puzzle for us. With your undeniably unrivaled power, we can reform you into the perfect…pet to pave the path for our new world.”

 ”PET??” I spit out. “I will never serve either of you, let alone be your family pet. No amount of mind control is effective on the iron-willed.”

Allen pauses before speaking. “Unfortunately, you are right about that. We figured only the naive and soft-hearted could ever weaken their mind enough to be influenced. That’s why…”

With a snap of his fingers, a random Oniwabanshu ninja minion appears holding a chocomin.

“We’re going to force you into being our loyal servant.”

The minion put the blue space ninja down and backed away. Allen pulled the crystal back out of his pocket and held the rock in front of the chocomin’s face. Much like Gumchi, the chocomin’s body began to twitch, their eyes glinted with a scary shade of red, and its body began to get mangled and larger in size. However, instead of sharp teeth, the blue creature had a big gaping mouth like a gooey, bottomless pit.

Allen grinned. “Now my estranged minion, take over this impudent fool’s body and mind!”

I gasped and yelled out in surprise as the blue goop attempted to distort themselves and fuse into myself to make one mind-controlled monster. I closed my eyes tight and concentrated hard to keep a clear mind to fight off the fusion. I was breathing heavily through my nose and did my best to keep my body still.

“With the Calamity Crystal here, absolutely nothing can stop the Crimson Shadow Alliance from becoming the new leaders of the world! Every meaningless excuse of a ninja will be eliminated, starting with those from WNA HQ and WNA Academy!”

Calamity Crystal?

My breathing picked up as I opened one of my eyes to glower at the man I despised so much. Somehow seeing his wicked smile sent shivers up my spine more than the mutilated space monster crawling on my back.

“And we can be sure to butcher that genius scientist you had as a lab partner in the process. He idolized Edison’s philosophy, did he not? Yes…I suppose I can find a way to make his sacrifice go down in history just like the inventor. Why, I can see the headlines now: WNA Genius Scientist Found Disfigured In A Lab Experiment Gone Haywire. I’m sure the young man would want to be remembered as a researcher at the very least. He’ll breathe his last breath while earning the one title he managed to consistently achieve throughout his entire career. Becoming a massive failure.”

My eyes snapped open. 

My body was surrounded with a dark blue aura that sparked and burned like wildfire. I let out an angry roar that dispelled the darkness away from the chocomin and even exerted enough force and energy to push back Allen, Master Shadow, Hebimaru, and the chocomin.

Allen looked annoyed. “Tsk.”

I hung my head low as I felt the inner power within me dissipate. It felt draining and it took a lot of strength not to pass out immediately. The blue space ninja lay on the ground, faint.

Master Shadow tapped his finger against his crow-like plague mask. 

“My, how troubling this is. It appears your idea didn’t work. Much like I thought it wouldn’t. I suppose Ron’s feelings for this scientist are rather heavy, wouldn’t you say?”

Allen rolled his eyes. “Instead of basking in your esteemed monologue, you could try coming up with ideas yourself.”

Hebimaru brushed the dust off his uniform and bowed curtly. “Director Allen, Master Shadow, if I may. I believe I have an idea as to how the two of you can continue playing with your pet. Tsukikage and I created this hypothesis ourselves in our free time.”

This news intrigues the two leaders and befuddles myself. Mainly because I was only half-listening due to the exhaustion clinging to my entire body. Master Shadow steps forward.

“Oh? Do tell.”

[ BACK AT PERIWINKLE PINES SHELTER; BURTON'S POV ]

Each person in the room watched the event play out of “Ron” being an imposter. Genryusai-sama and the headmaster looked like they were about to have a stroke. Bruce-sensei was hiding under the table with Ezet, Gumchi, and Hongfa. Kappei and Van couldn’t stop jumping in front of one another to protect each other from harm. Lucy was about to be on the prowl to attack but was held back by Emma. Berecca and Jane were standing on guard a few feet behind me. And Agent Warren was clutching onto her folder, but stood in front of Emma and Lucy. I bore into the eyes of the repulsive masquerader who dared to wear my friend’s face.

“Ron” sighed and lifted his head up slightly to look down at me from on the wall.

“You dirt rags are annoying as hell, how could Ron ever turn his back on the Oniwabanshu for a bunch of prepubescent rugrats?”

I pointed my water gun at him. “Ron isn’t the same person used to be. He’s a changed man that saw the error of his ways when he joined the academy and formed bonds with his colleagues!”

Berecca and Jane ran up to me quickly. 

“Burton! You can’t say that out loud! We’re trying to keep a low profile, remember?”

“You’ll get us kicked out of the academy if you speak anymore!”

I put a hand over my mouth. Van, Kappei, Lucy, Emma, Ezet, Hongfa, and Bruce-sensei looked confused.

Tsukikage sneered down at me. “And yet you call yourself a genius. Ron actually decided to dedicate his life to you all? And by the way, don’t you mean he’s only a changed man after realizing he had to abide by the rules of the academy? I highly doubt a few months of going on class field trips with shared dinners is enough time to turn over a new leaf as a former as–”

Jane slapped her hand square across the imposter’s face. “We’re not going to ask you this again. Where’s Ron and what have you done with him?”

Van stepped up to the plate with Kappei tightly clutching on his friend’s arm. “Y-yeah, you better tell us where he is now! Or you’ll be in a world of hurt!

Kappei tried putting on his brave face and pointed directly at the imposter. “Ron is our friend. He may have always been the silent type, but he’s always been there to help us out in a pinch!”

Emma’s face reddened with fury. “Ron is one of the most proficient ninjas in training here. We can’t graduate without him!”

Lucy snarls impishly. “I haven’t met an opponent that has the brains and brawn to keep up with me! The only one who’s gonna take him down in a fight is me!”

Berecca stomps her foot down and puts her hands on her hips. “He’s definitely given us more trouble than we asked for, but I”m willing to put up a fight for an old friend!”

I shoved the barrel of the water gun at Tsukikage’s chest. “Tell me where he is, or I promise we’ll find a way to force the information out of you. Don’t think I’m always so forgiving just because I behave myself.”

“.................Snrk.”

Tsukikage snorts and laughs maniacally at the ceiling. For some reason, he still refused to drop the disguise. 

“So that’s it! THAT was it!”

I almost dropped my guard until I shook my head and continued to push the toy barrel into his chest harder. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“You know, I was thinking of something I told little Ronnie not too long ago.”

I grabbed the impersonator by the collar and seethed a threat through my teeth. “Don’t you. EVER. Call him that.”

The trickster grins. “Bingo.”

Everyone in the room, myself included, was frustratingly puzzled.

“Hahahaha, I had you all wrong, Ronnie boy. I feel like I’ve been using the wrong kinds of tactics to strike a nerve within you.”

I yelled out in agitation. “Enough with the monologue! What are you talking about? Why are you talking to yourself and what is it that you’ve got?”

He slowly removes one of his arms from the chemical gum and points at me. “It’s you, Burton.”

Huh? Me? What’s he getting at?

“I thought this whole time Jane was the one we could use to make that brick wall mad, simply because they were work partners. I believed the mention of his little lady friend would put him on edge, make him throw a temper tantrum we loved to see so much. But no, I had it all wrong.”

Tsukikage, still wearing the disguise, leaned forward. “It’s not her that makes him bring out his fighting spirit. It’s you. Ever since I injured your arm at the marsh waterfall springs, he came at me with everything he had. Sure, Ron has always shown to have a spectacularly devious beast mode when motivated enough, but I believe it’s you who truly captures his stone cold heart.”

I could feel my face heating up with flattery and confusion. It felt nauseating knowing a snake would dare wear my friend’s face and tell me I’m the reason his heart flutters. It’s a weird and uncomfortable feeling of grooming mixed with his sweet talk. It didn’t make it any better that he was still using Ron’s “voice” to speak to me.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how he gazed upon you during your mission. There was a whole scenery before you two. A lavish opening skylight to see the stars above, a gushing waterfall that flowed from the cliff above your heads and beneath your feet, moonlight shining down on those purple water hyacinth flowers. And yet, he chose to keep his eyes on you. I would know, of course. After all, I walked right in to ask for the crystal back.”

He sticks his hand into his pocket and pulls out a walkie talkie. “This may or may not come off as a shock, but I’m afraid I have news to report. Of course, you all will be able to take part in attending this meeting if you listen closely. Much like everything else that happened, the truth was always under your nose.”

Wait, he said the truth was under our noses?

I didn’t know how I came to this conclusion, but I had to try this. I stood on my tip toes and poked his nose. He simply stared at me and twitched his nose like a rabbit. No reaction. And it didn't look like it hurt. 

“Gosh DARN IT! I should’ve realized the bruise on your nose is gone!”

This makes everyone even more confused and Tsukikage just rolls his eyes and speaks into the radio device. “Hebimaru, it’s me. Show our new friends the latest broadcast. Over.”

We looked around before we heard an electronic screech emitting from the handheld radio. “Roger, uploading a livestream now.”

“Well children, I hope your TV works over there.”

I turned over to Jane. “Jane, can you do something? We need your help!”

She nods. “On it, leave it to me!” Jane walks over to Tsukikage on the wall and carefully removes the tracker bug placed on the cross-guard of his katana. She plugs the tracker piece into an empty USB slot on the side of her computer and begins typing away. We anxiously waited for her to finish.

“Got it! I’m in!” With a press of a button, Jane was able to connect to WNA HQ’s connection using the modified tracking piece. The TV screen lit up in the back of the room.

Berecca puts a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “And to think I used to doubt you.”

I walked up to the front of the TV and everyone else behind me waited with still breaths. I was clutching the water gun with my sweaty hands and squeezed it tight. The TV screen finally stopped being fuzzy and began to clear up. We heard voices in the distance and struggled to see anything through the static, until we heard an obnoxious, loud laugh and saw 4 figures. A big round fat man, Allen. A tall slender man, that must be Master Shadow. Another slim and tall figure with short red hair, Hebimaru. And the final individual looked like they were tied to some sort of cargo cart surrounded by a heavy cloud of blue smoke.

“RON!!!”

I dropped the weapon I was holding and placed my hands on the screen. He was breathing heavily and they had him strapped to a large chair? No wait, that’s a dolly! He looked extremely tired, they must’ve tried to torture him past his breaking point. He had scratches on his clothes, light bruises on his face, and dried blood from under his nostrils. Ron slowly looked up from peering at the ground, his golden heavy-lidded eyes glinted with a glimmer of hope.

“B...Burton?” 

I gasped and felt my sapphire eyes welling up with relief, but the feeling was shortly replaced with fear. On one hand, I was happy to see and hear the real Ron I’ve missed. But on the other hand, he was beaten up, bruised, and out of breath.

“Ron, where are you? Are you still at the abandoned gum factory? We’re on our way to help you! We’ll do whatever it takes to get you back!”

Director Allen stepped into the TV frame. He put his large hand on top of Ron’s head. “Not to worry, that won’t be necessary. We’ll save you the trouble of making your way over here.”

I instantly tensed up and clawed my fingernails against the screen. “ALLEN! You bring him back! I swear if you do anything else to him I’ll–”

Allen raises his hand to cut me off. “Unfortunately, we have to complete a lot of work on our end, so we cannot talk for very long. Ron has decided to formally submit his termination letter for WNA Academy and begin working for the Crimson Shadow Alliance (CSA) effective today.”

I blinked in confusion. “Crimson Shadow Alliance? Is that supposed to be the name of your team?”

Master Shadow nods. “As I’ve mentioned to Ron, I have no interest in spilling blood as much as my colleague here. However, I plan to guide the world to be a better place through discipline and civilized order. As long as Allen and his subordinates don’t interfere with my plans to run the world my way, I let them do whatever they want. As long as they don’t get any blood on my shoes.”

Allen huffs. “You make it seem like I’m some sort of bloodthirsty animal. We’re both equally dividing Eagle City into our own territories of–”

“SHUT UP!” I yelled out which caught the attention of the CSA, Ron, and everyone else in the room. “What the heck does this have to do with kidnapping Ron? I could care less about your arch-villain plans to take over the world. Why do you need him?”

Berecca could see the emotional turmoil on my face. She could see my hands trembling, my face fuming, and my teeth gnashing together.

Master Shadow nods towards Hebimaru and he temporarily leaves. “We need Ron to be a part of our elite force. In fact, we need him to essentially be the wrecking ball of our organization after us. Hebimaru and Tsukikage have come to realize a brilliant discovery which led to today’s experiment. Believe it or not, they used to be forensic chemistry majors in college, you see. Men, if you will?”

Hebimaru comes back wheeling in with another cart consisting of a plastic container holding a dry cloth, white rubber gloves, and a syringe needle. “Of course sir. As you can see, the power-enhancing crystal, we recently decided to call it the Calamity Crystal, can change a space ninja’s form from a moderately docile creature to a barbaric and monstrous creature in a matter of seconds. We plan to use this crystal to take over the minds of the space ninjas for our unrelenting army of monsters. Tsukikage, if you’d like to take it from up there? Shishishi.”

The Calamity Crystal, so that’s what that shiny pink rock is.

Tsukikage sighs and we bring our attention to him. “We ran some tests and learned that only space ninjas are capable of being mind controlled by the crystal due to their enriched blood. We’ve tried to use humans as a test subject alone, but to no avail. Your yellow blob friend over there would make a perfect example.”

Ezet and Bruce-sensei proceeded to cover Gumchi’s eyes from any potential hypnosis that could happen at any time.

Hebimaru picks up one of his swords. “Yes, only space ninja blood will work from the Calamity Crystal’s hypnotism. We considered using Master Shadow’s mind control powers, but it only works on humans. However, we’ve got another idea up our sleeves.”

The red-haired man grins devilishly and slices the chocomin’s body clean in half. Normally, defeating a space ninja in one go makes it disappear. But this attack was different. As soon as he sliced through the creature, purple liquid gushed out of it and all splattered all over the ground. The chocomin was completely lifeless. I felt bad for the poor creature being slaughtered like a pig in front of our eyes. Each of us watched in horror as we witnessed the murder of an extraterrestrial species. Carmen-sensei held her hand to her mouth and fell down to her knees. I walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder before glaring daggers at the TV.

“How…how could you?? We wanted to stop the space ninja but we never wanted this! All you needed to do was whack them a few times!”

Hebimaru walks in the puddle of alien blood and takes the dry cloth from off the cart.

“Regular weapons don’t have that same neutralizing effect that makes them disappear. Only ninja gum weapons do that, kid. It appears weapons that don’t use ninja gum are actually able to hurt the specimen.” 

He bends down and wipes up the blood with the wooly fabric until it’s soaked through. 

“With one of our many theories and experiments ending up in a bust, we decided to try another test by using the crystal on Ron when the hypnotized space ninja attempted to take over his body. Unfortunately, that idea was a bust too.”

He glances over at Ron, grinning down at him with a nasty smile.

Master Shadow puts on the rubber gloves with a sharp snap and removes the opening of the syringe needle.

“Hebimaru and Tsukikage have presented us with a new splendid theory. If regular humans are incapable of being mind-controlled by the Calamity Crystal and if they’re too iron-willed to be mind-controlled by me, then what would happen if a human had space ninja blood in their system?”

I felt my heart sink. 

No no no, he’s not gonna……

Hebimaru squeezed and carefully wrung the purple blood out of the cloth and into the bottle. It looked like only a few tablespoons was all it took to satisfy their quota. From what we could see from their mask, they eyed it with lavish precision and slowly made their way towards Ron. Suddenly, my breath got caught in my throat and I ran to the TV screen again.

“No…no no no no nononono STOP! You don’t want to do this! You can’t do this!”

At this point I was practically clawing my fingernails onto the side of the TV and banging my fists on the screen. Everyone else behind me got up from their spots and huddled like sheep. Most of the people in the room immediately knew what horrors were about to transpire. Some of the others, Van, Kappei, Lucy, and Emma needed some extra time to grasp the reality of the situation. Berecca marched toward Tsukikage stuck on the wall and yanked him by the collar.

“Hey! Get them to stop! You don’t actually think fusing blood is what’s going to get your plan to succeed?? Don’t you know what happens when you mix blood types that don’t match? They’re going to kill him!”

Allen on the other side simply guffaws. “Not with space ninja blood. We believe we have another way to get our little pet to listen to us.”

I nearly went ballistic as I grabbed the nearest lamp and prepared to smash it into the impersonator. Emma and Kappei held me back with concern and fright. Van, Lucy, and Ezet ran in to try holding me back as well. I was kicking and nearly throwing punches at my friends in a desperate attempt to beat up the heartless monster reveling in delight.

Ron’s eyes widened with terror and he moved his head away from the incoming needle aiming for his neck. I could see the buildup of terror he seldom had on his face, something I never got a chance to witness before until now. I started to cry and I reached out to him, wailing my dear friend’s name over and over and over again.

The needle made contact with Ron’s neck and he yelled out in pain. As the purple blood was injected, another chocomin was brought into the room by Hebimaru. Master Shadow nodded towards Allen and he used the Calamity Crystal to transform the space ninja into the disgusting beast from before. It was hideous, even worse than its current form and nearly looked downright murderous.

Just as Ron was about to pass out, the mangled monster crawled over the hand-truck dolly carrying Ron and hovered over him. Ron bites his lip and opens one of his eyes to look directly into the camera.

“L-Listen everyone, th-they’re planning to attack in less than a week. Most likely sooner. They’re going to start by eradicating anyone who attends WNA Academy and whoever works at WNA HQ. You have t-to stop them!”

Allen grinned and raised the Calamity Crystal up high in his hands. It shines with a blinding burst of light. “Oh Calamity Crystal, hear my plea!”

Ron’s arms start to twitch and convulse as a bright white light starts to spread through his veins and onto his skin. 

“Th-there’s not much time! Van, Kappei, Lucy, Emma, Ezet! There’s some really scary things that are going to happen. S-some things you might feel like you want to run away from. But y-you can’t, you must promise me….ughh…to protect the academy, each other, and never back down from anyone or anything that wishes to take your happiness away!”

The students crowded amongst each other. Van and Kappei were fighting angry tears from escaping their eyes. Emma was sniffling while nervously tugging on the ends of her jacket. Lucy stared at the livestream with silent fury. Ezet, still covering Gumchi’s eyes, frowned sadly and tore his eyes away. Hongfa had the most guilt-ridden expression on her face, she looked like she was going to cry at any second.

"Hongfa!"

She gasps in surprise. "Y-yes?"

"Know that this isn't your fault, the enemy used you as a scapegoat to trick us all! Regardless of what's transpired, you can't let anyone but you decide how your story ends. Remember that!"

Hongfa lets out a choked sob and nods. 

A giant whirlwind of energy fills the room almost like a sandstorm was let into the building. Allen continues his mystical chant. 

“This impudent peasant dares to defy me and my wonderful comrade!”

The chocomin opens its giant wobbly mouth and roars loudly at the ceiling. The rope tying Ron back began to split from dolly and tore through his straight jacket. A light purple liquid began to ooze out of Ron’s mouth as he grit his teeth and clung onto his arms tightly.

“S-S-Sensei, Genryusai-sama, Headmaster, Max, Agent Warren! Get everyone to safety and don’t let any of the students or staff get hurt! AACK!! Gather a strong army of ninjas to fight the space ninja and take down the Crimson Shadow Alliance!”

Genryusai-sama, Max, and the Headmaster bore solemn expressions on their faces. Amy-sensei and Daisy-sensei gave Carmen-sensei a hug while kneeling on the ground. Bruce-sensei took off his trademark sunglasses and wiped a tear from his eye. Agent Warren used her handkerchief to wipe her tears away. 

“Let the skies part and split the sea!”

The more the crystal shined, the louder the distorted chocomin became. Its earth-shaking roar began to shake the room from its core and debris from the ceiling began to fall down. Master Shadow and Hebimaru stood back in amazement.

The white lightning streak of veins coursing through Ron’s body started to crawl up to his face as he let out a scream in agony.

“Berecca! I know you won’t let anybody get to you without a fight, I have trust in you that you’ll be able to kick the ass of anyone who gets in your way! Burton and I know more than anyone that you’ve always been one of the most headstrong people we know! Do whatever you can to avenge your father!”

Berecca was upset and her hands were trembling at her side as she gripped the hem of her bright yellow jacket.

“J-Jane! Your hacking skills are unlike anyone I've ever seen before! But don’t limit your abilities to only hacking, use your charm and quick thinking to lead your enemies into a trap like you normally do! Heh, I know you’ll be able to find your perfect romance someday. And both of you, please look after Burton for me!”

Jane covered her mouth in anguish and sobbed into her hands.

Hebimaru and Master Shadow prepare to make their exit from the scene to escape the falling rubble. Allen continued to bask in his glory by relishing every ounce of torture he put Ron through. Ron’s breathing was erratic and heavy, his body was going into spasms that made him clutch his heart for dear life. I could see his perfect teeth gnash and open up before sharpening into fangs.

“Fix this miserable wretch into an obedient, loyal pet….”

Despite that, Ron looked into the camera with eyes softer than the fluffiest cloud.

“B-Burton…you’re an incredible scientist. One of the m-most brilliant people I’ve ever met…if anyone can bring a stop to CSA’s plans, it’s you. And despite everything we’ve been through… just know that I’ve -cough- always enjoyed working on every experiment that you, Berecca, and I worked on at the WNA lab; even the bad ones that failed miserably. I had trouble admitting it, but somehow I’ve grown very fond of you over the years. Before I knew it, I found myself always wanting to be around you. And not just as a lab partner. I believe you’ll be able to outsmart the enemy and bring an end to Crimson Shadow’s tyranny. E-Even if it’s accomplished without me…”

An endless waterfall of tears flooded my eyes and fell down my face. My nose was runny and my face burned with an intense rush of panic and sorrow. I managed to free one of my arms and I helplessly reached my hand out to the former assassin, the lone wolf who always kept to himself, my mission partner who saved my life multiple times, the reformed confidant who opened up to change for the better, and the secretly sensitive sweetheart who undeniably wrapped my heart in a ribbon of pure gold.

“Ron…please..please don’t go. We can’t -hic- do this without you. We need you…I-I need you. You promised me we would fight together by each other’s sides until we graduated! You shared your ambitions with me and promised that we would become lab partners again! I-I wanted to spend more time with you and make a lot of new happy memories. PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME AGAIN!!”

A single tear ran down one of Ron’s eyes. “Burton…”

Director Allen laughed like a mad man and clenched his fist around the shining gem, nearly crushing it in the process.

“Give me your energy and yield your powers to ME!!!”

Ron fully opened both of his eyes, they were glowing a radiant hue of pink. For the very first time, he gave me the biggest, most tender smile I’ve ever seen. It was gorgeous. Seeing him smile so wide on his delicately heartbroken face simultaneously warmed and destroyed my entire being.

“Remember Burton…I’m counting on you.”

As the mutilated chocomin dove down to engulf Ron, it let out a gargled yell. The Calamity Crystal glowed a meticulously pink shine and nearly blinded us all. The only thing we could hear was the sound of Ron’s screams, Allen’s laughter, and the sound of falling rubble. Master Shadow faced the camera in his typical posh posture.

“We will be taking a short intermission to train Ron for now. He is currently on edge and doesn’t seem like he will be easy to tame. We will continue to keep in touch for the time being and we will being certain to see you in–”

SMASH!

Before anyone had realized it, I had already popped a piece of ninja gum into my mouth and was using the classic IPPON katana to whack the television into pieces. This brought everyone else back to Earth and some of them tried to stop me. Bruce-sensei held up his hand to everyone and shook his head. As goofy as he is, somehow sensei knew when it was time to back down on someone on an emotional rampage.

I finished smashing the TV and was breathing like a mad man. Nobody dared to approach me or speak to me. When I turned around, my enraged azure eyes darkened with malice.

“Tsukikage, you better tell us how much longer we’ve got until the Crimson Shadow Alliance attacks.”

But when we looked towards the end of the room, Tsukikage was gone. The only thing that was left was the sticky gum residue left on the wall from where he was stuck. I yelled out in frustration and threw my baton at the wall in the spot where he used to be. He must’ve found his chance to escape when I made a scene in the middle of the livestream. 

I hate this. I hate CSA, I hate space ninjas, Hebimaru, and Tsukikage. I couldn’t stand how powerless I was to save Ron, but most importantly, the one individual I hated the most was….

“I HATE ALL OF YOU!!! WHY DIDN’T ANY OF YOU LISTEN TO ME??”

Everyone jumped back at my giant shout. 

“NONE of this would’ve happened if you all just listened to me! Ron was too much of a target for this entire expedition! He and I told you that we were their main catches due to us being linked to the ninja gum experiment and finding the crystal to begin with. Literally anybody else but Ron and I could go on this mission and yet everyone agreed it was a “gReAT IdEA” for him to go!”

Agent Warren frowned. “Burton. Ron volunteered himself to go on the mission himself and the majority vote allowed him to go. You know we would never have the intention to put a target on his back.” 

Genryusai-sama walked in front of the young woman to defend her. “Ron was 100% aware of the life-threatening situation he would get himself in. It takes an adamant ninja such as him to have a clear mind and steady hand when standing in the face of danger. That is why we allowed him to go with the other ninja that also possess the same attributes. You cannot jump into the lion’s pit and complain that you got attacked.”

“B-but…but Ron…Ron is…”

“Alive.” The headmaster picked up. “Alive. But in critical condition. From the looks of it, the Calamity Crystal along with the space ninja blood flowing through his veins is capable of controlling the most determined ninjas. We’re not even sure if this will be the same Ron we’ve witnessed before. The imposter may have been different in terms of personality and physical body injuries. However, due to his transformation, I don’t think he is going to be the same anymore.”

I gasped and hiccuped. “M-meaning?” 

Max grips his weeping son’s hand tight and pulls him close for a hug.

“Meaning, he’s no longer Ron. He’s become a brainwashed puppet that will no longer reason with anyone. It would’ve been one thing if it was just Master’s Shadow’s hypnosis, but they were actually insane enough to inject the vile fluid into his system. That alone should’ve killed him.”

Carmen-sensei wiped a tear from her face and tearfully spoke. 

“I-I’m very sorry Burton, but Ron is gone now. We’re going to have to take him down.”

I couldn’t take this anymore. I couldn’t hear any more of what was being told to me. I began to hyperventilate in front of my classmates, instructors, and superiors. I high-tailed it out of there and angrily slid the conference room door open with a loud clack. On my way out, I saw several students standing outside the door. Most likely curious as to what was going on and why there was so much noise.

I didn’t care. To me, they just looked like kids with their faces blurred out. I ran past them and ignored the voices calling out to me.

I sprinted to the rooftop of the belltower and nearly tripped over my own feet as I burst through the door. I wanted to erase everything in my mind that happened today. I was angrily scratching my fingers through my already messy hair, I tried my hardest not to let any more tears fall (and was failing miserably), and to make things worse, my headache never went away. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s turned into a migraine at this point if it hasn’t already.

The things I said back there about hating them, it wasn’t how I really felt. I hated myself for letting Ron go on the mission and not stepping in. But there’s no way they would've known that. They’re not clairvoyants. Now they all must think I’m a terrible person.

I looked at the night sky up above. I remembered how Ron always sat at the academy’s roof late at night to enjoy the air and scenery. And yet, without his oddly calming presence, I began to feel a distaste for this notion of solitude. With him in trouble, things were looking grim and impossible to fix.

I sniffled and shoved my hands into my jacket pockets without thinking. I paused when I felt something hard and bulky fall out and onto the ground. I bent down to pick it up and immediately frowned.

It’s the walkie talkie Tsukikage gave me disguised as Hongfa.

I clenched my teeth and squeezed the device. 

This stupid thing is the reason why we fell for their trap. If it wasn’t for Hebimaru reaching out to us, none of us would be in this mess. The academy wouldn’t be in danger, we wouldn’t have had to evacuate, and Ron wouldn’t be used as a puppet for Allen and Master Shadow!

I winded my arm back and prepared to throw the damn thing off the roof and out of my life once and for all.

“This dumb hunk of junk is the source of all our suffering!!!”

“STOP!”

I paused mid-throw. I whipped my head back to see Jane and Berecca standing at the door. Both girls were out of breath, it was obvious they were rushing to find me. Jane stepped forward.

“Burton, please stop! You can’t get rid of that! We need that to hear CSA’s demands!”

I didn’t say anything and just looked at them out of the corner of my eye.

Berecca walked a few steps ahead of Jane. She put her hand on her heart and (dare I say) pleaded to me.

“She’s not lying, you need to drop the radio now! I’m sure there’s another way we can fix this!”

I finally turned my body around completely to face them.

“Fix what exactly? You saw the livestream, it’s too late! Like I’ve been saying for days, it was a bad idea to let him go on that mission. But nobody believed me when I expressed my concern multiple times! And now we’re supposed to fight him without the possibility of bringing him back to us? I’m just supposed to accept that??”

Jane and Berecca didn't say anything.

"I've looked out for Ron's wellbeing this entire time and I'm sick of hearing others tell me they know better when they barely even know him! I'm seriously going to lose it if someone mentions being a "headstrong ninja" one more time! And there's literally no point in keeping this damn thing anymore since they've already got what they wanted!"

Berecca took many steps closer, this time raising her voice.

"We can't get rid of the one thing tying us together for communication! If you destroy it, we'll never know when they're going to attack. For all we know, failing to meet their demands will only end in bloodshed! We need that device! Stop being an idiot and give it to us!"

"NO! I'm tired of Allen and Master Shadow holding the safety of our loved ones over our heads! I'm going to get rid of it once and for–"

"GRAAAAH!"

Berecca tackles me to the ground and reaches for the walkie talkie. I fell on my back and yanked on her long magenta ponytail. She yelps and bonks me on the head. 

"St-stop it you two! Enough fighting!"

Both of us turned to simultaneously yell and glare at Jane. "STAY OUT OF THIS!"

I shoved my palm against Berecca's face while she used her hand to stretch the corner of my mouth. The both of us were angrily scrambling and fighting like we used to when we were young. I had dirt smudged on my face and I succeeded in getting dirt in Berecca's pompadour.

With the adrenaline still pumping through me, I managed to kick her off me and reach for the radio, but it was unfortunately swiped by Jane.

"H-hey! Give that back!"

Jane grabs us both by the hair and gives us a nasty bonk on the top of our heads.

"GET IT TOGETHER!!!"

We looked at her with shock and discontent while rubbing our aching noggins. 

"DON'T ANY OF YOU EVER THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK?? YOU TWO ARE ACTING LIKE A BUNCH OF LITTLE KIDS!! DON'T WASTE RON'S WISH BY THROWING AWAY THE ONLY REMAINING KEY TO GETTING AN UPPER HAND ON THE ENEMY!!!"

Jane also had angry tears running down her reddened cheeks as she gripped the two-way radio tightly in her hand. She dropped to the ground and put her face in her hands.

Berecca pushed my arm and crawled over to her silently weeping friend. 

"Now look what you did, you jackass! You've stressed her out!"

I could feel my chest swelling up with rage. 

"You're stressed out? YOU'RE STRESSED OUT?? How the heck do you think I feel? I've been worried sick about Ron for days and expressed my concerns towards everyone and was dismissed every time! I wanted nothing but to keep him and the others safe if they just listened to me but everyone was so hellbent on waiting patiently just to see what happens!"

Berecca raised her finger to interject. "But--"

I cut her off immediately.

"But you know what ended up happening when we 'waited patiently' for results? Ron got captured, nobody even knew about it until it was too late, and now he's being brainwashed by the enemy and possessed by a hypnotized mutilated space ninja! I knew the whole time it was a bad idea for him to go and so did he but he chose to go anyway! And when the opportunity arose for them to turn around and head back, nobody wanted to do anything!!!"

Jane lifted her face from her hands and sniffled. Both girls were speechless as they listened to me rant and pour my angry, broken heart out. The tears continued to flow down my reddened cheeks once again.

The feelings I had bottled up inside me, I couldn't keep them down anymore. 

"I-I wanted him to come back safe so we could spend more time together and truly reconcile our broken bond! During the 3 years of getting to know the genius solitary, I developed these feelings for him. Like something felt off when he wasn't around, I found myself always wondering where he was. I got curious when he talked about himself and his past. He's smart, he's a secret softie, and believe it or not, he's a human being that has fears just like everyone else! You saw it for yourselves on live TV!"

I let out a pathetic choked sob and clutched my shirt. 

"And these last few days I spent with him, he opened up to me and apologized to me for his wrongdoings. We had nice talks together again and the same heartwarming feeling from before returned. I wanted that feeling again, I wanted him again, and I think he felt the same too."

I hiccuped and fell to my knees.

"And I...I...I think I'm in love with him."

Berecca and Jane found themselves staring at me in regret before their eyes couldn't hold back the waterworks anymore. They crawled over to me and embraced me gingerly. We all just sat there on the ground and cried our eyes out for what felt like an eternity.

Chapter Text

We lost track of how long we’ve been crying for, but eventually each of us stood up from the ground and wiped our faces with our arms. I combed my hair back with my fingers and sighed.

“I really need to apologize to the others. I didn’t mean what I said back there about hating everyone, I was just mad at myself for failing to protect Ron. I guess my feelings for him skyrocketed into being overbearing and I acted like a jerk.”

“Yeah, you really did act like one.”

We turned around to see Emma, Van, Kappei, and Lucy at the door. Emma, the voice behind the remark, smiled sadly at us.

“But we forgive you, Burton.”

Kappei takes his pink and white cap off his head and holds it close to his chest. “I’m pretty sure what you said was worthy of Lucy beating the crap out of you, but I think I understand your frustration.”

Van rubs the back of his head. “I let my dad know how mad I was at you and even said some harsh things behind your back. But he explained to me in detail that you were going through something really bad, so I came here to help.”

Lucy huffs and curtly crosses her arms. “I don’t really get it all, but just know that if you ever speak to me like that again, I’m gonna have to mess you up ‘till you snap out of it. Got it?”

I sniffled and marveled at my newfound friends, grateful for their support. “Everyone, th-thank you. And again, I’m really sorry for what I said in the conference room. I swear I didn’t mean it.”

Emma walked over to me and bent down to give me a hug. “Burton, it’s okay. We realized you acted out of anger because Ron got hurt. We’ll get him back.”

Jane adjusted her sunglasses above her head and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure of it. Ron wouldn’t let someone like Allen break him. He’s always been strong like that.”

Berecca jogs in place. “Of course! Once he shakes off the hypnosis, he’ll be back to his grumpy old self once again.”

Kappei gives a wide toothy grin. “I’m sure Ron’s already thinking of many ways to wart their plans.”

Van pokes his friend’s cheek. “Ugh, it’s ‘ thwart’ not ‘ wart’ , you dingus.”

Kappei slaps his finger away. “Who are you calling a dingus, dingus!”

I laughed half-heartedly and wiped my nose with my long blue jacket sleeve. “Y-yeah, you’re right. But they’re not going to let any of us go on this mission, not after my outburst. They’ll be furious and I’m positive they’re going to relocate all the students since they probably know where the shelter is. At this point we’ll never get to help them fight.”

“Of course you won’t, not without our help.”

All seven of us turned back to the rooftop door to listen to the sound of the voice. It was Dan, but he wasn’t alone. Next to him were the rest of the Bottle Collectors, along with Ezet (carrying Gumchi), Billy, Cluv, Damian, Sheila, and Heart.

Tyler: “We heard everything and we’d like to join along to help you save your friend.”

May: “Nobody’s gonna take out my rival on my watch. Let me at ‘em!”

Keith: “It would be such a waste to lose such a graceful fighter.”

Naomi: “Please accept our assistance, I’ll do everything I can to help.”

Ezet: “I’d like to assist you in your search for Pon—eh, I mean Ron.”

Gumchi: “Gamutchi! Helpie! Ronnichi!”

Billy: “I’ve heard so much about him, heck yeah I’ll jump in!”

Cluv: “I-I’m a little worried, but I promise I’ll do my best!”

Sheila: “I’d sure like to battle him someday, you can count me in!”

Damian: “Well, if everyone else is going, I guess I can lend a hand too.”

Heart: “Anything to save the big man Ron-chan himself!”

I gasped in astonishment and cupped my hands to my mouth. Everyone in our neighboring classes wants to help us out! I wonder if they were the ones standing outside the conference room earlier? Even so, each person here is a student we’ve battled a few times in the last couple of months. While not all of us were necessarily close buddies, we got along and some of us were even partners in tag-team battles.

Just then, a soft feminine voice made themselves present.

“Is there room for one more? I’d like to join in on the search too.”

I stood up quickly. “Hongfa!”

The poor girl flinches and clenches her fists tightly. After taking a deep breath, she begins to speak out loud with a shaky voice. 

“P-please! Let me help you all too! I k-know I’m probably the last person you want to see or to help you on your top secret mission. But I have to make it up to you all, the academy, and Ron for causing a scare! I want to bring him back safely as well, so please let me join along!”

The frightened girl shakes in her boots but continues to stand her ground. I slowly walked up to her and grabbed her hands with a warm smile.

“Of course you can help us. And remember like Ron said, none of this is your fault. I know I acted kinda harsh towards you for a short while because I didn’t know what was going on, but that was my fault. I’m very sorry Hongfa, me and everyone else would be glad for you to join us on our team.”

The young girl begins to shed tears of gratitude. “Thank you so much, you won’t regret this.”

I let go of Hongfa’s hands and stood to face everyone. 

“Everyone, thank you so much for your support. If you heard everything that was going on in the meeting room, then you know that Ron has been kidnapped and put through unspeakable torture by the Crimson Shadow Alliance, or the CSA for short, lead by Director Allen and Master Shadow. Our rough draft plan is to essentially get the upper hand on the enemy by finding out any ways for us to destroy the Calamity Crystal that’s controlling the space ninjas. If we can free the mass army of space ninjas, then perhaps we might be able to lessen their strength. The goal is to defeat Allen and Master Shadow and do as little damage to Ron as possible. I have this walkie talkie on me to communicate with the enemy and ask them questions. Since it’s late, for now we’ll regroup after breakfast in a different meeting room closest to the bedrooms to discuss our grand plan. Is everyone okay with meeting at 11 AM?”

Each person nods; this greatly pleases me.

“Alright, thank you again everyone. Let’s get some shut-eye to regain our strength and thinking power. We’re definitely going to need it."

I put a finger up to my lips. 

"Remember to keep this a secret from the other classmates and teachers. Act natural and go about your normal routine tomorrow.”

Most of the other kids followed suit and laughed. It felt awesome to see everyone wanting to work together with me for this rescue mission. It’s gonna be so cool to work together with them!

That night, I found myself staring at the classroom photo I kept in my backpack. I looked at Ron sitting criss-crossed in his chair. His face remained blank and stoic no matter what you said to him. He would only openly talk to Jane, the teachers, and the cafeteria lady.

He really was a completely different person back then compared to who he is now. I’m sure if he thought about all the progress he’s made up until now, he might not even recognize himself. But I feel like asking him might rub him the wrong way. I know he’s aware he messed up and is taking responsibility, but I don’t want to make him upset.

I placed the photo under my pillow and laid on my back. I was sleeping on the top bunk bed with Damian snoring softly underneath. The other bunk bed across the room housed Van and Kappei and both of them might as well be holding a snoring contest. I softly laughed to myself and closed my eyes to get some sleep.

[ THE NEXT MORNING ]

I woke up at 9:45 AM and quickly went to the bathroom to relieve myself, brush my teeth, and get dressed. My bunk mates were still fast asleep when I went back to the room.

I hope they’ll be able to wake up in time for today’s meeting.

I ripped a piece of blank notebook paper from my notebook and scribbled some words on it. 

Can they read this? Ron and Berecca have always been able to decipher my handwriting.

I grabbed a piece of tape and stuck the note onto the door before leaving the room.

Only half the group that was present yesterday was eating in the dining hall, but each of them were scattered so I couldn’t talk to them all at once. The cafeteria lady was helping the other chefs cook and handed me my breakfast. I gave my thanks and sat down alone with my meal. I dined on some french toast dusted in powdered sugar with a fruit cup. A little too sweet for my liking, but the bitter chocolate drizzle was a nice touch to the sweetened bread. Before taking another bite, I gazed at the fresh strawberries resting on my plate.

Ron would love these. I remember always giving him the extra strawberries I didn’t want back then. Sometimes if I was lucky, I’d see a small blush on his cheeks when he popped the fruit in his mouth. Seeing him quietly beam with happiness filled my heart to the brim every time. 

After finishing my breakfast, I ran up to my room to grab my backpack full of blueprints and materials. On my way upstairs, I noticed Damian getting ready for the day while Van and Kappei watched Saturday morning cartoons on the TV in their pajamas while eating from a box of their favorite cereal.

“Hey Van and Kappei, you’re still going to make it for the meeting right? It’s in 20 minutes.”

Van grabbed a handful of dry cereal and shoved it into his mouth. “Aah? Mmhmph.”

Kappei nods, not even turning his head around to face me. His eyes were glued to the newest episode of Battle Rangers.

I know they’re always fashionably late to stuff, but I won’t take away what fun they’ll have as kids. Best to let them enjoy their youth while they still can.

I grabbed my backpack full of blueprints and notes, nodding to Damian on my way out.

I entered one of the empty rooms on the right wing and laid out my notes on the table. Before I found out Ron was kidnapped, I’ve been planning ideas to take down the enemy and potentially raid through their hiding quarters. From the kidnapping of Berecca and Jane to the recent chemical gum experiment, I’ve always put forth the effort to be 3 steps ahead of the enemy when others least expect it.

Problem is, are we going to be able to pull this off? I can’t guarantee the safety of everyone here. I have to let them know of the potential dangers of this mission. I’m essentially asking these students to throw themselves into a life or death situation to save my friend. If that’s the case, I’ll be sure to give them plenty of chances to back out. If any of them feel fear, I have no problem taking on the CSA by myself.

Soon enough, 11 AM rolled around and everyone made it to the meeting one by one. Sheila closed and locked the door behind her and plopped down next to Damian. Most of the students murmured amongst themselves before Jane grabbed their attention with a metal spoon hitting her glass of water.

“Attention everyone! Burton, our leader, is ready to speak now.”

I nodded my thanks towards Jane and stood up from my seat. I took a deep breath and clutched the paper notes in my hands.

“Hi you guys, thanks for coming. As you all recall, the point of this top secret mission is to rescue my class’s classmate, Ron. For those of you who weren’t in the conference room yesterday evening, Ron was shown being abducted and tortured by the Crimson Shadow Alliance [or the CSA for short] lead by Director Allen of WNA Headquarters Intelligence Division and Master Shadow who we currently don’t know much about other than that he leads the shadow ninjas.”

I grabbed a pink dry erase marker and started drawing on the whiteboard behind me.

“This pink gem here is called the Calamity Crystal. Ron and I unexpectedly found this “prize” during last month’s mission. But little did we know that this very “prize” was actually the key to mind-control and transforming the space ninja into mutilated monsters to attack the city. CSA wanted it back from us to essentially go about their plans of world domination of “reforming” Eagle City into their perfect utopia while eliminating any other ninja that don’t meet their standards. They managed to steal it back from Ron and are no doubt going to use it again soon. We're not sure where they found it exactly, only that someone was murdered in cold blood over it.”

I began to take notice of who was mainly paying attention in class.

Dan, Cluv, Ezet, and Berecca took notes. 

I requested Jane to take meeting minutes for me. 

Naomi, Tyler, Emma, and Hongfa did their best to follow along. 

May, Damian, Lucy, and Sheila were simply leaning back and listening. 

Keith was greedily devouring his 8th plate of eggs benedict. 

Van, Kappei, Heart, Gumchi, and Billy occasionally kept getting distracted from one another by either poking each other or making funny noises.

Regardless, I continued.

“If we can somehow find a way to destroy the crystal, we can stop the space ninja from terrorizing Eagle City and take out the rest of the enemies from there. My plan is to either fight altogether or split us up into five groups of four. If we do the second option, each group will be responsible for taking out a specific number of shadow ninja and Oniwabanshu after the space ninja are dealt with. More than likely, the teachers will find out what we’re up to eventually and will definitely jump in to help us with extra help.”

Cluv raises his hand.

“So if the space ninjas are no longer hypnotized, how is that going to solve anything? They’ll still attack us like they usually do even without being under the influence of a shining rock.”

Tyler adds himself in.

“We’d still have to defeat them with our gum weapons as usual, they just won’t be considered a higher threat anymore once we take away their powers by getting rid of the Calamity Crystal.”

Dan nods and closes his eyes.

“So getting rid of the Calamity Crystal is priority number one, right? So let’s think of some ways that we can do that! I suggest using a drill beast gum weapon to destroy it.”

Berecca raises her hand. “Why don’t we just bury it deep underground?”

Lucy giggles. “Let’s feed it to a shark so it can poop it out and it’ll fall to the bottom of the ocean!”

May gives Lucy an annoyed side-eye.

“I’m sure they’d find something that bright in no time if they searched at night time. I say you let me handle it, I’ll use my ogre gloves to dice that mineral into tiny bite-sized pieces!”

Keith pours more hollandaise sauce on his eggs.

“My friends, might I suggest we just melt the crystal down? Surely if it isn’t as tough as a diamond, we can get it to burn.”

I placed my finger on my chin.

“So you’re saying we would need a bunch of liquid oxygen to burn it? I can’t imagine where we would get any of that stuff other than hospitals. Doctors use them for supplying extra oxygen to patients who can’t get enough oxygen on their own.”

Lucy’s eyes lit up and she practically jumped out of her seat. “Does this mean we’re going to rob a hospital??”

Sheila pumps her fist in the air. “Alright! I’m down for some stealth action!”

Damian opens one of his yellow eyes skeptically and bites down on his green apple lollipop. 

Dan slams his hands on the table.

“Fools! Do you have any idea how much trouble we’d get into if we did that? There’s no way we’d actually steal from anyone! That’s not what morals a good ninja is supposed to uphold!”

Emma pokes her former team leader in the arm.

“But we’re supposed to be stealing the Calamity Crystal from the CSA. Doesn’t that mean you believe what we’re doing is wrong?"

Dan fidgets. “W-well, that is...”

Tyler wraps his arm around his flustered friend's shoulder.

“Enough, nobody’s robbing the hospital. We could try using those water jet cutters that people use to cut through rocks.”

Heart, who was sitting in the middle of Van and Kappei, uses both of his hands to push the two boys aside.

“OOH OOH OOH I’ve seen those commercials before!!! Once I saw someone on TV who cut an entire tungsten ore with one long slice!”

Naomi uses her chasen (tea whisk) to thoroughly mix the sifted matcha with hot water in her tea cup.

“You’re too loud. Also we would basically have to find some kind of tool that can destroy even a diamond. Given the crystal is as hard as one, that is.”

I frowned at this new information.

“I don’t believe there are many things that can destroy diamonds. The only thing I can think of is an excessive amount of heat. The Calamity Crystal can fit in the palm of our hands, so imagine how hard it would be to burn it.”

Jane stops typing on her laptop.

“I don’t believe there are many places around here that would be safe for us to burn a gem without causing a widespread fire.”

………………………………

It's quiet.

For a while, there was complete silence in the room. Nobody knew what to think of that could successfully demolish a legendary artifact.

Yikes, I didn’t think we’d reach a bump in the road so quickly.  

“I think the problem is that we’re assuming it’s as hard as a diamond. It doesn’t really matter if that’s the case or not, the main thing we need to focus on is to get rid of it. If we continue to think of the countless possibilities, we’re going to be here forever.”

We all turned to the back of the room to see Ezet was the source of the voice.

“I believe we might be able to destroy it if we overexert its power.”

Berecca spoke out. “What do you mean?”

“Most of us saw how bright the crystal was glowing each time Director Allen called upon it for power. It continuously shone and glinted with a blinding light. But at one point when he finished the chant to turn Ron into his loyal servant, I noticed the Calamity Crystal blinking. As if it was trying to “process” how much power it would need to release to fulfill his request.”

Hongfa gasped and stood up from her seat. “He’s right! It was very brief, but I saw it as well!”

Van quizzically frowned. “I didn’t notice anything like that, but I think it might’ve been because I was worried for Ron at the time.”

Kappei pats a sleeping Gumchi on the head. “I can’t say I outright noticed it, but I was aware of how bright the flash was at certain times. There were moments where I could look at the screen and other times where I immediately had to tear my eyes away.”

Ezet nods. “Maybe if we can grab the Calamity Crystal and exhaust its power with a chant to the point where it overheats, then perhaps it’ll shatter?”

Jane stops sipping on her water and jumps into the conversation. 

“I don’t understand. What kind of chant is going to over-qualify for a legendary rock to shatter like glass? The point of destroying the rock is to stop the mass hypnosis. If we tried using a chant, wouldn’t that mean we’d be taking control of something?”

Berecca crosses her arms. “Right. So you’re saying we have to ask for too much of something the magic gem cannot grant. And when it reaches that limit, we have to keep pushing for it to ‘overheat’ until it explodes?”

Ezet nods. “That is correct.”

Billy elbowed Ezet proudly. “Hey! Nice job, man. You really came through with your idea. I’m starting to think this plan might actually work!”

The young alien boy smiled. “Thank you.” 

Ezet glanced around the room before tapping him on the shoulder and anxiously whispered to his classmate. 

“ Hey, what’s a diamond ?”

Billy facepalmed himself and fell back in his seat.

I beamed and grabbed a purple dry erase marker.

“Perfect! Plus Master Shadow can only mind-control humans, so it’s not like he’ll be able to control them again when the crystal breaks! From there, it should be a piece of cake for us to knock out the space ninja with our gum weapons.”

Damian bites on his lollipop stick.

“But the problem is how we’re going to deal with the shadow ninja and the Oniwabanshu. It’s going to be too much trouble to battle three different groups of enemies. Not to mention we’ve still got Allen, Master Shadow, and Ron to defeat.”

Ron…I don’t want any of us to go too hard on him in battle. Surely he can be saved despite the condition he’s in. No matter what the other teachers say, I will…no, we will save him!

Hongfa presses her hands together.

“Like Burton said earlier, it’s possible the teachers will find out 19 of their students and Gumchi are missing. It shouldn’t take them long to come to the conclusion that we decided to take matters into our own hands. Although I can’t help but feel worried that we’d be putting their lives into danger too. It sounds like we’re using ourselves as bait to lure them out onto the battlefield. I don’t think that’s going to be a good idea.”

“It’ll be okay.” I reassured her. “I plan to have us attack them at the same time our teachers will head into battle as well. That way nobody will let their guard down. Besides, I don’t think their weapons are going to be entirely effective on space ninjas unless they make a clean cut like Hebimaru did. Leaving the space ninjas to us is the only way to make them disappear.”

Keith wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Well then, now that we have our method of destruction clear, do tell us how you are going to need us to pull off this top secret mission.”

“R-Right. So I had some time to think about this, and I think we’re going to need at least five groups of four to fight a specific type of space ninja. The oranje, chocomin, mimiron, gammuo, gammumi, and the gammlord. Since there are six types of space ninja, we’ll all band together to fight the gammlord last since they’re the strongest. Depending on what type of ninja gum weapons you all use will determine which space ninja you’ll be fighting against. Now what gum weapons do you wield? I use the IPPON katana.”

Berecca: “Paw-xing gloves.”

Jane: “Ninja yo-yo.”

Van: “Trick ball.”

Kappei & Billy: “Drill beast.”

Lucy: “Scrap saber!”

Emma: “DJ scratch.”

Dan & Hongfa: “IPPON katana.”

Tyler: “Shinobi spinner.”

Keith: “Camu camu plate.”

May: “Ogre gloves.”

Naomi: “Sushi axe.”

Ezet: “Gumchi IPPON katana.”

Sheila: “Pop Eye.”

Damian: “SK8 hammer.”

Cluv: “Extreme motor.”

Heart: “Masturi board!”

Alright so that’s 19 gum weapons; and around 5 different varieties. Okay I think I’ve got it all down.

I took a black dry erase maker and started splitting up everyone into teams.

Naomi, May, Tyler, and Billy will be fighting the Oranje.

Cluv, Emma, Sheila, and Damian will be fighting the Chocomin.

Ezet (with Gumchi), Keith, Jane, and Lucy will be fighting the Mimiron.

Heart, Van, Berecca, and Kappei will be fighting the Gammuo.

Me, Hongfa, and Dan will be fighting the Gammumi.

Everyone will be fighting against the Gammlord.

Dan agitatedly raises his hand. “Oi! Leader! Our team is short by one person. Technically the team fighting the gammuo will have the same difficulty level as us. How is that fair?”

Hongfa shrugs. “I don’t mind personally. They don’t seem to be as much trouble compared to the other space ninjas, so I’m sure our odd number of people will do just fine. Also I’m fairly sure Ron was supposed to be our 20th team member.”

I gave the hasty stickler a not-so convincing thumbs up. “We’ll be alright, Dan. Just because we’ll be working in teams doesn’t mean none of us can help each other out. Just use the codeword: ' Eureka!' and we’ll all jump in to assist.”

Dan grumbled under his breath. ” Stupid Burton with his foolish Edison vernacular.”

Lucy combs her fingers through one of her twin-tails. “So when do we get to beat up the bad guys? Waiting around for them is gonna be boring!”

Sheila folds her arms behind her neck. “I agree with the spiked lunatic. How are we gonna go about sneaking about to pull this off? If we’re planning to fight them around the same time the teachers will, isn’t there no point in this secret meeting?”

I adjusted my glasses with a mischievous glint in the lens. “Hmhmhm, that’s where you’re wrong.”

I grabbed nearly all the markers with the colors of the rainbow and started scribbling like a mad man on the whiteboard. The students behind me peeked over my shoulder in curiosity.

“Here I’ve drawn out our plan, we leave tonight 30 minutes after light’s out. Our 1st mission is to head to the abandoned gum factory to grab the attention of the enemy, trap them inside the building, take out as many space ninjas as we can to lessen the army, and return back to the academy before sunrise.”

Tyler narrows his eyes.

“Okay, I see. But how is this mission going to guarantee us that we won’t get caught by any of the Oniwabanshu or the Shadow Ninja? If any of them catch us sneaking around, you know they’ll try to kill us. They have communicators on them at all times.”

Cluv wipes the fog from his glasses.

“Not to mention they’re immediately going to go for the shelter and anyone working at WNA. They made it quite clear that there would be no survivors.”

“That’s easy, we’re going to need a specific someone to use their hidden shinobi powers to lead the enemy into the factory and close it off completely. And I know just the person that’ll be able to–”

Lucy waves her arms up and down. “Me me me! Pick me! I wanna be the distraction!”

Sheila slams her fist onto the table. “Hell yeah! Let me in on this action too!”

Heart also flails his arms around. “Hey, that sounds like fun! I want to join too!”

Emma shakes her head and smirks. “I guess you’ll have three people giving the distraction, Burton. Good luck taming those three!”

Oh dear, what a handful.

“Well, Lucy was going to be the one to cave the enemy in the factory anyways. Granted, all of us will be trapped as well. The other two can aid her in gathering them in one place. Everyone else will be waiting inside and from there we’ll take out all of them! We can all use our powers combined to break through the blocked entrance when the battle is over.”

Naomi finishes her last sip of tea. “It certainly took a while, but it seems our leader has finally come up with an itinerary for the 1st mission.”

May pounds her fists together. “Yeah! If this mission goes off without a hitch, we’ll be able to proceed with top secret mission #2!”

Billy digs in his ear and yawns. “Which is…?”

Kappei and Van give each other a shared nod. “WE SNATCH THE PINK ROCK BACK!”

Berecca smiled with hope.

“That means our final mission will be rescuing Ron and taking down the CSA once and for all. If we can make it through the second mission, then we’ve already succeeded enough to lure the bad guys into bringing Ron to us!”

Jane closes her laptop and stretches her arms.

“Alright everyone, thank you for joining today’s meeting. Remember that we’ll leave 30 minutes after light’s out and meet up in this same conference room tonight. We’ll just sneak out the window to prevent any other students from wondering what we’re doing. Be sure to eat enough food, rest up, and use the bathroom right before we head off.”

I put my hand out on the table. “We got this you guys, everyone ready? On three.”

All 19 students (and Gumchi) put their hand out on top of one another’s.

1…2…3!

“OPERATION: SHINOBI TOP SECRET!”

[ 10:30 PM THAT NIGHT ]

I waited anxiously in the conference room by myself. I was sweating from feeling the weight of being a leader. I didn’t realize it was this nerve wracking to be this responsible. This must be what our senseis used to feel all the time when putting us out for missions in the wild. I was staring at the treasured classroom photo I kept in my old dorm room. Looking at it made my eyes feel agitated, but I refused to cry again. I have to be strong for him and for everyone else here.

Soon enough as promised, each of the students showed up slowly with their ninja uniforms on. The hallways were dark and quiet with the sounds of creaking footsteps filling the silence. Thankfully the kurokos were stationed at the academy, so there wasn’t anything getting in our way of sneaking out. Bruce-sensei usually took night guard duty during the first hour after light’s out, but it’s honestly quite easy to get past him when he’s too busy telling jokes to himself.

Jane and Berecca did a head count of everyone present and found nobody was absent. A few sleepy faces could be spotted in the crowd, but I’m sure they’ll wake up when the fights break out. I turned to everyone one last time.

“Everyone, thank you again for showing up. I want you guys to know one final time that this mission means that you’ll be putting your lives on the line. Some of you may get hurt, kidnapped, or worse. While I truly appreciate your cooperation and support, I could never forgive myself if any of you got hurt because of my selfish plan. Please know that if you’d like to turn around and back out, this is your time to do it. Don’t feel guilty for doing so.”

Billy raises an eyebrow. “Who says I’m doing this for you? I want to be able to stop the psychotic maniacs from burning the city…and I guess so I can look after those who mean a lot to me.”

Keith flips his hair back. “I won’t be able to share such delicious meals with my peers if the world is at stake. I must fight for the chance to eat all the meals of the world.”

Emma gives me a double thumbs up. “You’re our friend, Burton. And so is Ron. There’s no way we’d ever abandon the two of you.”

Dan scoffs but rests his hand over his heart.

“What good would I be as a ninja if I didn’t help those in need? Only a fool would desert his ideals for selfish reasons. Those types of ingrates will never be worthy of becoming a proper ninja!”

Cluv chuckles. “Dan-san, it looks like you’re about to say the Pledge of Allegiance.”

“ Gamutchi! Sneakie! Together-chi!”

Hongfa, with newly acquired confidence in her eyes, ties her hair up in a bun. “I’ll be sure to do my best so Ron can return safely unhypnotized, we’ll win this!”

Berecca puts her hand on my shoulder and grips it firmly. “Don’t ever assume you’ll see me running away. We’re lab partners, you know?”

She pointed at Ron in the photo. “Now let’s go get our other lab partner so he can manage our expenses again. I don’t want to keep having to eating licorice root in the park when this is all over, heheh.”

So this was it. I’ve doubted myself and lashed out at the people I cared about only to have them forgive me and stand by my side through it all. And on top of that, I've gained new allies. This is what it’s like to have a newfound group of unrelenting colleagues...no, friends. We’re all friends now. I placed the classroom photo back into my pocket and nodded towards everyone.

Returning their final nod of affirmation, I carefully opened the window latch and slowly pushed it upwards.

Just hang on, Ron. I promise we’re coming for you soon.

Chapter Text

Each team hid in a dark spot inside the gum factory. Lucy stood in the center of the factory, impatiently waiting for her cue. For someone pacing around and standing out like a sore thumb in the middle of a battlefield, she still managed to stay out of sight from the other space ninjas loitering around in the building.

Heart and Sheila were posted out in the open upon a nearby rooftop. Heart was vibrating with excitement and practically frothing at the mouth. Sheila tapped him on the shoulder to prepare him for action. She stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“OIIII!!! SPACE NINJA! GET OVER HERE AND SHOW YOUR UGLY MUGS!! WE’RE LOOKING FOR A FIGHT!!”

Heart started bouncing around and flailed his arms up and down. He began to shout even louder and enthusiastically than his partner.

“THAT’S RIGHT! WE WANNA RUSTLE AND TUSSLE! IF YOU WANT A FAIR FIGHT, BRING YOUR SORRY BUTTS OVER TO THE ABANDONED GUM FACTORY,  YOU COWARDS!!! WE’VE GOT YOUR NINJA GUM RIGHT HERE!”

Heart holds up a brown lump sack full of regular bubblegum.

I winced at the volume of their voices. I know the plan was to cause a distraction, but I’m starting to wonder if this was the best idea after all. 

No, I can’t have doubts now. I brought everyone into this mess, so I’m gonna proudly take full responsibility for anything that happens. I’m going to place my trust in them.

Soon enough, Sheila noticed several different colors of blobs arriving in the distance. Each one approaches even faster than the last in a massive swarm. The muscle girl grabs Heart by the hood of his ninja garb and promptly makes their escape. They land on the rooftop of the factory. Heart tauntingly blows a raspberry.

“LAST CHANCE!!! MAKE YOUR WAY DOWN HERE FOR THE BATTLE OF THE CENT–”

Sheila tosses Heart down the gaping hole in the ceiling before jumping down herself. As they fell, several enemies made their way into the various entrances. Heart took this opportunity to toss the bubblegum out of the sack and onto the ground like planting seeds in soil. Each of us waited a good 10 seconds for more “guests” to arrive until Sheila turned her head towards Lucy.

“LUCY, NOW!!!”

Lucy giggled. “FINALLY!” She rips off her eye patch and a blinding red light illuminates the area. The power emitting from her inherited cursed shinobi eye causes the building to shake and slowly fall apart. The teams hide to duck and cover from the falling debris. Lucy succeeds in sealing every entrance using the falling debris to trap the enemy with us. She even uses telekinesis to shove a lone rusty plate of steel from a nearby cargo container onto the ceiling opening to seal it shut.

It’s pitch black and we can hear the confused gargles of the aliens. On cue, several lights turn on and the sound of mechanical whirring fills the room. Heart is seen pulling down a lever several floors high, his award-winning smile never leaving his face. Sheila is standing next to him with her back against the wall, she winks down below at the befuddled enemies mischievously.

Lucy puts her eyepatch back on and grabs a piece of ninja gum out of her pocket.  “Kyahaha! You ready, everyone? LET’S DO THIS!!!”

Every team pops a piece of ninja gum into their mouths and chews thoroughly. Everyone then proceeds to jump out of their hiding spots while blowing a giant bubble bigger than their bodies. As they land, 18 perfectly pink bubbles pop simultaneously to reveal their gum weapons.

Berecca dons on the Paw-xing Gloves.

Jane wields the Ninja yo-yo.

Van carries the Trick Ball.

Kappei & Billy wield the Drill Beast.

Lucy grips the Scrap Saber.

Emma wields the DJ Scratch.

Dan, Hongfa, and I wield the IPPON Katana.

Tyler wields the Shinobi Spinner.

Keith rides on the Camu Camu Plate.

May dons on the Ogre Gloves.

Naomi wields the Sushi Axe.

Ezet wields the Gumchi IPPON Katana, due to not being able to chew ninja gum.

Sheila grips the Pop Eye.

Damian grips the SK8 Hammer.

Cluv rides on the Extreme Motor.

Heart rides on the Masturi Board.

My eyes lit up like wildfire as I pointed at the enemy. “ CHARGE!!! ”

To nobody’s surprise, Lucy, Sheila, and May jump into the heat of battle with fierce battle cries. Dan stood back-to-back with me and Hongfa as we began to fight off the gammumi.

“Hey! You three! Stay with your assigned teams! We’re supposed to fight the space ninja with gum weapons that have a compatible moveset capable of–”

“Yo-yo Leap!”

WHACK!

Before Dan could finish the rest of his sentence, Tyler teleported from behind and used his shinobi spinner to sling an attack on an oranje space ninja about to munch on Dan’s head.

“Those three might be a little harder to get a hold of. But it should be fine as long as everyone else stays with their team. We can also still use the codeword if there’s a problem.”

Dan scoffs and hastily nods. “Fine, but only if it’s just those three. But they better still help out their teammates before somebody gets hurt!”

Team Firecracker kicks things off with spectacular teamwork coordination. Emma sits on top of Cluv’s shoulders as the two of them ride through the swarm of blue chocomin. She flicks the chain of the dj scratch weapon at multiple chocomin while Damian smashes them into the ground with his mallet.

“Nice job Cluv! You and I truly make a good team even outside of the academy!”

Cluv smiles with glee. “Thank you! I’ve been practicing hard all week to master this new trick. Dan-san motivated me to try new techniques to better myself into a proper ninja.”

Emma sighs and nervously laughs. “That Dan…always pushing others into formation.”

Sheila uses the clackity teeth of her popeye gum weapon to gnaw on the panicking chocomin. The squirming blue alien whines and thrashes around much to her excitement. She takes a look around the area before her eyes land on Damian. An idea pops into her head.

“DAMIAN! COME GET THIS!” She spins her body and weapon around in multiple circles like a figure skater until the chocomin flies out of the chompers of the chattering teeth into her partner’s direction.

Damian smirks and runs towards a charging chocomin, readying his giant hammer. “Hey muck face! BATTER UP!”

He swings and successfully lands a hard hit onto the blue blob. As Heart rides around in circles, he yelps in surprise at the oncoming object hurtling his way and ducks fast. Its gloopy body smashes against the wall before disappearing completely.

The young boy wipes the sweat from his forehead. “Whew! That was a close one!”

Berecca furiously swipes her claws at the gammuo running away from her. “Get. Back. Here. You. Little. Runt!”

Van meets Berecca halfway by cutting off the fleeing foe in its path. “Haaaaa-YAH!” He holds his trick ball up high and lunges it square in its purple face.

“Nice! This is gonna be easy! I’ll be able to take out more of these squishy weirdos than Kappei in no time!”

Suddenly, the boy jolts as he hears the sound of gravel breaking him. Two mimiron and a gammumi shoot out of the pit, into the air, and disappear into white sparkles. Kappei proudly jumps out of the ground with his prized drill beast weapon in hand. 

“Heh heh, how’s that for impressive? I bet you didn’t beat up that many space ninja!”

Van narrows his eyes. “I-I’ve been getting way more bad guys than you! Plus, that doesn’t count! We’re supposed to defeat the gammuo, remember? Nothing you got was what our team needed.”

Kappei thumbs his nose and sticks out his tongue. “You’re just jealous cuz you didn’t beat as many enemies as I did, you big faker!”

Berecca shakes her head as she watches Kappei and Van attempt to one-up each other while Heart pathetically skates away from a march of gammuo running towards him.

“Goodness, these boys are going to be the death of me. But at least most of us aren’t any slouches. Sigh, I wonder if Jane’s team is doing any better than this?”

Team Raindrop finds themselves breezing through the mimiron. Ezet grins to himself pridefully, he’s grateful to use a weapon capable of successfully defeating the space ninja unlike the weapons on Meluz. Gumchi providing his assistance helped a lot.

“This is amazing! Our gum weapons are really effective against the space ninja. With Keith, Jane, Lucy, and everyone else's powers combined, I think we could actually have a shot at winning this! Perhaps we won't need extra help after all?”

“Get down!”

He shrieks in surprise and ducks as a large red yo-yo darts over his head to make contact with a mimiron. Jane gives an apologetic smile and wave.

“Sorry Ezet! Didn’t mean to give you a scare. Are you alright?”

Ezet has curled his body up into a ball and rocks back and forth. A waterfall of over-dramatic tears falls down his cheeks as he mutters to himself over and over again.

“Iregretthisentiremission.We’renotgoingtomakeitoutofherealive.WhatamIevendoinghere? IshouldhaveneverleftMeluz.Weprobablycouldliveoffatleastafewdecadeswithoutninjagum. AndnowI’mstuckhereabouttodieatanypossiblesecond. DangeriseverywhereIsee. Mallet…Bucket…please save me! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, EZET!”

Jane cautiously approaches the whimpering boy and reassuringly pats him on the back.

A small group of mimiron attempts to back Keith into a corner. The boy simply chews on a piece of regular gum, completely unafraid of the situation. He blows a bubble, grabs a piece identical looking to ninja gum out of his pocket, and tauntingly waves it in front of the wobbly big-headed freaks. Falling for the bait, the mimiron slither even closer towards him. The culinary connoisseur pops his bubble with a satisfied grin and tosses the gum into the air while the green globs greedily dive for the gum. Keith uses his chance to flip his camu camu plate high up into the air and slams the nose of his skateboard onto several enemies, squishing them flat like a pancake.

He tosses his golden blonde locks behind his ear triumphantly. “Hmhmhm, piece of cake.”

Lucy, on the other hand, was gleefully chasing several space ninjas on the moving conveyor belt. As expected, Lucy simply chose to fight any bad guy in her path.

“Come on! Come on! Don’t you want to play with me? I promise I’ll go easy on you! You just have to agree to be my toy, okaaay? KYAHAHAHAHA!”

For once, all the unfortunate space ninja displayed fear. If there’s anybody who shows no fear in the face of evil, it’s our gal Lucy.

Team Bonsai is having the easiest time more than any other group. Billy is busy using his drill beast to point the sharp tip of the weapon at the floating oranje. With each successful poke, an oranje shrieks and disappears. 

“I am absolutely killing it over here! I didn’t think taking down space ninja was this easy! I wonder if I could get some practice on the other space ninj–YYAAH!”

May cuts off Billy’s train of thought by slashing her orge gloves into several space ninja all at once right in front of him. After defeating her foes on the ground, she hops up on several cargo containers to join Lucy up on the conveyor belts for more of a challenge.

“Get back here you vile miscreants! OOOORARARARARARARARA!!!!!”

Billy’s face went pale. His knees wobbled and gave out as he fell to the ground pathetically. “N..never again…I-I’ll stick to the o-oranje…”

Meanwhile, Naomi and Tyler are taking turns hitting the enemy back and forth like a casual game of tennis. Certainly a much more chill approach to battle.

“Your serve, Naomi. Only two more points for me and I’ll win the rematch.”

Naomi smiles and twirls her axe at mach speed. 

“Hmph, I’m not finished yet. Remember you still owe me a box of any kind of wagashi I want if I win the match.”

Tyler twirls the shinobi spinner like a summertime fan. 

“And if I win, you have to call off telling Dan about that thing I didn’t want him to know about.”

The young girl giggles. “It’s a deal.” 

She tosses the flailing oranje in the air and whacks it with all her might.

My team, Team Entropy, managed like any other team. Dan took steady strikes to the gammumi and never seemed to run out of breath while fighting off multiples of them.

“Is that all you got? Hit me with your best shot!”

Hongfa is much more of a graceful fighter than anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s like a ballerina, honestly. She’d do multiple twirls and high jump kicks and still manages to stick the landing. A high class ninja if I’d ever seen one.

I recall Keith mentioning that Ron also fights with such grace. But he has much more brute force in his battle style, so I doubt he’d win the crowd over with that.

As I continued to watch my teammates fight in awe, I didn’t realize a large menacing shadow looming over me. I froze and slowly turned around to see an enormous yellow cyclops with giant muscles, spiked wristbands, and what looked to be attire akin to a basketball uniform. 

Regardless, it was still a space ninja; the gammlord. 

The creature raised a giant fist in the air and prepared to smash my guts into the ground. 

Shoot shoot shoot! It’s going to hit me! What do I do? What do I–wait I know! The codeword!

“AAAAH!! H-HELP!! E-EUREKA!!!”

I flinched and guarded my ippon katana above my head to protect myself. My troubles were put at ease when Dan leaped in front of the space ninja and hit it square in the eye. Hongfa also came in clutch by swiping her baton at the gammlord’s feet, knocking the cyclops onto the floor.

“Burton! Are you even paying attention? You’re our leader, this mission was your idea, and now you’re letting yourself be the first one to get killed?” I could almost see a vein popping out of his head.

“Yeah Burton, what happened back there?” Hongfa asked with concern.

“Sorry guys, I got distracted while thinking of something. But there’s no time for that now! I don’t know if we’ve got all the smaller space ninjas, but I know this guy’s not gonna let up so easily.”

The rest of the teams must’ve heard my call for help since they rushed over to us in a matter of seconds.

Berecca: “Burton, what happened?”

Tyler: “Are you injured? Is everyone alright?”

Lucy: “Why’d you have to cry for help? I was having a blast up there.”

Billy: “Sorry to interrupt but…what the heck is that ?”

Cluv: “Woah! That thing’s massive! How are we going to find out its weak spot?”

Keith: “Perhaps we should just continue to attack as normal?”

Dan: “For now let’s consider the eye to be its weak spot.”

May: “Aim for the eye? You don’t have to tell me twice!”

The gammlord got back on its feet and stood towards us. But instead of preparing for their next attack, they simply just…stood there. Not moving an inch. The lack of action was not only perplexing for us but also extremely frustrating. We haven’t seen what this thing can do other than ‘put ‘em up'  and now it just decided to do absolutely nothing? What the hell?

Emma holds her hand out. “Wait a second everyone, keep quiet! I hear something!”

None of us move or say a word like she says. Emma puts her hands up to her ears and closes her eyes in concentration. I kept darting my eyes back and forth between her and the gammlord to see if it makes any sudden movements.

“It’s the Oniwabanshu and Shadow Ninja! They’re here!”

Now the gammlord starts laughing deeply to itself. This puts the teams on high alert. 

Van: “They’re WHAT??”

Kappei: “How did they find us?”

Damian: “Do you even have to ask? Skater boy and muscle girl made a huge racket earlier.”

Sheila: “Watch it, shorty! Not like you did anything special.”

Heart: “- Sniffle- I thought my acting skills were flawless.”

Naomi: “If they’re here already, that means we’ve been long found out.”

Jane: “We need to get out of here now!”

Each of us ran towards the back wall of the factory away from the gammlord. Of course, the entranceway was sealed up like we planned. Now all we need is for Lucy to break it open!

I turned to face her. “Lucy, can you break open this thing?”

Suddenly, we heard heavy footsteps running towards us from the opposite side of the room. It was the gammlord marching over here to attack us after all! We all screamed and scattered so none of us would get clobbered and trampled over. The large alien ran into the wall but jumped back unscathed. After the dust cleared, Emma shouted back at us again and pointed at the sky.

“Guys, they’re up there! The Crimson Shadow Alliance is trying to break through from the ceiling!”

Each of us followed where her finger was pointing at. While we couldn’t see what was up there, the thought of being cornered by the CSA was something we did not need to happen today.

Hongfa bit her fingernail. “This is bad! At this rate we’ll be captured!”

Ezet shook his head. “We can’t let that happen! We don’t have time to make only Lucy break it! Everyone! Combine your powers to break through the wall! I’ll hold off the gammlord!”

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “You’re gonna do what now?? You can’t fight that thing! You’re still afraid of butterflies! What makes you think you can take on something of that size??”

Emma pauses. “Wait…I hear something else too. It sounds like a raspy…sort of gurgling noise. Is it another space ninja?”

Lucy grits her teeth. “GRRAAAH! You guys break open this stupid rock! I’m gonna join in on the fun with the giant space ninja and Ezet!” The twin-tailed girl excitedly joins the fray.

Cluv revs up his extreme motor. “I can help them out just to be safe, my special’s no good for breaking things. I’ll leave it to you all!”

Heart chuckles. “I’ve got an ace up my sleeve to knock the socks off that cyclops!”

Sheila puts her hands on her hips. “My gum weapon has a healing barrier. If you guys use Beyond the Gum, maybe I can nullify the side effects that come with it!”

Berecca chimes in. “I can use a barrier too. It’ll help reset damage done from gum weapons, so I should be able to help nullify the side effects as well. But I think it would only be for myself.”

Heart pounds his fists together. “Let’s go! Shinobi Beast!” A violet aura surrounds the boy as he transforms into a three-eyed monster with long black claws. He lets out a roar and goes in to swipe furiously at the space ninja. His unrelenting attacks cause the alien to stumble backwards and put up their fists to guard their body.

Jane: “Piercing Mixer!”

Lucy sends serious flurries of attacks towards its torso, her lunatic laughter never letting up.

Tyler, Honga, Dan, Naomi, & Burton: “Ninja Tornado!”

Cluv charges toward the giant monster before hopping off and shooting several gum wads onto the alien’s hands. He then slings the extreme motor back into yo-yo form and stealthily flings the mini motorbike into their gut.

Van: “Fujiyama Rocket!”

Ezet made plenty of close calls dodging but still managed to knock a few hits in.

Keith: “Dragon Lord!”

Emma continues to listen closely outside, but stays away from the battle.

Damian: “Power Buster!”

Berecca focuses her energy onto her gum weapon to unleash the defensive healing barrier.

Kappei & Billy: “Punishing Blade!”

Sheila holds her popeye gum weapon up high to concentrate on passing the healing powers to her teammates.

May: “Sky Uppercut!”

Ezet, Lucy, Cluv, and Heart unleash their specialty powers to deal as much damage to the unrelenting space ninja as they can. Several of the students start to glow with a bright yellow aura as they prepare to deliver the final blow.

Everyone: “BEYOND THE GUM!!!”

Berecca: “Blast Barrier!”

Sheila: “Healing Barrier!”

As the boulder was destroyed by our powers, the opening in the ceiling that was previously sealed by Lucy, fell down with a loud explosion. Each of the kids jumped out of the way in time, but the gammlord was buried alive underneath the rubble. Thanks to Sheila’s healing barrier, none of us had to suffer being turned into little poops again. I didn’t need to be reminded of that nightmare side effect from last time.

I shook the rubble out of my hair and coughed. “Is everyone okay? Do a team roll call!”

Tyler: “Team Bonsai is okay!”

Emma: “Team Firecracker is all together!”

Jane: “Team Raindrop is present!” “Gamutchi ! Presentchi! ”

Kappei: “Team Battery Acid is ready to roll!”

Dan: “Team Entropy is here too!”

With everyone present, we made our way out of the crumbling factory before the enemy could find us.

“.... ton ..”

Wait, what the heck was that?

I stopped in my tracks and looked around for the source of the voice. Emma stopped running when she noticed I wasn’t continuing to flee.

“Burton, I heard that weird gurgling voice earlier too. But we don’t have time to find out what that is, it’s most likely another horde of space ninja. We gotta go!”

I nodded before taking one last glance out of my peripheral vision. I could see a blurry figure standing on top of the rubble, but it was hard to tell what I was looking at. I couldn’t even tell if they were male, female, or neither. I squinted through the heavy dust floating around to get a better look at the mysterious silhouette. Before the dust completely cleared, Dan grabbed me by the arm and dragged us both out of the factory.

It is now 1:30 AM.

Every one of us was absolutely exhausted as we made our way back to the shelter. People were either dragging their feet or leaning on one another for support. I slowly lifted up the window sill of our conference room and crawled inside; thankfully it was still dark in there. After the last person crawled in, they locked the window latch shut and closed the curtains. I yawned and spoke in a hushed whisper.

“Great job tonight everyone, you all fought with stellar tactics fit for a ninja! Thanks so much for eradicating a good chunk of the space ninja. I know the CSA is most likely going to bring out the Oniwabanshu and Shadow Ninja to scout the factory, so we most likely won’t be able to go back there anymore. Which means our next step is to find a way to take those guys out before the invasion. Since it’s late, we can meet up tomorrow at 2:00 PM so everyone gets enough time to catch up on their rest. Is that okay?”

Sheila: “Sounds good to me, boss man.”

Damian: “Whatever you say.”

Naomi: “I will leave this matter to your discretion.”

Lucy: “Yup!”

Van & Kappei: “Zzzz…”

Hongfa: “I look forward to tomorrow’s meeting!”

Keith: “Right before lunchtime, perfect!”

Ezet: “Very well, I will go along with this.”

Jane: “Sounds wonderful to me.”

Billy: “I’m down.”

“Awesome, be careful going back to your rooms. There might not be kurokos wandering around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if sensei is on lookout. Goodnight you guys!”

As everyone quietly left the meeting room, we all tip-toed up the stairs to our respective bedrooms. Van, Kappei, and Damian followed each other back to our own room and we simply collapsed in our beds upon arrival.

Whatever, I’ll just change out of my uniform and take a shower tomorrow. Too tired.

I yawned and turned over to face the wall. It didn’t take long for my eyelids to become heavy and sleep overtook my body and mind for the rest of the night.

[ MEANWHILE AT THE ABANDONED GUM FACTORY… ]

Hebimaru stuck his nose up into the air and sniffed sharply in many directions. He grins maliciously and licks his lips. 

“They were here, I can smell them.”

Tsukikage looked at his partner in disbelief after waving off another underling. 

“What are you, a damn dog? It shouldn’t take a genius to figure out that some of our space ninja horde was terminated. I guess they got a little too eager to battle. But no matter, those little kiddies will get what’s coming to them real soon.”

Tsukikage whistled over to the silhouette standing on the fallen rubble in the distance. 

“Oi, muck mouth! Get your ass over here and help investigate!”

The shadowed figure hopped off the large pile of rocks and made its way over to their leader. However, they stopped when they stepped on something that sounded like a quiet rustle noise. They looked beneath the bottom of their foot and saw what looked to be a piece of paper. On closer inspection when they picked it up, it was a photograph. The individual curiously glowered at the photo with its glowing pink eyes and dragged their fingernail along the side of the frame.

Chapter Text

The next day, I woke up at 12:52 PM. Which is particularly odd since I don’t recall exerting not nearly as much energy as the rest of my classmates. I grumbled and wiped the drool sliding down my chin. I simply laid there for a few minutes to regain consciousness and get my train of thought going. I could hear the sound of the TV playing cartoons in the background; most likely due to Van and Kappei.

Then all of a sudden, it sounded like the cartoon was cut off and was replaced with a loud string of high-pitched beeps that rang out. This gave me a sudden shock and I immediately bolted up from the bed. But instead of witnessing Kappei and Van, it was Damian who was sitting in front of the TV, munching on a chocolate bar. 

“Hey Damian, what’s going on with the TV? I don’t have my glasses on yet so I can’t see that far.”

He turns his head around. “Oh, it’s the EAS (Emergency Alert System). Apparently there’s going to be a severe thunderstorm happening tonight. Seems like it’s not gonna let up for another 2-3 days or so.”

I swallowed hard. “A-And what time is the storm supposed to start tonight?”

“Sometime around 10 PM or so, I think.”

I see, that’s definitely going to interfere with our plan tonight. I honestly didn’t expect the weather to be the wrench thrown into my plan. The point of the expedition tonight was to take out the Oniwabanshu, Shadow Ninja, and any other space ninja loitering around. It’s certainly going to be a lot more difficult than last night, but I’m sure with all of us here it’ll be alright...right? Is it possible we won’t be able to complete the second phase of our mission?

I looked out the window and squinted at the cloudy gray skies. Of course, there wasn’t much I could see given my bad eyesight. With a heavy sigh, I put my glasses back on and instinctively dug into my pocket.

I guess I can try moving our time forward, but I don’t know if anyone will be on board or mentally prepared enough to start so s–

I paused. 

I dug into my other pocket and felt around. Nothing. 

I frantically patted myself down, muttering to myself in a panic. 

“No no no no nonononono this can’t be happening!”

Damian scrunched his nose and side-eyed me. “What’s wrong?”

“My classroom photo! It’s gone! I had it in my pocket last night before we left for the mission and now it’s not here anymore!”

Just then, the door burst open revealing Van and Kappei with a handful of snacks at their disposal. Van’s smile beamed brighter than the sun. “Alright! Let’s get ready to watch some TV before…we…uhh…”

They stopped when they took notice of me now destroying my side of the room with an annoyed Damian witnessing the entire event.

Kappei squinted in confusion. “Uh, hey guys. What’s going on here?”

“Leader lost his class photo or something during last night’s mission and he’s freaking out.”

Van set his portion of the snacks down on the floor. “Ah, I nearly forgot about that class photo. I think I left mine at the academy somewhere.”

Damian shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I lost mine a long time ago.”

Kappei set his snacks a safe distance away from his rival’s. “It’s okay, Burton. You probably just dropped it in the hallway while creeping around last night. Or maybe you left it in the conference room?”

Damian wiped his hands on his napkin. “Or better yet, why don’t you just ask for a new one?”

I shook my head. 

“I can’t just receive a new one! There was a timestamp marked on the back of the photo with the date, time, and everything! It’ll lose its charm! And there’s no way I left it in the conference room. I put it in my pocket when we were about to sneak out of the shelter before the mission!”

I furiously ran my fingers through my messy blonde hair. 

“Graaaahh! I don’t have time for this! I’ll go look in the conference room right now!”

I charged out of the room leaving my friends behind and slammed the door. On my way out, I nearly ran into Bruce-sensei, who was in the middle of reciting one of his latest jokes.

“W-W-WOAH! Burton dashed by with the speed of a fly! Couldn’t catch him as he passed me by. Must be like the monsoon of Sendai! GYA-HAHAHAHAHA!”

I did my best not to acknowledge sensei’s wind puns as I turned the corner and headed down the stairs. About a minute later after dodging several students and staff, I made it to the secret room and hastily slid the door open. I looked around the room, on the floor, under the table, and by the window. No luck here.

“Drat! There’s nothing here, well maybe it’s outside the window?”

I unlocked the latch and pushed the window upwards. I peeked my head out and searched left and right for my treasure.

No good, even with these mild winds it’s bound to have flown away by now. I’m not sure why I thought it would be there.

I rested my hands on the window sill and gripped my palms on the ledge. I squeezed my eyes shut and gnashed my teeth together. Regardless of my feelings at the moment, our meeting is happening in less than an hour. I have to get myself together before it starts so I can try and steer us in the right direction.

I sniffled and wiped my nose with my sleeve. And then I realized… 

“Oh shoot! I forgot I ran out with my ninja uniform on! And I ran by sensei too! But…I was running pretty fast back there and he was busy cracking jokes, so I’m sure he barely noticed what I was wearing at the time.”

I shook off any uncomfortable feelings settling in my stomach to make my exit. I decided to exit outside of the conference room window and ran up the wall to my bedroom to prevent any other witnesses.

After taking a quick shower and grabbing a small bite to eat, I grabbed my backpack full of blueprints and notes and made my way down to the conference room. I guess I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings because I didn’t even notice other people were waving at me and saying hello until I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Hongfa.

“Burton, are you alright? You look quite pale. Have you been skipping out on sleep?”

I did my best to give her the biggest fake smile I could muster. “No, I’m fine. I just have a lot of things on my mind is all. Come on, let’s get this assembly started already.”

The young girl continued to look at me with worry, but walked in after me regardless.

Once the last person made it, they closed the door shut and locked it behind them. The kids continued to murmur amongst themselves before Dan gathered everyone’s attention.

“Everyone! The meeting is about to begin! Take your seats and quiet down!”

I was definitely much more nervous starting this session than last time. With the storm on the way and my treasure gone, I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to keep things under control. 

"H-Hello again, everyone. I hope you all had enough sleep last night. As you all know, today's meeting is going to be about going through phase 2 of our plan. Which is taking out any Oniwabanshu, Shadow Ninja, and remaining space ninja. It's more than likely that the gum factory is crawling with enemies now after the rendezvous with the CSA last night. We have to find a way to not get swarmed.

Kappei raises his hand. "Don't you think that's a lot of enemies to fight all at once in one night?"

Van elbows him. "Pfft, what are you scared or something of a little danger?"

Kappei elbows Van twice as hard. "Am not!"

Jane does her best to talk over the two young rivals. "Kappei's not wrong, Burton. We'd be easily outnumbered with this strategy."

Berecca sets down her glass of water. "It'd be one thing to only take down the space ninja, but the Oniwabanshu and the Shadow Ninja are two completely different forces of evil to get rid of. They won't go down in one hit."

Lucy rubs her hands together. "Not unless we beat them up to a pulp by hitting them square on the noggin! They won't even see it coming!"

Heart's eyes gleam with wonder. "You mean like if we drop a cinder block on their heads just like in the cartoons? Awesome! We could let their guard down and give them the element of surprise!"

Hmmm…element of surprise, huh? That could be useful if we’re in a pinch.

"That's not a bad idea, Heart. Let's workshop on that 'element of surprise' in detail."

Ezet cocks his head to the side in curiosity. "Pardon me, but what is a cinder block?"

Billy quietly scoots away from the rowdy kids. "Why is this class so weird ?"

"Cluv speaking, but what if we simply stick to just the space ninja for tonight so we can only focus on the Oniwabanshu and Shadow Ninja?"

Naomi taps her chin. "Maybe it would be for the best to ask sensei and the others for help after all?"

My breath got caught into my throat in a panic. "We can't! The second emergency evacuation is happening tomorrow! Students are already not supposed to interfere with the battle between the academy and the CSA. If they get wind of our secret plans, the expedition will be ruined! And if we ask them for help, they’ll know what we’re up to and take us away!”

Keith rests his chin on the back of his hands. “But maybe sensei taking us away isn’t such a bad idea. There’s supposed to be a storm occurring late this evening for a couple of days. I highly doubt any of us would be able to see and fight in such fierce rain and winds.”

Heart shakes his head. “I’m sure we can still fight them off if we wear our raincoats!”

Sheila slams her hands on the table and leans her head forward to gawk at him in annoyance. “ Haah ?? And just how are we gonna fight like that? Each time we swing our gum weapon, the raincoat will get in the way!”

Damian opens one of his eyes. “Keep it down, would you?”

Tyler puts his hand out to block the angry muscle girl from scaring the whimpering boy any further. “Settle down, Sheila. Having raincoats on in battle would help conceal our identities, but it is true that our mobility will be affected.”

Dan huffs. “All we have to do is wear our regular ninja garb, right? A real ninja isn’t worried about the rainfall! Ninjas devote their lives to their missions regardless of any weather!”

Emma sweats nervously. “Good luck with that devotion when you’re fighting off pneumonia.”

Berecca pouts and uses her hand to puff up her magenta pompadour. “Ugh, screw all that ninja devotion crap. This is definitely gonna mess up my poof.”

Jane sighs and cups her cheeks in her hands. “My delicate nightly skincare routine will be completely ruined.”

May raises an eyebrow skeptically at the two girls while Hongfa and Naomi giggle.

Ezet pets a sleeping Gumchi on the head. “So it seems we are okay with fighting in the rainstorm. But we still haven’t figured out how we are going to tackle fighting all three members of the CSA at once.”

“Should we use the rainstorm to our advantage by ignoring the space ninja this time? They could be considered a pest problem for us.” Hongfa declared.

SKKKRRTTTCHH!! 

Every one of us jolted in our spots and looked around for the source of the sound. It came from my backpack. 

It could be Hebimaru or Tsukikage! Maybe they’re here to make some demands? Maybe we could get some information out of them about Ron?

With no time wasted, I ran over and quickly pulled out the radio device making static noises and pressed the receiver button.

“Allen! Hebimaru! Tsukikage! What is it this time? Let me speak to Ron now!”

I was met with a sharp scratching sound from the intercom that pierced my ears. I jumped back a bit and moved the two-way radio away from my face.

“I wouldn’t be so bold if I were you, Burton. We received intel about your late night investigation at the gum factory last night. Not only did you carelessly destroy a priceless infrastructure of ancient history, but you managed to wipe out a noticeable number of space ninjas we planned to use for battle.”

Master Shadow! This masked freak again, just what does he want now?

“And we’ll take down even more of them if you keep them coming! Now where is Ron??”

“ Patience, patience, young man. We are still working on our own science project at the moment. He still has lots of intense training regimens to get through. And I’m afraid he’s not ready to talk at this time.”

Berecca put her hand on my shoulder and whispered attentively. “Calm down, we can’t lose our cool just yet. Ask him about his intentions for calling you.”

I nodded, took a deep breath, and began speaking.

“State your purpose, Master Shadow.”

“ I simply came bringing good news. Ron has steadily improved his fighting capabilities just by playing in mud puddles, would you believe it? Do not worry, I’m sure Ron would be happy to demonstrate his new attack for you all. Not to mention, Director Allen and I both have ordered our men to volunteer themselves to be his target. As unfortunate as that sounds, this unsurprisingly will diminish our army by a small amount, but not by too much, thankfully.”

The students in the room heard all of it loud and clear. Each of them bore a ghastly expression on their faces ranging from shock to anger. 

Wh-what the heck? Is he willingly sending in his soldiers to die? I can’t tell which one of the two leaders is more demented.

Nonetheless, he continued.

“We still have a mass army preparing to make their way to you all in due time. However, I would like to propose an offer to you that I believe will be well worth your time. If you'd be willing to hear me out.”

“An offer…?”

I held my breath and listened closely.

“I’ll be direct. Burton, join the Crimson Shadow Alliance. With your intelligence and your special shinobi inheritance powers, your contribution to our league will change the world. I do not ask for a multitude of young ninja warriors at the academy to join our cause, just you.”

I gasped as my grip loosened on the handheld device.

“The CSA will give you your very own trademark laboratory, grant you an endless amount of money to fund your experiments to your heart’s content, and the free will to gain automatic permission from the government to have access to any top-secret facility of your choosing. You wouldn’t even have to fight as a part of your duty. You could fulfill your dreams of being a world famous scientist and inventor just like Edison was. You could provide excellent upgrades to Ron’s everlasting new abilities. As a matter of fact, in his current state, he can barely utter any legible words. Perhaps I could also convince Allen to allow you with special permission to speak with him by lowering the entropy levels of hypnosis? And besides, this would be the only way the two of you could be together like you’ve always wanted, yes?”

I know I didn’t have the strength to do so without my shinobi powers activated, but I felt a strong urge to destroy the walkie talkie with my bare hands.

“Now this could certainly take some serious coercion, but I could try to convince Allen to protect only your classmates when we are set to attack. Everyone else ranging from the academy staff to WNA HQ staff would not be considered safe from our invasion. Any family members of the WNA students will also be spared. I planned to keep this a secret from Allen last minute since I’m sure he would certainly disapprove of this special arrangement. But similar to his fascination with Ron, I find that same potential in you as a wondrous ninja unlike any other. I have no doubt should trouble find itself upon your shoulder, you could awaken your hidden powers in a snap. Or you could consider building an elaborate death trap to ensnare your foes instantly. The choice is yours.”

At that moment, I didn’t know what to say to this proposal. Not because I was conflicted on my choices, but because of the way he was trying to butter me up with flattery to encourage me enough to abandon my friends at the academy. Master Shadow is a manipulative, vile piece of trash hiding behind a mask to sweet-talk the world into doing his bidding.

Hongfa clasped her hands together close to her chest.

“Burton, y-you’re not actually considering this crazy decision, are you? “

Van slammed his hands on the table. “He’s just trying to trick you into giving you all that fancy stuff! There’s no way Burton would fall for that!”

Jane nervously rubbed her arm. “Van’s right, nothing he could possibly offer you would ever be worth sacrificing hundreds of people at the academy.”

“Not just the entire academy, but all of Eagle City. And potentially the world if they’re actually going to go through with their world domination plans.” Berecca said bitterly.

Emma looked down at her feet while clutching  onto Lucy’s hand tight. “Everyone would lose their bright smiles and nobody would be able to live the lives they want anymore.”

Lucy stared at Emma’s hand with somber eyes. “Mama…Papa…Chloe…”

Kappei took a few steps forward. “So…Burton…what are you going to decide?”

The rest of the kids continued to stare at me with validly expectant faces. It wasn’t difficult to read what exactly each expression bore and I knew that if I didn’t give an answer soon, I’d appear suspicious.

“Everyone, if you wish to know my true feelings on the matter regarding Master Shadow’s offer, I want you all to be able to hear it with your own ears loud and clear. We’ll meet here and leave early at 7:30 an hour after dinner. If you all want to hear what I really think, I trust you’ll continue to follow me.”

Dan’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Do you honestly think we’re going to accept that as an answer?? Kappei and Hongfa asked you if you were going to join the CSA!”

I felt my heart sink.

Tyler stood next to Dan. “I must agree. Your response is less than satisfying and we require an actual ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from you. Please do not beat around the bush for this.”

Even the annoyingly upbeat Heart had something to say. “Yeah! Ron-chan is counting on us to save him! We’re not gonna just leave him behind, what kinda friend are you supposed to be?”

“Oi…you’re supposed to be our leader right? Why should we follow you if that’s how you’re gonna put off answering to choose between us and a damn cult?” Sheila said with a dangerously low tone.

Damian shook his head and scowled at me. "You must really care for this Ron guy enough to cast us aside, huh? Damn, all this for a classroom photo."

Ezet clenched his fists together, trying not to cry. “Are you saying we can’t trust you, Burton?”

Berecca felt a chill run down her spine and she got up from her spot. 

“No no no, Burton’s not untrustworthy at all! He’s just in shock and is thinking of the proper way to tell us. Master Shadow rambled on for a while right? Anybody would get their mind and words jumbled up from a boring lecture like–”

“That lecture that you speak of was not boring at all.” Naomi interrupted her. “Burton has yet to give us his answer. Something that supposedly shouldn't take a second to say is somehow taking a lifetime.”

“B-but I-I promise you he’s just stressed out! Burton have been friends forever and I know he would never turn his back on anybody no matter what!”

Cluv looked down at his feet without saying a word.

Keith put his hand on May’s shoulder seemingly to prevent her from smacking me in the face. She sighs and roughly shrugs his hand away.

“Why did you even become our leader and make a team if you were going to be conflicted with something that would benefit you?”

This time I said something. 

“I’m not conflicted at all! Ron…Ron means so much to me! He’s my cherished friend and I would never let anything happen to him!”

Keith narrows his eyes. “Right, you wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Joining the CSA would ensure the two of you would never be at harm.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Fine.” Dan finally said. “Leave and go to HQ on your own.”

Tyler snapped his head towards his friend. “What are you saying? Burton is–”

“I didn’t join this team and tolerate making this bumbling idiot our leader just for him to be indecisive the moment he’s promised the world in his hands. If he wishes to see the world burn while looking down on us from above in his fancy laboratory, then we’ll just have to be there to take him down with the CSA.”

A select few kids were practically sizzling with anger, some saddened, and the remaining were confused.

For a short time, nobody says anything. 

“I can see tensions are running high at this time between you and your friends. I know this is a lot to take in all at once. I will await your response at precisely 8 PM this evening at the entrance of WNA HQ. Take the time you need to reconsider this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, you would be leaving your friends behind for good and you only get one chance to decide. I hope to hear back from you soon with good news. Until then.”

The static noises stopped and he ended the transmission. I slowly looked up and around at my anxious classmates. Each of them simultaneously looked at the radio in my hands and then back at me. All of them were no doubt shocked by the offer laid out for me on a silver platter. 

“Everyone, consider this meeting adjourned. For your own safety, I would suggest you watch your back from here on out. We have to prepare for the second emergency evacuation in the morning.”

And with that, Dan curtly left the room with Tyler following close behind. It didn’t take long for the other students to quietly get up from their seats and leave. 

I could see Berecca looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I continued to keep my head down and not make eye contact.

MEANWHILE AT WNA HQ…..

"Phase 1: ATTACK!"

A small horde of space ninja are seen on opposite sides charging toward the center of a large dark gymnasium. Each of them slithering and jumping quickly to prepare for attack. In the center of the room was a lone, cloaked figure standing firmly in place.

Right across from the small hooded individual in the center was Master Shadow and Director Allen watching the fight. Allen was simultaneously eating popcorn and shouting his colleague's ears off. Master Shadow did his best to ignore his seat partner and held up the Calamity Crystal. Its activation resulted in the gem giving off a bright pink glow.

"Initiate: Gum Gacha!"

The cloaked figure's eyes glowed a vicious pink color and they raised their arms in the air. And when they did, several globs of sky blue slime shot out from their hands, encasing all of the squirming space ninja inside. The mysterious person glanced over at Master Shadow, who in turn nodded approvingly. They then swiftly brought their arms down in a cross-fashion, cutting each of the goopy blobs open in half like a knife slicing through fresh fruit. 

"Phase 2: ATTACK!"

This time, several oniwabanshu and shadow ninja came running towards the center. Each of them wielding their respective weapon to lash out onto the target. Allen leaned forward in his seat, cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted.

"Initiate: Mochi Mash!"

The cloaked individual slowly lowered both of their arms and diagonally shot two large pillars of blue ooze at the running row of ninjas out of their hands. Both sides of the soldiers were forced to stop running and became trapped in a formation of horizontally gooey blue cylinders. The person then lifted their arms into the air and used telekinesis to lift the enemy in the air as well. And with a loud clap of their hands, the force of the cloaked individual's powers caused the two cylinders to slam together into one giant blob. Finally, they rapidly lowered their hands and down came the gooey glob of ninja crashing into the floor. 

"Phase 3: ATTACK!"

This time, it was two yellow Gammlord space ninja. They were both humongous, extremely buff, and incredibly skilled in the art of wrestling. Master Shadow decided to up the ante by using the Calamity Crystal on both aliens to mind control them and give a boost to their powers. Somehow they became even more disgusting; their bodies became as mushy as melted butter, their teeth gnashed into razor sharp fangs, their eyes glowed dark red, and that same ominous violet aura surrounded them.

As the two of them let out a nasty gargled roar, they made a mad dash towards their opponent. However, the only action they took was one glance towards their masters. Master Shadow simply said…

"Initiate: Doro Mizutamari."

That was all they needed to hear. 

They formed their hands into finger guns and pointed directly at the gammlords' feet. From both of their glowing hands, they effortlessly shot a single glob of ooze from their fingertips until it formed a small, sticky puddle underneath them. Once the shot was secured, they opened their palms and clawed their hands upwards at the sky as if throwing something over their head and behind their back.

This motion caused the mud puddle to completely encapsulate the gammlords from head-to-toe into a liquified full-body death trap. The slime on the inside began filling the lungs (if they had lungs) of the giant space ninja as they kicked around and banged their fists on the bubble in a desperate manner to escape. In the two minutes the space ninja struggled to breathe, everyone in the room simply watched their struggle with apathy. Sooner or later, all movements from both aliens ceased. They both successfully drowned.

Master Shadow, Director Allen, and the remaining oniwabanshu and shadow ninja gave a round of applause to their newfound champion. 

"Such a fascinating display of power, dear pupil. You have far exceeded my expectations, it appears Allen was right to have you become the powerhouse of our operation."

The masked man reached forward and removed the hood shadowing the champion's face. 

"Excellent work, Ron."

Ron's entire being was no longer in a healthy state. After being injected with the blood of a space ninja and being under the control of the Calamity Crystal, he didn’t look the same anymore. His eyes no longer reflected a shining gold color, but a hollow shade of lavender. He had purple veins that marked his skin like lightning crawling throughout his body. His hands and feet (while hidden by the oversized cloak) had the ability to interchange between having normal human appendages or having the body of a slithering chocomin. His face had pale blue splotches all over, his mouth was slightly agape and droopy, and still bore fangs.

Allen laughed. “What did I tell you? Ron is a very capable ninja, disposing of him was a mistake I’ll never forget. With him tearing down the walls of WNA Academy, the beginning of a new era will arise! To think the world’s most fearsome ninjas banning together to bring forth a society fit for the bloodline of the Shinobi. I’m beginning to believe this partnership is going to be much more beneficial than we ever imagined.”

“Oh? Did you ever have any doubt?”

“Betrayals are common in the secret world of a ninja. It is something to be wary of at all times.”

“Hmm…I suppose you’re right. In this economy, there are millions of “rats” lurking all around us without the slightest clue of who could possibly betray them next. Speaking of rats, how did the talk with President Harold go from this afternoon? Did he have any objections to our offer?”

“HAH! As if that dimwit had a choice from the beginning. I simply asked that he would permanently step down from his role as President and end his term immediately. There wasn’t too much lip-service from him going on once I threatened the life of his family and his dirty secrets of how he really came into office. I suppose you could say my counteroffer was enough to convince him to see things our way.”

Master Shadow sighs. “As usual, you always have a knack for brute force. I suppose if that is an effective way to get the job done, I have no objections. With Harold stepping down, I can assure the good people of Eagle City that their new leaders will gladly step up to the plate.”

Just then, a beep resounded on his watch. He clicked the button and checked the screen: 7:50 PM was lit up in bright green numbers. 

“Ah, would you look at the time! I’m afraid I have an important meeting to attend to at this time. If you’ll please excuse me, my friend.”

“Eh? Is this really the time for a last-minute meeting? We have to continue getting the preparations in order for the academy invasion.”

“Believe me when I say that this is no mere meeting. I will inform you on the details in due time, but I’m afraid I must be going. I will catch up with you later. I shouldn’t be too long.”

And with that, Master Shadow leaves the gymnasium and shuts the doors behind him.

As he leaves, Ron lazily digs into the pocket sewn onto his cloak and takes out the photo he picked up the night before. He continues to stare at it with curious, yet eerily empty eyes.

“Hey, what’s that you got there?” Allen snatches the photo out of Ron’s hand, but the young man  doesn’t react.

“Hmm…is this a classroom photo of yours?”

Ron says nothing and continues to stand as still as a statue.

“I wonder if you can even remember the people in it? Do any of their faces ring a bell for you?”

Allen points to Burton’s face in particular which stirs a small reaction out of the young man. Ron shakily lifts his arm to slowly point at the photo.

“... Ba..ton ..”

“So it seems you do remember at least a little. Tell me, Ron. What do you think of this ‘Burton’ fellow and how does he make you feel?”

Ron seemingly stares into space for a moment before his eyes gleam a bright pink again. Two muffled screams and a loud sloshing sound is heard right behind them. Allen turns around and notices an oniwabanshu and shadow ninja soldier being trapped in one giant blue mud puddle bubble. Ron had activated his Doro Mizutamari attack on instinct and was suffocating two minions.

“I haven’t seen him this angry at his fellow colleague since he last tried to eliminate him all those months ago. Could the Calamity Crystal have brought out his hidden feelings of anger from before the two of them started to work together?"

This makes the large man grin with satisfaction.

"Ron, I can see you have some anger in you upon hearing that name. I like that. How about we do one more demonstration before wrapping up for the day? Just tell me how you feel about this person next."

…………………………………

It is 8:00 PM.

Master Shadow stands at the entrance of WNA Headquarters on top of the stairs. He looks down below and perks his head up once he sees Burton approaching in the distance. He takes notice of the scientist arriving empty-handed (from what he could see) and alone. Just as planned. 

"Young Burton, thank you for coming. I apologize once again for giving you short notice on a business opportunity such as this. I trust your friends didn't take a liking to the proposal?"

I shook my head. "No, not at all. I wouldn't blame them for hating me."

"It's quite understandable, but I assure you that your time here will be a remarkable one worth investing in. Come, I will give you a tour before showing you to your room."

I nodded before following him up the stairs and into the building. I tried not to flinch when the heavy doors nearly hit my back as they closed.

As we were walking through the lobby and into the hallway, I began to take notice of the large portraits and landscapes mounted on the wall. Many of them ranged from long lost history of the Shinobi to the more recent events such as the space ninja invasion where me, Emma, Ron, Lucy, and Van fought in front of the abandoned gum factory while Kappei, Jane, and Berecca went to Oedo on a mission with Gen'unsai-sama.

One painting in particular that caught my attention was a landscape painting with a man holding his katana above his head, ready to strike down on his prey. The colors were different shades of purple, red, and black so it was hard to see his face and what else was around him. Was he a ninja? Or perhaps a samurai? I looked down below at the placard containing the information on the art piece. It read: The Harrowing Hollows of Hattori Hanzo . 

I felt the color drain from my face instantaneously and I darted my eyes away from the painting. I picked up the pace behind my tour guide.

Hattori Hanzo…that's my ancestor that I've been having these on-and-off nightmares about. According to Genryusai-sama, one of the reasons he could apparently be showing up in my dreams is that he could be the key to unlocking any hidden powers I may have. Could that be the reason why sometimes I felt a burst of energy through me when I feel extra threatened? Come to think of it, Ron did something similar in the teacher's test a while ago. Could he also be a descendant of somebody else?

"Watch your step on your way in, there's space ninja slime and loose rubble on the floor. Don't want to trip and fall now do we?"

I jolted when I heard another set of doors slam open; it appears to be a rather large gymnasium. I looked around and saw a bunch of dents in the floor, on the ceiling, as well as a weird blue goopy mess on the floor. I winced and stepped around it. 

"Say, where's Ron right now? And…is he okay?"

"He's retired for the evening. Like you heard over the transceiver, we had him do several training regimens suitable for the day of reckoning upon Eagle City. Rest assured, I'm positive you will be able to be reunited with him in the morning. The young man needs to rest for now."

I paused. "Has he…said anything about me?"

"A few words here and there. From what Director Allen has recently told me, he expressed a mixture of curiosity and anger at the mention of your name. So it's possible it will take some time for him to get along with you again."

I clenched my fist and glowered at my feet. 

"Well, I imagine you must be exhausted. It's been a long day hasn't it? Why don't we finish the rest of the tour tomorrow and I'll show you to your room?"

"Y-yeah, sounds great."

We exited the gym and went back to the lobby where we entered an elevator with shining silver doors. There were 20 floor buttons on the wall but I was confused when he didn't press any of them, but instead pressed a random button with a bell painted on it on top of them all. To my surprise, a camera lens popped out of a secret compartment of the wall and stared directly at Master Shadow's face. He then took his mask off and peered into the camera, but blocked the left side of his face with the mask so I couldn't see what he looked like. 

Ah! It's a retinal scanner!

After the scanner identified his face, the camera slipped back into the wall and the elevator started moving up. It was an awkward minute of deafening silence as we waited. 

Ding! 🎶

We finally made it to the secret floor. it was an extravagant level only the fanciest could afford. Velvet carpet, marble flooring, butlers on every corner, fruit water, macarons, hot towels, crystal…wait are those diamond chandeliers???

"We're here."

Before I knew it, we were standing in front of a guest room door marked with the letter 'B' (I guess for ‘Burton’).

"Should you need anything such as food,  toiletries, or laboratory supplies, feel free to call the number I left on your nightstand using the room phone. If there is a problem, feel free to call me as well. I left my number for you to use. I'll be back for you tomorrow morning at 11 AM. That should give you enough time to eat breakfast and do whatever you need to do to get ready. "

I nodded. "Thanks, goodnight."

And with that, he handed me my room keys and left.

I looked around at my new room. It was just as elegant as the floor setting. There was a small living room, a kitchenette, one bathroom with a tub and shower included, and a single bedroom with a giant window granting me a gorgeous view of Eagle City. 

So this is what Keith gets to experience on a daily basis. 

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window. It was still cloudy outside since we were expected to have a storm for a couple of days, but the view was still breathtaking nonetheless. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into with this crazy facility, but I did know one thing.

“I'm here, Ron. I'm gonna get you out of here.”

I adjusted my glasses confidently; a red dot occasionally blinked on the tiny metal screws of my violet frames.

Chapter Text

9:32 AM The Next Morning

I woke up to the sound of heavy raindrops pitter-pattering against the window. I cracked my neck side-to-side and fluttered my eyes open halfway. There's a fairly-sized elegant ceiling fan looming above me, my bed feels extremely soft to the touch, and the walls were adorned with fancy lanscapes of meadow paintings. 

Ah right, this isn't my room at all. 

I pressed my hands against the side of my face and dragged them down to wake myself up. While the interior decor was impressive, I felt sick to my stomach knowing this wasn't my room or my place of belonging. As much as I was ecstatic to learn about the ancient history of the Shinobi, I couldn't imagine what horrors I would uncover trespassing within these walls if I looked any further. 

Begrudgingly, I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth and got into the shower. Once the water was as hot as I wanted, I sighed and pressed my forehead against the cool tile wall. My mind wandered over to my friends back at the shelter.

[ FLASHBACK TO YESTERDAY AFTERNOON ]

"Oi…you’re supposed to be our leader right? Why should we follow you if that’s how you’re gonna put off answering to choose between us and a damn cult?” Sheila said with a dangerously low tone.

Damian shook his head and scowled at me. "You must really care for this Ron guy enough to cast us aside, huh?"

Ezet clenched his fists together. “Are you saying we can’t trust you, Burton?”

Berecca felt a chill run down her spine and she got up from her spot. 

“No no no, Burton’s not untrustworthy at all! He’s just in shock and is thinking of the proper way to tell us. Master Shadow rambled on for a while right? Anybody would get their mind and words jumbled up from a boring lecture like–”

“That lecture that you speak of was not boring at all.” Naomi interrupted her. “Burton has yet to give us his answer. Something that supposedly shouldn't take a second to say is somehow taking a lifetime.”

“B-but I-I promise you he’s just stressed out! Burton have been friends forever and I know he would never turn his back on anybody no matter what!”

Cluv looked down at his feet without saying a word.

Keith put his hand on May’s shoulder seemingly to prevent her from smacking me in the face. She sighs and roughly shrugs his hand away.

“Why did you even become our leader and make a team if you were going to be conflicted with something that would benefit you?”

This time I said something. 

“I’m not conflicted at all! Ron…Ron means so much to me! He’s my cherished friend and I would never let anything happen to him!”

Keith narrows his eyes. “Right, you wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Joining the CSA would ensure the two of you would never be at harm.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Fine.” Dan finally said. “Leave and go to HQ on your own.”

Tyler snapped his head towards his friend. “What are you saying? Burton is–”

“I didn’t join this team and tolerate making this bumbling idiot our leader just for him to be indecisive the moment he’s promised the world in his hands. If he wishes to see the world burn while looking down on us from above in his fancy laboratory, then we’ll just have to be there to take him down with the CSA.”

A select few kids were practically sizzling with anger, some saddened, and the remaining were confused.

For a short time, nobody says anything. 

“I can see tensions are running high at this time between you and your friends. I know this is a lot to take in all at once. I will await your response at precisely 8 PM this evening at the entrance of WNA HQ. Take the time you need to reconsider this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, you would be leaving your friends behind for good and you only get one chance to decide. I hope to hear back from you soon with good news. Until then.”

The static noises stopped and he ended the transmission. I slowly looked up and around at my anxious classmates. Each of them simultaneously looked at the radio in my hands and then back at me. All of them were no doubt shocked by the offer laid out for me on a silver platter. 

“Everyone, consider this meeting adjourned. For your own safety, I would suggest you watch your back from here on out. We have to prepare for the second emergency evacuation in the morning.”

And with that, Dan curtly left the room with Tyler following close behind. It didn’t take long for the other students to quietly get up from their seats and leave. 

I could see Berecca looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I continued to keep my head down and not make eye contact.

"Hey…you sure this is a good idea? You'll be right in the enemy's lair for at least 12 hours with no help. If you slip up, we might not be able to save you."

I nodded. "Berecca, I have to do this."

She raises her voice with a panicked tone. 

"No you don't! It's too dangerous for you to be all on your own with no backup for that long. What if they try to kill you in your sleep by putting poison gas into your air vents? Or maybe they'll try and assassinate you when they storm the academy and the shelter?"

"I'm positive Master Shadow isn't going to dispose of me so easily. If he does, it's certainly going to be sometime between the invasion or after it. Which means I have at least a day or two in which my life won't be in immediate danger. In that time frame, I'll get as much dirt on the CSA as possible and keep a close eye on them in the process. "Then, I'll make sure we successfully rescue Ron and reverse whatever psychosis spell they put on him."

"How are you so sure you'll get through this mission so easily? All eyes will be on you and I'm sure there's going to be cameras everywhere."

"I can help you with that."

We turned around and saw Jane still sitting down at the coffee table.

"Jane?? How long were you sitting there?"

She shrugs. "I never left, Burton. But that's not important, for now let's talk about your safety."

She puts her satchel on the table and rummages through it before pulling out a bag of hard fruit candy. 

"I can assist you with biosecurity measures and ensure that you'll be able to move around as you please. But for now, I need you to hand me your glasses, your backpack, and that ancient walkie-talkie in your pocket."

I tossed the device over to her and reluctantly gave her my glasses and backpack. 

"Okay…now what? Please be careful with my things, they're all fragile."

"Now…I can get to work." Jane delightfully pops a piece of cherry candy into her mouth. With an excited glee, she dug into my backpack until she pulled out a small screwdriver and began to unscrew the back of the two-way radio. She pulled the batteries out and used a pair of tweezers to carefully pull out a tiny microchip. 

Berecca crosses her arms and squints. "What is that you're holding?"

"This…is the tracker chip Tsukikage used to track your location when he was disguised as Hongfa."

"EHHHH???" Berecca and I both shouted.

Jane nods. "That's right. When you and Ron were having your little date at the sweet potato truck, a disguised Tsukikage gave you that device as a present, correct?"

I nodded. "Y-yeah, Ron got a jar of strawberry milk candy and I got this old thing as a prize for being their 1000th customer or whatever. I thought it was kinda odd, but I always like to use old junk for my inventions so I didn't think much of it at the time. I don't know if Ron felt anything amiss."

"No way! Jane, are you thinking of doing what I think you're doing?"

The fashionista hacker winks. "Mhm! You got it! In order for us to be aware of Burton's safety, we'll place this tracker chip on the screws of his glasses so we'll know where he is at all times. I'll just borrow a little super glue from your pack and place it in between the slit of the screw."

Jane carefully gets to work as Berecca and I watch with anticipated breaths. We looked at each other nervously and had to no choice but to twiddle our thumbs and whistle.

“Done! Here Burton, you’re all set. I’ve added the tracker chip to your glasses so now I’ll be able to keep an eye on you at all times from my computer. We’re not gonna need this two-way radio anymore, it’s caused us enough trouble already. It’s time to turn the tables in our favor. We can head in there for backup on your signal.”

She handed me back my glasses and backpack with a sad smile.

I pressed my lips together in a flat line and paused. 

“Hey…are you guys sure you’ll be okay with me going by myself for a bit? I’m aware of how many rules I’m breaking within the academy. We’ll be leaving behind so many of our friends, students, and faculty members. They’ll be gone elsewhere before we can say goodbye to them all. I’m not even sure if I’ll actually see any of them again after this.”

Just then, a tuft of white and purple hair poked their way through the doorway.

"Sounds like you're putting everything on your shoulders again."

It was Van. And close behind him was his rival, Kappei.

"Yeah man, there's no way we'd let you carry all the responsibility yourself. We'll always be there to-WAAAHH!"

Both boys stumbled out of the doorway and fell onto the floor. Lucy had rudely pushed them out of the way. 

"Sheesh, enough with the sappy talk already. Whenever you guys need help, just say the word. Or don't, I'll jump into any battle on my accord kyahahaha!!!"

Emma adjusted her headband and shook her head. 

"There you go again, Lucy. But don't worry, Burton. As long as you stick to the plan and hold onto Jane's gadget, we'll pull off this rescue."

Jane taps on her earpiece. "With my hacking skills, anything is possible."

Berecca put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

"We can do this, we'll get him back."

I felt myself tearing up and pathetically rubbed my watery eyes with my sleeve. It was unbelievable how supportive these people were and how they never once thought of me as a burden. It felt validating receiving visibly genuine and wholehearted reassurance from those who repeatedly displayed companionship despite my intrusive thoughts. 

Berecca's hand on my shoulder visibly trembles.

"H-hey you big baby, didn't anybody tell you that boys aren't supposed to cry?"

Jane wipes a small tear from her eye.

"Alright everyone, bring it in."

Van, Lucy, Emma, Kappei, Jane, and Berecca all approached me and closed in for a big group hug. It was bittersweet; I felt really lucky to have such kindhearted friends have my back after all that's happened. I couldn't help but let the tears endlessly fall down my reddened cheeks. 

"Thank you, everyone. I’ll see you soon with Ron, that's a promise."

[ END OF FLASHBACK ]

Once I decided I had enough time thinking out loud, I took the time to scrub myself clean. A few minutes later, I turned off the hot water as I stepped out, dried my shivering body with a large fluffy towel, and got dressed. As I fixed my hair in the mirror, I stared at my reflection. I could feel my fingers trembling and my heart racing. It was almost time to meet up with Master Shadow for breakfast. It's going to be completely nerve-wracking facing a terrorist cult and acting all buddy-buddy with them.

Surely they know I'm still anxious over my decision to join them forever, right?

I turned off the bathroom light, slung my backpack strap over my shoulder, and headed out the door. I did my best to keep my eyes facing forward at all times and ignored the conscious stares of the elite WNA staff.

I wish Max or Warren was able to be here, I'd definitely feel more safe with them around. But letting them know of this top secret mission would certainly jeopardize the plan and the safety of the others.  Plus, I'm sure Max would kill me and Van both if he ever found out about this. 

After riding down the elevator, I finally got off and made my way to the dining hall using the signs left in the hallway. As soon as I opened the door, I felt my anxiety return ten-fold.

There were so many CSA members sitting down in this grand dining hall. Some of them were wearing their casual clothes while some were still in uniform. It felt scary walking next to stone-cold killers.

I'm starting to wonder just how many Oniwabanshu are genuinely bad people. 

Just then, I felt a light pat on my shoulder that made me jump. It was Master Shadow.

"Good morning, Burton. I trust you slept fairly well last evening?"

"O-Oh! Yes, I did. Sorry, it's just weird seeing all these elite people around and I'm just a junior scientist."

The masked man chuckles. "Junior scientist is quite the understatement. You were one of the individuals who created ninja gum, are you not?"

Crap. He knows about that too?? That means he most likely knows I used to be an adult too. I'm not sure how much information Ron leaked to Allen before he switched sides.

"Uhh…I suppose so. We weren't able to do much with an analysis after completion since a lot of things happened that halted our research."

"I imagine that entire ordeal must have been difficult for you. Not to worry, I assure you we will allow you to continue your research to your heart's content."

I swallowed thickly as I continued to listen to him ramble on until we reached the breakfast table. There I saw middle-aged elite members that looked to be between the ages of 40-60. All of them immediately stopped conversing and looked my way.

"Greetings everyone, this is Burton, the brilliant WNA researcher and our newest recruit. Please do give him your sincerest warm welcome."

"H-hello, nice to meet you."

"WHHAAAAAAAAT?!?"

I nearly felt the color drain from my entire body when a boisterous yell resounded throughout the room. I turned my head to see Director Allen with his hands slammed down on the table, clearly in the middle of chowing down on a stack of pancakes. The large man raised one of his hands and pointed accusingly at me.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE??"

Don't cower here, Burton…you've got to save face just for a little while longer. 

"Allen, you recall my late night meeting I had to attend last night correct? This is why. Burton has decided to join forces with the Crimson Shadow Alliance and leave his friends behind at WNA Academy."

"Him?? HA! As if this scrawny weakling could do anything even remotely evil. All I see in those uncomfortably big blue eyes is determination and resolve. I know why he's really here."

I could feel chills down my spine when he spat out that last part. I cleared my throat and adjusted my glasses.

"I've decided to leave WNA on my own merit after Master Shadow had given me the opportunity to become the scientist I've always wanted to be. I desire to do whatever it takes to make my inventions and experiments change the world so everyone utilizes my creations.”

I hope that didn’t sound too righteous, I’m not good at this evil scientist persona.

I attempted to erase any trace of fear from my face and put on the best blank expression I could muster.

“WNA Academy is driving our students towards a future of indolence and mediocrity. As a former WNA scientist and student, I’ve witnessed my peers have the worst attention span known to man. Each class I’ve attended had the students either sleeping, lollygagging, or skipping class. Even kindergartners have expressed a yearning desire to learn. The worst part is that the youngest class the academy teaches has an age range from 11 - 13; typically middle school age. Our instructors are supposed to be transforming these young adolescents into the elite ninja society silently protecting our nation in the shadows. And yet we are met with lazy, milquetoast, snot-ridden preteens unmotivated to turn in a single assignment while our faculty would rather indulge in growing pumpkin patch gardens, hosting unnecessary field trips, tea ceremonies, and debilitating humor. Our future is supposed to be resting on the shoulders of these seemingly “competent” scholars and this is the repayment and result for expecting to hone in our skills to unleash the hidden power of the Shinobi??”

Before I knew it, I had an entire audience watching me in the dining hall. I’ve gone this far, so I might as well keep up the mad scientist act for brownie points.

“WNA Academy’s destruction and society’s takeover isn’t up for debate. Change must happen for the world to become more accepting of ninjas. With my inventions, I can enforce change and improvement within today’s individuals by providing them with never before seen technology! And with the CSA supporting me, I’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals.”

I crouched a little bit and began snickering to myself with an evil glint in my eye. My glasses began to fog up with every shaky breath I exhaled.

“Heheh…any outsider of the organization who wishes to stand in our way could end up as a lab rat for one of my new experiments! I’ve become a traitor to WNA Academy, that much I can certainly say. But don't expect me to have any remaining feelings of attachment from my skill days. Now…who wants to be the first one to be the practice dummy on the improvements I made to my modified water gun? Oh and just for the record, don’t expect this water gun to be a summertime splash kind of experience. You might want to bring a hazmat suit with you.”

Everyone in the room simply stared at me with repulsion and terror. The looks on their faces made me worry about my performance.

Uh oh. Was that too far? Shoot, I should’ve known that last part was over the top. With Allen’s dubious nature and high status, he could throw my entire argument out the window! Eh? What’s that sound? Clapping?

I looked up and peered into the crowd to see two Oniwabanshu members clapping. It didn’t take long for the others in the room to start clapping along with them until a joyous roar resounded throughout the dining hall. Master Shadow stood next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder once more. I gave him a nervous smile and continued to look at my “trusting” audience. Amongst the gathering of satisfied guests, I managed to catch a glimpse of two familiar faces: Hebimaru and Tsukikage. Both of them looked unimpressed whilst standing not too far away from Director Allen. The large man grumbled and sat back down in his seat. My eyes widened and I quickly looked away.

After downing a remarkably delicious breakfast, I figured I’d take this opportunity to ask Master Shadow about Ron’s whereabouts. If everyone gathered in this luxurious dining hall for breakfast, surely Ron would’ve eaten here too, right?

Now that I think about it, that is weird. Why wasn’’t he sitting with us? They wouldn’t just sit him down with some random minions. There’s no way they’d let him out of their sight for even a second. I’d better approach this sketchy cult leader.

“Excuse me, Master Shadow? May I ask you a question?”

The tall man in purple and black waved off the group of people he was talking to and turned towards me.

“Hello again, I was wondering if it was possible to see Ron today? I noticed that he wasn’t present during breakfast. Is he perhaps not hungry this morning?”

“Ah, Sir Ron. Rest assured, he is eating well every morning, afternoon, and night. He eats in his room everyday. He is the powerhouse of our army, so it is expected that he has the proper sustenance to successfully fight off his enemies and survive rigorous training regimens. We wouldn’t feed our strongest weapon pig slop and expect flawless results.”

I winced at the word “weapon”.

Those lowlives don’t even think of him as a human being, just an object to abuse and take advantage of. How could they be so heartless towards someone so kind?

I resisted the urge to spit in his face and mentally snapped back to reality.

“I was wondering if we could take time to visit him during our tour? I’m curious to see the advanced laboratories I’m going to be working in from now on.”

“Why certainly, let’s begin the tour now, shall we? We traveled through the hallways of the lobby and the gymnasium last night, so we’ll start with the data room on the upper levels.”

I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief and hurriedly trailed behind the tall man. On our way of the dining room, I saw Tsukikage standing right outside of the elevator, he seemed to be waiting for his comrade to finish speaking to a group of important-looking scientists in lab coats. The dual-wielder elbowed his friend and gestured his head into our direction. 

Crap. Just keep walking. Don't make eye contact. 

I maintained a straight face and continued walking forward. Master Shadow pressed the button on the elevator doors and walked inside as soon as they opened and began chatting with the random person inside. Just then, I felt a cold hand grip tightly onto my shoulder. 

"Hey."

Dammit.

"Don't think we can't see what you're up to. Suddenly joining the CSA mere hours before the invasion with a shaky declaration to bring ruin to WNA Academy. It's all bullshit. You're not going to get off scot-free just because you're with the bad guys now. Hebimaru and I got our eyes on you; and don't you forget it."

I could feel his chipped nails dig into my shoulder. To save face, I roughly shrugged his hand off and quick-walked into the elevator. 

The first level we went to was the data center. It was an elaborate room with computers, data servers, and other hardware equipment as far as the eye can see. Jane would certainly have a blast in here. 

Speaking of, I hope she's gathering intel on this room. We're going to need her help later.

I squinted and spotted a lone door at the back of the room.

"Master Shadow, what's that door back there?"

"Hm? Oh that's the master data room. This is where the cameras and monitors will be. We have only a few specialists allowed back there, of course with a few exceptions such as myself. The door will always be locked from the outside, so don't even bother trying."

Hm…good to know. 

The next levels we went to ranged from various training grounds, meeting rooms, private lodgings, and galleries. I felt bored listening to all of the pointless word jargon for every unnecessary level we reached. With the exception of the gallery room. Master Shadow left me alone for a while to discuss matters with a fellow minion down the hall while I decided to take a gander at the beautiful art pieces. Or at least the inhabitants of this building found them to be “beautiful”. Multiple paintings consisted of battlefields splattered in blood with ninja warriors collapsing, attacking, or deceased. Some displayed stealth missions, assassinations, celebrations, invasions, the list goes on and on. I turned the corner and saw a giant sheet at the end of the dark hallway. After glancing back and forth to see if anyone was watching me, I tip-toed out of sight and made my way towards the end of the dimly lit hall. I reached out and removed the velvety red sheet covering the hidden art and gasped.

Much like the Hattori Hanzo landscape downstairs in the lobby, my eyes gazed upon another portrait of the legendary shinobi warrior. Except this piece looked damaged, like someone had purposely tampered it with scratches and unknown stains. His eyes were glowing and a dazzling yellow aura engulfed him. His katana was raised high in the sky and a great beam of light shone from it, dissolving the dark purple shadowed beings surrounding him in an instant. I took a peek at the name of the painting; which also had been messed with.

Dispel The Darkness….that’s a very simple name but it says what it does at the very least. But this power he’s emitting from his sword, it’s as if the light itself is what makes the darkness go away. But how? How was he able to make that happen? Is this just an over-exaggeration of the power he held or is this some sort of hidden power he awakened on his own? To what great lengths, tragedies, and burdens did he have to overcome to bring out such a powerful move? Does that mean I can’t actually control my powers and have to rely on an overwhelming amount of emotions just to get the job done? Who has to be sacrificed for world peace???

Unlike last night, I couldn’t look away from the painting right in front of me. I was gripping the hair on my head in large handfuls and I was breathing heavily through my teeth. Somehow I felt a heavy, dreadful energy within me each time I thought about my ancestor. This piece was supposed to bring me solace and hope in the face of evil, but all I could feel was anxiety and fear of the unknown that was soon to come. I shook my head, covered the painting back up, and quickly walked away from the obscured object. And as I did…

“Ah Master Burton, there you are. My apologies for leaving you alone for a smidge, our discussion turned out to drag on longer than I would’ve anticipated.”

Focus, focus, focus. He’s expecting you to answer right now, so get it together.

“Not to worry, I was getting bored looking at the same art pieces over and over again. Which reminds me, we’re reaching the end of the tour, correct? Does that mean we can visit the laboratories?”

The slender masked man nods and turns to make way for the elevator. This was enough to snap back to reality and get some real answers. He pressed the button with the bell and looked into the retinal scanner once more before turning my way.

“I’m about to input a secret code; look away now.”

I resisted frowning and promptly looked away before taking my glasses off. As he inputted the code (AKA - pressing several random buttons on the elevator pad), I pretended to wipe my lenses clean with my shirt and turned them sideways so the blinking red dot on the screw of my glasses was facing towards Master Shadow. I hummed to myself in a way to not seem suspicious and quickly put my frames back on once the elevator began moving again.

I hope you got all that Jane, please tell me you got all that.

I sighed and uncomfortably shifted in place. I wasn’t exactly sure what mysteries would await me in this secret laboratory, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be like the cool sci-fi ones I’d always get excited to see on TV. We seemed to be going further down and quite fast too. And it’s been at least a solid 30 seconds descending, is this even legal?

Ding! 🎶

"Please watch your step and stay by my side."

I gave him a quick distrusting glance out of the corner of my eye and stepped slightly closer to him. Each room we passed by had the subjects encased in transparent, decently-spaced cubicles with a surprisingly fluffy bed, a clean and functional toilet, and a singular television screen mounted on the wall. 

Wow, these spaces make their prison look comfortable. At least they aren't being imprisoned like animals, save for the fact that they can't get out–

Just then, someone's entire body went full force against the wall of their cell with a loud slam.

"YIIIIKES!!!" I cowered behind my unphased tour guide.

"G-geeettoou ta here whiii yeh still can!!! Come ahhn, I'm nit gonna hurtcha little girlie~"

Eh? I'm obviously a dude.

"Fret not, Burton. This is one of our failed test subjects: X083. Her task was to unveil her hidden powers on command through lack of sleep and over-bearing exercises. Alas, she's proven to be a complete failure when she continued to retain memories of what makes her weak. Family, friends, aspirations, you get the picture."

Then, the woman fell on the ground and got on her hands and knees. 

"I-I'm s-so sorry…please forgive me, Chika-chan."

Chika-chan? Who is that?

I swallowed and looked at the red timer shown on the outside of the door. It appeared to be counting down with 28 seconds left on the clock. 

"So um, what's this timer for anyway?"

"Hm? Oh that's her expiration date. We always have a line-up of new test subjects for our top scientists to get to work on. You wouldn't continue playing with a toy that couldn't be fixed, would you? Of course not, you'd dispose of it in the trash, and obtain a new toy to play with."

"Ah…um okay. So what's gonna happen to her in the next 13 seconds?"

"The exterminators will come to dispose of her. Not to worry, we offer a quick and painless way of euthanizing our subjects."

Exterminators? Euthanasia? 

My thoughts were interrupted when a group of people in hazmat suits came strutting into view. One of them took initiative in opening the cell while another person was holding onto an oranje space ninja contained in a miniature glass chamber.

"Come Burton, let's go over this way shall we? I believe you'll be interested to see what we have over here."

He hastily guided me around the corner and through an automatic sliding door to away from the scene. I could hear for a moment the last amount of humanity she held onto before she lost her sanity in this hellhole.

"N-no don't come any closer please! I-I-I need to get back to my family! I need to see my daughter Chika-chan! CHIKA-CH–"

BLAM!

I gasped out loud and covered my mouth. I didn't dare turn back but hearing that gunshot and the sound of her limp body falling to the ground were all the context clues I needed to know that she would never see her daughter again. 

"Are you alright?"

I refused to let my body quake in fear more than it already has. Within seconds, I could hear gross sloshing sounds in the distance that made my skin crawl just listening to it. 

"Ugh, what is that sound? What is happening back there to her? And what are they doing with that oranje?"

“What you just heard is something we've been workshopping. One of our brilliant scientists came up with an idea: "If our failed human subjects are incapable of getting the job done, why don’t we make them useful by fusing their corpses with a space ninja and add it to our army as death fodder?”

H-He wants to do what??

"Clean-up is always a hassle with cleaning up the blood. Tsukikage and Hebimaru would know that first hand; their mission to obtain the Calamity Crystal required bloodshed. The more the merrier, after all. Many of the test subjects you'll be testing on will be at least a small fraction of these prisoners. Perhaps you'll even get to work on X083 and properly bond."

He looked down at me and I could've swore I could a faint glimpse of his eyes through his plague mask. Though it was brief, I could see nothing but hollow darkness.

"How does that sound, Young Burton?"

I could feel the rising bile burning against my esophagus, threatening to project itself from out of my stomach. I don't even know how I've managed to keep walking on my own two feet away from the horrors I just witnessed. I could feel my breath picking up with every step I took, but I did my best to breathe quietly through my nose.  

"I think...I'm going to need a–"

Just then, he put his hand out in front of me to stop me from walking into a large metal door.

"We're here."

Say what? I'm still trying to recollect myself from a few seconds ago!

"Here? Where's here?"

He doesn't say anything and inputs a code into the keypad on the side of the wall before the metal doors slowly open from both sides. 

"We're visiting our greatest specimen yet. It's about time the two of you had a proper reunion since a few days ago, wouldn't you agree?"

"Reunion…? You don't mean–"

As the automatic doors slid open, we were met with darkness from within the prison cell. A large, transparent bulletproof wall seemingly made of ballistic fiberglass stood in the way between me and what was on the other side. Master Shadow walked over to the left side of the wall to pull down a small lever.

"Not to worry, I'll turn on the lights for you. He should be awake at this time."

I felt everything within my chest plummet into my stomach. I pretended to be oblivious to everything, but I knew exactly what and who he was talking about. The lights flashed before me and I had to shield my eyes from getting blinded by the brightness. I peered over my arms to see through the glare and covered my mouth with my hand in horror.

There standing before us was a cloaked figure standing with his back turned to us and his head hung low. Different colors of…a paint-like substance splattered the walls while a singular puddle of blue goop surrounded his feet, completely untouched. I could see a squirming mimiron space ninja cowering in the corner of the room on the bed. 

I failed to cover up the voice crack as I spoke without even thinking.

"I don't believe it. I-It really is you…Ron…."

Chapter Text

“R-Ron, it’s really you, isn’t it?”

Ron raised his head up a tiny bit and slowly turned his head over his shoulder. And as he did, the blue puddles coating his feet muddied up the floor even more until he turned his body around completely to face me. His skin was so pale and splotchy, his eyes were a completely different color; a dark shade of pink. I couldn't see a hint of emotion in them. It was hard to see his hands since the sleeves were so long, but I could've sworn I could see blue droplets falling from his sleeves.

He looks like his body was dipped in a bucket of blue paint…just what is that substance?

But I couldn't shake the feeling that I think I've seen him wear that cloak before. It wasn't all that fitting for him to put in, he's much more stealthy than that. 

Of course! He must've been that mysterious figure I saw the other night when we stormed the abandoned gum factory! So that was Ron? But what was he doing there? Perhaps he was told to go on a mission to wipe us out?

"Ron has been hard at work ever since we recruited him into the CSA. There hasn't been a moment where he didn't surprise us with new skills and battle tactics. I believe every training session he goes through exponentially increases his extraordinary ninja abilities."

I finally found the strength to tear my eyes away from my victimized friend and onto the whimpering space ninja in the corner of his room. 

"So, what's that mimiron doing in his room? I can't imagine there would be pets allowed in the cells with the owner of the room."

Master Shadow clasps his hands together and chuckles. 

"Come now, young Burton. Only two  minutes of a tearful reunion and you're already calling your former classmate a pet? I must say, that is quite low. But your new attitude is most certainly fitting for the mad scientist occupation of this organization."

I nearly felt a blood vessel pop at the mention of that abomination calling Ron a pet. It took every ounce of my willpower to clench my fists tight and bite my tongue to prevent any unwanted back talk from slipping out. Instead of lashing out, I drew in a hissed breath through my teeth and exhaled sharply.

Nonetheless, the masked man continues. 

"We occasionally put space ninja in his room for him to use as punching bags. It's possible they could have the possibility to outnumber him in battle. But if even one of them sneak attacks him in his sleep or while he's unaware in general, we want to be able to keep note of how he defends himself in a pinch. And as you can see, he's plenty capable of taking care of himself."

Ron turned back around to face the mimiron and slowly lifted his left arm towards them. And when he does, a large blue blob shoots out of his hand and encapsulates the squirming alien. 

Wh-what the heck was that?? How did he do that?

"Hmm…he's going to use the Gum Gacha move, excellent choice. I do enjoy how he slices open his opponent with such swiftness. Do take notice of his rigorous training in action."

S-Slice…open?

Ron proceeds to quickly take out his right hand out of his cloak pocket, and as he does, something floats out of his pocket and flutters in the air.

I squinted to concentrate on the identity of the item as it fell on the floor. I took a look at it and inaudibly gasped in horror. It was a photograph. But not just any photograph, it was my classroom photograph that I had requested to have time stamped on the back. The same photo in which everyone in my class was happily smiling and goofing off. The same photo I lost a couple of nights ago at the abandoned gum factory. The only difference is that it had a few tears now, probably because it got damaged in the fallen rubble. 

But wait! If he's been holding onto this photo this entire time, then does that mean…?

I slowly looked up and felt my heart sink. Ron positioned his right arm by slowly raising it up straight. It looks like he was preparing to kill. As the whimpering space ninja squeezed its eyes shut to prepare for its inevitable demise–

“RON STOP!!! ”

I screamed at the top of my lungs and slammed my left hand on the glass of the cell. But as I stepped forward, I stumbled and lost my footing and my right hand caught itself on a large red button stuck on the wall next to the lever. A very loud and sharp noise blared throughout the room and the hallway, causing Ron and I to kneel down and cover our ears. I guess I sounded an emergency alarm in case one of the prisoners escaped. When I looked up to see my friend in pain, I could see he was breathing heavily on the ground and holding his head. His dark and dull pink eyes started to glow a bright purple as he let out an ear-grating roar. 

Behind me I heard the automatic doors open with a team of lab technicians at hand. One of them put a hand on my shoulder and shook me a little roughly.

“Sir, you must leave here immediately! Someone pulled the alarm which means we need to take care of the prisoner. Master Shadow, I will gladly update you on the subject’s morning test results if you’ll follow me away from the noise!”

Master Shadow quickly nodded and urged me to leave the area. I took one final look at the scene before me where the lab techs hastily entered Ron’s room and tried to detain him with a syringe on the cold hard floor. I could see him looking up at me for a split second before he screamed in agony. I cupped my hands to my mouth in horror as I watched the automatic doors close right in front of me.

We made our way down the elevator to the residency floor in silence. Well, only I wasn’t talking; Master Shadow and the lead lab technician were still discussing Ron's status. But for once, I wasn’t in the right mental space to listen to anything regarding him at the moment. All I could think about was the look of confusion, anger, and pain in his eyes when all those people tried to detain him. I’m not even sure if he was even remotely conscious of what he was doing after the alarm went off. But I could’ve sworn I could see a hint of sadness when I looked at him. I narrowed my eyes tight so I wouldn’t let any tears fall from my eyes.

Don’t crack just yet, Burton. We’re almost to our room, you can let it all out when we’re alone.

I didn't even waste a second fast walking to my room door and anxiously waited for the two to stop talking down the hall. I was angrily clutching at the hem of my jacket and pacing back and forth in front of the door. Finally, the lead lab tech left on the elevator and Master Shadow came back to me. 

"My apologies for the delay, I hope today's tour still proved to be an informative one as opposed to a daunting one. Staying with the CSA for a prolonged period of time will surely allow you to lose any remaining feeling of remorse towards the subjects. I understand he is your friend, but you must remember that he is a weapon now. Emotions must be discarded to properly run our operation. Do your best to keep that in mind.”

I nodded solemnly.

“We have an evening dinner in the dining hall to discuss our plans of invasion at 7 PM tonight. I hope to see you there. Dress accordingly."

And with that, he left.

I fumbled with the dorm keys in the lock before hastily closing the door shut. My back pressed against the door as I slid my body down onto the floor and buried my face into my arms. I had so much trouble processing all of the emotions bubbling up in my chest that it was starting to hurt. How long did they make Ron go through this hell? All alone in this stupid cursed facility surrounded by mad scientists without a shred of morality left. 

There’s no way to tell if he’s actually aware that this is happening to him, right? For how long has he lost his sense of self? Was he just hardwired to think like a beast ever since the CSA broadcasted his transformation at the academy?

I lifted my head up from my arms when I suddenly heard a quiet beeping sound. It was an indicator of an incoming call coming from Jane. I quickly got up and moved away from the door and locked myself into the bathroom. I lightly tapped on the metal screws of my glasses frames until a holographic image of Jane appeared right in front of me.

“Burton! Come in, Burton. This is Jane.”

“Burton here.”

She looked at me with regret in her eyes. 

Jane : “Berecca is here with me, we heard and saw everything.”

I turned my head away and glared at the wall without saying a word.

Jane : “I had a feeling you wouldn’t be able to talk to Ron normally. The chances of him regaining his own train of thought seemed highly unlikely at this stage in their plan. Frankly, I’m not sure if they’ll ever let him be his true self again.”

Berecca : “I’m positive he’s been like this since they live streamed his kidnapping. I can’t imagine they’d allow him any chances of defying the organization knowing how strong he is. Even as a kid, he still never lost the intelligence he had when he was physically an adult.”

Burton : “I’m not sure if he was able to recognize me through his brainwashing; he looked sickly and pale. And the only thing he appeared to have on his mind was murder. I felt bad for that poor mimiron, even though they did stir up a whole bunch of trouble for us and Ezet on his home planet.”

Jane : “ Did he have anything in his room that belonged to him before he got there?”

I felt a light bulb brighten up above my head.

Burton : “Ah! Yes! There was something that I noticed! Right before I set the alarm off, I saw a photograph fly out of his cloak pocket. But it wasn’t just any photograph, it was my classroom photo that we took with everyone in it months ago. I think I lost it a couple of days ago when we raided the abandoned gum factory, but when I saw the same timestamp with the date and everything on the back, I knew there was no doubt about it. I guess he might’ve found it amongst the fallen rubble.”

Berecca furrowed her eyebrows. “How do you know that’s not just his class photo?”

I rolled my eyes. 

Burton : “Didn’t you hear me? I said it was timestamped! I specifically requested to have a visual reminder of the day we all became classmates! Now unless Ron also requested his to be timestamped, it has to be mine!”

Jane : “O-okay, I get it. But what’s the significance of your photo being in his possession?”

Burton : “I think that photo holds some sort of meaning to him in his current state of mind. Maybe looking at it perplexes him if he can vaguely recognize himself in the picture. And if he’s confused about looking at himself, then maybe looking at everyone else in it will help him remember who he is!”

Berecca : “I don’t know if holding up a picture alone is going to bring him back to us. If that were the case, that would solve every dementia case possible. We’re dealing with someone who involuntarily shares the mind of a monster made to be a killing machine. I have a feeling just talking to him isn’t going to work.”

Burton : “I-I know that…but I have this feeling in my gut that he does remember a little bit! Why else would he still be holding onto something like that?”

Jane : “Maybe Allen or Master Shadow is making him look at it to fuel his anger while he trains?”

Ah.

Jane : “Come to think of it, that would actually make the most sense here.”

Berecca : “Nah, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. For all we know, those guys might not even know he had it. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the first time Master Shadow saw him have it. Especially since it’s been this long already and they definitely made him change his clothes. Ron could have some sort of familiar feeling each time he looks at it.”

My eyes began to well up with thankful tears. “Berecca…”

Jane : “Well that still doesn’t answer our question of how we’re going to get him to come back to us. The space ninja that took over his mind and body was a chocomin, right? I can’t imagine they have any other weaknesses other than defeating them with a gum weapon. So what happens if we happen to hit Ron with them?”

Berecca : “He might not be affected by our weapons since he’s also human. It’s possible if we all combine our gum weapon special powers, it could knock the space ninja out of him and–”

Burton : “NO!!! If all of us attack Ron, it could kill him! We’re supposed to find a way to extract the space ninja from him entirely, not beat the living crap out of him!”

Berecca : “Well we’re gonna have to weaken him somehow in order to knock some sense into him! Also good luck restraining Lucy and May with that direct order as soon as they go toe-to-toe with him!”

Burton : “Knocking some sense into him isn’t going to work! There’s ninja blood in his veins ! There’s no way you can just take something out of someone’s body that’s been mixed with their blood.”

Jane : “Enough you two! I’m thinking of a new plan. Burton’s right that we can’t simply take out space ninja blood out of Ron’s body, even with a syringe. His heart’s been pumping both types of blood for days now; it’s already been mixed in his body now. Hitting him with multiple weapons is either going to kill him or piss him off. But at the same time, we are going to have to restrain Ron somehow and weaken his powers. We can’t get him to calm down without pinning him down and fighting him. There will be fighting involved whether we like it or not and we need to be prepared for that.”

I sighed in disappointment. I also could hear Berecca grumble on the other side of the communicator.

Jane : “I suppose we’ll have to do some thinking on what other weaknesses a space ninja could have other than gum weapons. Regular weapons don’t work anyway, so it’s not like the other adult WNA staff could do anything about that. Maybe if they could show signs of distress?”

I paused for a moment to think to myself. 

Signs of distress…? Anything that would make a space ninja practically paralyzed or stunned in shock? Like perhaps getting electrocuted, or buried into the ground, or maybe being forced to listen to something that they can’t stand…

Burton : “Wait!!! Hold on, that’s it!”

Berecca : “Gah! You scared me, don’t shout so suddenly, idiot!”

Burton : “I think I know how we could get Ron to stop what he’s doing and return back to his senses!”

Jane : “Really? How?”

Berecca : “Come on now, we don’t have much time! The invasion is tonight and we still don’t have any plan to defeat the CSA! And without the Calamity Crystal in our possession, I don’t think we’ll have the upper hand here.”

Burton : “Listen closely you two, make sure everyone brings their main gum weapons to the battle. But that’s not all I’d like you all to bring, we’re going to need everyone but Ezet, Emma, Jane, Tyler, Van, and Cluv to wield a different type of gum weapon none of us uses. It’ll be our secret weapon into neutralizing Ron.”

Berecca and Jane : “Eh?”

Burton : “Also be sure to bring an extra piece of ninja gum for me as well. But before we get into what our secret weapon is, we’re going to need to talk about how we’re going to divide our groups in the fight.”

Jane : “Are we not using the same teams from the other night?”

Burton : “Unfortunately no. In order to pull off my plan, we’re going to need to play our cards right. I think I’ve already got our teams figured out to make this work. For the sake of not having enough time, we’ll skip the team names this time.”

Team 1: Cluv, Emma, Jane, Tyler, and Van.

Team 2: Kappei, Billy, Berecca, and May.

Team 3: Keith, Hongfa, Dan, and Damian.

Team 4: Heart, Lucy, Ezet (and Gumchi), and Naomi.

Berecca : “Is there a reason why Team 1 is so special? I noticed Ezet wasn’t included in that team even though you listed him earlier with the others.”

Burton : “Yes, of course. We’ll need all 5 of them to physically restrain Ron before we use our trump card. Ezet was only mentioned because he’s unable to use ninja gum. Team 2 is also going to be extra crucial to the plan as well by trapping him. The other two teams can fight regularly as planned to fight off the space ninja and the other CSA members to protect the first two teams from getting ambushed. I’ll be sure to come up with a different codename other than ‘ Eureka’ to signal putting our secret plan into action. But we’re actually going to need to steal the Calamity Crystal back before we can even pull that off. I didn’t notice Master Shadow holding onto it when he was with me today, so I don’t believe he has it.”

Jane : “Hmm, so either it’s locked up tight somewhere or Allen is holding onto it.”

Burton : “Precisely. I plan to steal it from him tonight when he least expects it. Or at the very least I’ll try and snatch it from him by force if I can’t sneak up on him.”

Berecca : “Okay, that sounds plausible so far. But what about you? When will you be able to join the fight with us? Now that I think about it, are you even going to be able to do that? Once you rescue Ron, I’m sure plenty of alarms are going to go off and security is going to be on your tail.”

Burton : “I promise I will join the fight with you guys. There’s no way I would go through all this trouble just to leave you all behind and do all the dirty work.”

Berecca : “But you did leave us all behind. And you are making us do the dirty work before you get to join us.”

Jane : “Oi Berecca, that was all part of the plan too.”

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Burton : “Anyways, tonight there’s going to be an evening dinner that’s going to take place while the invasion happens. It’s something like a New Year’s party that’s happening while they broadcast their invasion of the academy. It’s pretty disturbing in all honesty. I plan to attend at 7 PM tonight to “commemorate” this occasion for their dumb organization. I’m going to try and find out where the Calamity Crystal is and also see if I can sneak into their data room. I’m sure I can trust you Jane to dive into their database and find some incriminating info to show to the world?”

I could see her eyes light up with excitement.

Jane : “Don’t trouble yourself with sneaking in. I was able to hack into WNA’s security system to get me and Ron enrolled into the academy, so hacking into their system should be a piece of cake! I'll be having a little fun in there myself later on. You just let us know how we’re crashing this party.”

Burton : “I’ll make this quick since there’s only a few hours left. Alright ladies, here’s the plan...”

[ MEANWHILE ]

" Shadow ! You're seriously telling me you put your trust into that little brat??"

Master Shadow was comfortably sitting in his chair while sipping on a cup of piping hot lavender tea. Allen, on the other hand, was not in the mood for afternoon tea. He paced around the data room and slammed his comically large fist on the computer desk.

“You can’t possibly believe this miscreant is going to be the trusted leader of the CSA laboratory experiments. He’s obviously here to save Ron! This is why you need to tell me everything that you plan to bring to the organization under the table! He’s gathering intel on us as we speak!”

Master Shadow shifts his plague mask back down. “You need not worry, I am perfectly aware of our new resident’s thoughts on the matter of joining us. He’s shown a rather strong emotional response to seeing his friend again. I imagine it must have been hard to put up such a facade for so long.”

“Bah! Are you even listening to me right now?? I said he’s gathering intel on us! While you wasted hours of your time to give your prized tour of the facility, Burton most likely planted bugs all around the building! Either that or he’s found a way for Jane to hack into the system.”

“I kept a close eye on the boy at all times. If there was a way for him to plant a bug as easily as Ron did to Tsukikage, we’d know by now. Don’t think I would be foolish enough to not perform a customs check on his belongings as soon as he arrived.”

“This is preposterous! You’ve essentially just let the enemy waltz on in to quietly destroy everything we’ve built from the inside out. Even if he’s here to stay for the invasion, who knows when he might strike us down when we least expect it."

The masked man calmly set his tea cup down on the coffee table and stood up from his chair. As he made his way over to his coworker, Allen continued to ramble on.

“Hmph, well even if he does plan to stab us in the back, who’s to say we can’t kill him on the sp–?”

- SHINK! -

Just then, a kunai swiftly grazed Allen’s cheek and dug itself into the wall behind him. The WNA leader slowly turned around and wiped his freshly sliced skin.

“ Y-you …what in the hell do you think you’re doing ?”

Master Shadow menancingly walked over to the large man until his back was touching the wall. 

" You , my friend, should have a little more faith in your business partner. To deceive one's foes, they must first deceive one's allies. Surely you have heard of this saying, yes?"

He grabbed the kunai stuck in the wall and tightened his grip on the weapon. 

"If we are going to pull the rug from underneath Burton's feet, then we need to be ready to strike when he reveals his secret plan. That will more than likely happen tonight, but that doesn't mean he won't have something up his sleeve anytime after the invasion."

Allen grits his teeth and moves away from the tall man. 

"Tch! What would the use of him betraying us be after the invasion is complete? The point of him being here is to stop the invasion from happening. In other words, either he's with us or against us! What part of 'he's going to destroy the CSA from the inside out' don't you underst–"

-SHINK! -

Another kunai whizzed past Allen's other cheek in an instant. The man didn't even blink once before his flesh was grazed once again. 

"Allen, listen closely. Prepare your men for battle, prepare yourself for battle, and prepare to have everything potentially ripped out of your hands in a single night. Whatever the end result may be, we will make sure Ron is ready more than anything to kill off the ones he loves the most right in front of Burton's eyes. Then we will make sure the last thing Burton will ever see is the love of his life murdering him in cold blood after every disgusting and disrespectful wretch dared to defy the Crimson Shadow Alliance."

He then pulls out a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and hands it to Allen.

"Now do be sure to clean up. We're going to need to look presentable in front of our darling audience tonight. We can't have them thinking their leaders got into a scrap so early, now can we?"

And with that, Master Shadow grabs his two kunais dug deep into the wall and leaves with his signature tea cup. 

Allen is left alone speechless as he clenches the handkerchief and throws it at the wall. 

[ LATER THAT EVENING: 6:40 PM ]

I adjusted the striped violet tie around my neck and applied a small amount of hair gel to smooth out my stray hair strands. My outfit for tonight was “oh so graciously” provided to me by Master Shadow’s private tailor. I wore a men’s luxurious white button-up shirt adorned with a crisp navy blue blazer, navy blue dress pants, white with black polka-dot patterned socks, and classic black and white leather wingtip shoes. I glanced at the mirror and couldn’t believe how stand-offish I looked. I hate to admit that I admired how unusually suave I appeared tonight, but it was all for the mission to save Ron. This outfit would look a lot better burnt up and tattered anyway.

I took a deep breath, took off my glasses, and placed them in my left breast pocket with the tiny metal screw facing up.

"Alright, it's showtime."

I used a small handkerchief to lightly dab my forehead and made my way out the door. Before I closed the door, I looked back at the luxurious bedroom one last time.

Heh, it's sad really. As rotten as this CSA organization is, this could be the last time I ever get to sleep in a warm bed. I feel like I need to take time to reflect on what's happened in my life, but….I still don't know what to say.

I began thinking of working at the WNA laboratory with Berecca as adults. We were always struggling with food and money every month. Ron joined shortly after and helped us with our financial issues and became an excellent accountant for us. Each moment I spent with him, I found myself rapidly enjoying his company and personality. I couldn't be any happier to be his friend and partner. 

Then came his big betrayal once we perfected our 2502nd ninja gum experiment. I remember feeling extremely confused and hurt, but the adrenaline pumping inside me pushed away any feelings of heartache as Berecca and I tried to find a way to survive without a roof over our heads. 

Seeing Ron again at the academy with Jane brought up an emotion inside of me I hardly ever felt. Anger. I put two and two together as to why he appeared as a young preteen like us, but I couldn't figure out if he was only in hiding to finish us off or for some other reason he wouldn't share with us. All I could think of was finding a way to humiliate him in battle so he wouldn't even think about crossing us once more. 

Then came our biggest duo mission where I actually had to work with him. It took every ounce of my strength not to scream and yell at him. Though I did punch him square in the nose. From there we somehow managed to make up and complete our mission in the process, only to be ambushed by Tsukikage and his men. That's when we learned about the Calamity Crystal and the Crimson Shadow Alliance.

Everything took a turn for the worst when Ron volunteered to go on a scout mission into the CSA's hideout at the abandoned gum factory. His sincere promise to return to me to start over again touched my heart. But not only was he captured and tortured by Tsukikage and Hebimaru, but Tsukikage returned to the academy disguised as Ron and even posed as a fake Hongfa beforehand to lure Ron's team into the factory. They then did the unthinkable by making Ron into a monster by forcing him to be injected with space ninja blood. 

Now he's lost his mind and has become a brainwashed puppet only capable of being a relentless killing machine. His endless goal is to destroy WNA Academy and anyone who poses a threat to the CSA. 

And it's up to me and my other comrades to save him and protect the future of the world. 

I slowly began to close the door.

 I guess I really am going to war.

-click-

As I made my way over to the elevator, I felt my fists instantly clench when I saw Tsukikage and Hebimaru standing right in front of it. What made things worse is that both of them were staring right at me with devilish smirks on their faces. 

Those bastards were purposefully waiting for me, dammit.

Hebimaru grossly licked his lips and motioned a finger in my direction. His frizzy red hair was unusually curled into a wavy style that almost tickled his collarbone. 

"Oi, nerd boy! We were waiting for you, come over here and we'll guide you to the party!"

Tsukikage grinned with a fake friendly smile on his face and bent forward to look at me at my level. His usually frayed hair was no longer in a messy ponytail but was instead smoothed back with hair gel. I suppose even the two of them had to look spiffy for the night. 

"Yeah! Good thing you didn't keep us waiting for too long, huh? I'm getting hungry and I'm excited to see the destruction of the place you used to look up to so much. But don't worry, we'll make sure you get to watch it all too."

Great. 

I kept my hands at my sides and stood stiffly in the middle of the two gentlemen. One of them pushed the button and annoyingly kept an eye on me the entire elevator ride. 

This is it, tonight will be the night where everything comes to an end for someone. I could lose my life in an instant or someone else I know could die right in front of me. I have to prepare to steel myself for the worst and expect someone to be slain. If I'm going to fight for what I think is justice, then I need to be strong mentally and physically for my team and myself. 

 Ding! 🎶

Tsukikage roughly hit my back which sent me stumbling forward.

"Here we are, stand up straight and look sharp for your superiors. Which also includes us."

Hebimaru grips onto one of my shoulders. 

"We ain't letting you out of our sights, you here? So don't even think about trying anything tonight."

With a rough shove, I'm practically thrown out of the elevator and into the dining hall entrance. I saw Hebimaru and Allen standing parallel to each other at the doors, they were definitely waiting for me. 

"Master Burton, so glad you could make it on time. Please follow us and we'll guide you to your assigned seat."

I nodded and my eyes instantly darted over to Director Allen. I could see two faded lines across his cheeks that  definitely weren't there before. But his intimidating grunt snapped me out of my trance as I quickly followed the men inside. 

I could see multiple people in fancy dresses and suits. There were small dark purple beams of light decorated all over the walls and silky velvet red tablecloths all over the place.

I suppose they're catering to their red and purple themes, I guess. Not too sure if those colors mix in my opinion. 

I was offered an hors d'oeuvre along the way, it looked like a tomato and mozzarella topping on crispy bread. I nodded my thanks and grabbed it before shoving it in my mouth. Pretty tasty for a simple dish. 

I sat down in the middle of Master Shadow and Director Allen with Hebimaru and Tsukikage sitting across from me. At the table were a few other random CSA members. 

7 PM was approaching fast and Master Shadow and Director Allen got up from their seats to stand up at the podium. I could feel my heart practically trying to burst out of my chest but I continued to remain calm on the outside. My face held a blank expression to appear unreadable to my foes. I could see several eyes boring into my soul but I refused to let anyone terrify me into submission. 

Master Shadow: "Greetings everyone! Welcome to the event you've been waiting for: The Destruction of WNA Academy!"

A round of roaring applause sounded throughout the room. I placed my intertwined hands on the table and gently lifted my eyebrows.

Allen : "We've been putting together this secret organization for some time now and look how far we've come! We thank you all for your unwavering support to guide the world into a place where ninjas rule society! Any weaklings in our way will be mercilessly crushed into oblivion who do not believe in our cause! And what better way to display our strength than with an unstoppable living weapon?"

I paused. "Living weapon…"

More roarous applause sounded throughout the room as the two leaders turned behind them. Unbeknownst to me and the rest of the audience, there were also stairs behind the stage where another figure stepped on up. 

I inwardly gasped and felt my eyes widen.  The individual was wrapped in a clean and sleek white cloak with a shiny red emblem on their chest. Those same pale blue splotches staining their face and body, those dull eyes staring directly at nothing, and those blue droplets of slime occasionally dripping from his fingertips.

Ron…

Master Shadow: "Ron here will be prowling around the academy and shelter to slaughter the poor unsuspecting WNA staff and students tonight. Along with our backup CSA team, we are certain our night will be victorious. An evening full of laughs, screams, and bloodshed is the cherry on top of a glorious revolution."

These vile bastards have no remorse for anyone in danger. 

Allen: "With our ultimate weapon clawing its way onto the streets, we can ensure anyone in its path is a goner. But of course, we simply won't let him massacre anyone that has nothing to do with the WNA."

Allen reaches into his pocket and takes out the Calamity Crystal and holds it up high in the air. 

Allen: "The Calamity Crystal here will be used to keep his actions in check. With this, Ron will undoubtedly follow the orders of his superiors no matter what. Allow me to demonstrate…"

A bright piercing glow emanated from the shiny rock and nearly blinded us all. Ron's pupils shrunk in an instant before he grabbed his head and groaned in pain. 

"I don't think so, rotten adult!"

Just then, the lights turned off and a swift shot of pink bubblegum made contact with the Calamity Crystal and shot out of Allen's hand. 

"N-nani?? Something's stuck on my hand! What's going on here?"

Several random voices made themselves present as the crowd looked around in a panic.

"You know, we've also been waiting for this day too. But not in the way you want it to be."

"The day of justice has arrived!"

Those voices…

"We heard you've been mean to both of our friends, especially to Ron!"

"Kyahaha! There's no way we'd ever let any of you slimeballs get away with that!"

"We could never forgive such an atrocity…the Crimson Shadow Alliance is truly evil." 

…it's finally time…

"You're all seriously the worst. I'm gonna have to beat the living crap out of all of you until you all snap out of it!"

"We've also been keeping an eye on you this entire time, you're all in big trouble."

…to save Ron and the future of the world…

"We'll protect WNA Academy and all of our friends together!"

"And take you all down!"

…and put an end to the Crimson Shadow Alliance once and for all!!!

The lights came back on and there were all my friends and classmates. Berecca, Van, Kappei, Emma, Lucy, Ezet (with Gumchi), Hongfa, Heart, Cluv, Damian, Sheila, Dan, Naomi, Tyler, May, Keith, and Billy. Each of them were positioned in different sections of the dining hall. Berecca in particular was holding onto my modified water gun and Emma on the other side was holding onto the Calamity Crystal.

Allen gnashed his teeth together and tried to rip off the gum expanding onto his hand. 

"WHAT THE HELL DID I TELL YOU, SHADOW?? YOU DIDN'T WANT TO LISTEN TO A DAMN WORD I SAID THIS WHOLE TIME AND LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED. QUICK, FIND THAT BURTON KID AND KILL HIM ON THE SPOT !"

Hebimaru and Tsukikage looked across from their seats to find me, only to realize that I was gone. Instead, I was up on the stage next to Ron and behind the other two CSA leaders. I was holding onto the confused Ron's slimy hand, but instead of feeling grossed out, I gave my partner a warm smile and a gentle hand squeeze. Much like the one he gave me before leaving to sneak into the abandoned gum factory. I no longer felt fear in my heart, but rather courage and resolve. 

Ron looked at me with visible curiosity and refused to take his eyes off me the entire time. He looked down at his hand being enveloped in mine and narrowed his eyebrows. I lifted my head up high and stepped forward on the stage with newfound determination. 

"Listen up. Everyone here who is a part of the Crimson Shadow Alliance, this is not a night of victory for you. In fact, this will be your final night as a united evil cult. Tonight, the students of WNA Academy will tear down the CSA from the ground up and take all of you involved to the authorities!"

Several gasps and murmurs spread throughout the room. Allen glares and continues to rip the gum off his hand while Master Shadow merely looks directly at me. If looks could kill, I'm sure if I saw his face he would burn lasers into me. But I'm not scared of him or anyone else anymore. I continued my speech.

"No longer will you continue to steal the identities of others. No longer will you murder people in cold blood for your sick experiments. No longer will you abuse, experiment, and treat my friend like he's a monster to slaughter innocent people for you. And no longer will any of you continue to roam free knowing how absolutely horrid each and every one of you mass murderers are. Everyone in this building is being recorded by hidden cameras and all of your information has been leaked to the FBI. I highly suggest abiding by this order and quietly leaving this facility in an organized fashion one-by-one.”

…………………………………………..

“...... Heh. Heh heh . ”

Hm? Who’s laughing at a time like this?

“Ah hahaha ha! AAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA !!! ”

I looked up to expect Director Allen to make such a disgusting evil laugh. Only it wasn’t him, but Master Shadow. The tall man carefully reached under his mask and wiped away what I assume was a tear edging at the corner of his eye. He then cleared his throat, adjusted his mask, and turned to me.

“Insolent. Little. Boy . Surely you jest. Did you honestly believe I would take you into the Crimson Shadow Alliance without thinking of the possibility of you betraying the organization? Your infiltration and secret conversations have been monitored this entire time, including the times you were in your bedroom and bathroom. We’ve always had our eyes on you since the very beginning.”

Okay…I guess I’m adding child predator to the list of crimes he’s committed.

He then began to take small, yet heavy steps towards me and Ron. I stepped back with every step he took and Ron hesitantly followed suit. 

“Every step you took was a digital footprint into our database. And if you think any of this is going to be reported to the authorities, you’re sorely mistaken. We’ve taken into account Miss Jane’s side hustle.”

Within seconds, he reached into my shirt pocket, swiped my bugged glasses, and crushed them into pieces with his gloved hand and let them fall to the floor.

“NO!!” I reached out in a panic and tried to salvage the remaining pieces. Ron continued to look at me with an empty look on his face. I was so immersed in trying to pick up the fallen pieces that I didn’t notice a cold, metal object being pressed to my forehead. I looked up and felt my blood run cold.

I was looking directly at the barrel of a silencer handgun.

“I must say, Sir Burton, I am disappointed that you couldn’t decide to stay with us after all. We truly could have benefited from your genius brain and inventions. But alas, all of the greatest scientists in history have met their fate one way or another.”

He cocks the hammer of the silencer.

“ And I’m positive your intelligence and tragic murder will no doubt be remembered for generations to come .”

“BURTON RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!!!”

Right as he was about to pull the trigger, a heavy blob of gum shot out of nowhere and stuck onto Master Shadow's hand holding the firearm. The unwanted pressure of gum being forced onto his hand swung his gun away from my forehead and pulled the trigger. Berecca’s shout and shot seem to have startled him into misdirecting his target. The stray bullet shot into a nearby wine bottle being held by a server. A chorus of screams sounded throughout the room and I took this chance to make my escape with Ron. Globs of gum were flying everywhere and it took everything within my power not to trip and fall over the fleeing party guests while dragging Ron along.

Berecca: “Don’t worry Burton and Ron, we’ll take it from here!”

Emma: “Everything’s going to be daijoubu, I won’t let them have this shiny rock!”

Dan: “We’re counting on you to escape this treacherous place. Don’t let us down!”

Naomi: “These impudent bugs won’t be a problem for us. Escape while you still can.”

Ezet: “We’ll be sure to keep Jane safe too, don’t think you won’t see any of us again.”

Hongfa: "I promise we'll do whatever we can to save Ron. There has to be some way we can cure him, I just know it! So wait for us!"

Damian: “We’ll meet you outside when all’s said and done alright??”

Van: “You two better make it out, or I’ll never forgive you!”

Master Shadow grunted and proceeded to tear the sticky substance off his hand. 

“EVERYONE! Destroy the WNA ninja children! Allen, fetch the girl with the chartreuse dreadlocks holding the Calamity Crystal! Tsukikage and Hebimaru, release the imprisoned subjects and open the morgue…”

I burst through the dining hall doors and hurriedly ran to find the exit. An ominous indigo aura of pure rage surrounded the seething man, his navy blue eyes sharply glinting through his plague mask.

“ I’m ready to start dropping bodies a little early this evening… ”