First Steps

Six months had passed since Ninju found Junko lying in the snow and decided to bring him home. Since then, Ninju had taught Junko many things. Basic manners, some math, how to wash dishes, but most importantly, his secret fighting style.

Junko and Ninju stood outside under the tall oak trees as their leaves swayed in the wind. They two Ovala faced each other from opposite sides. Junko now wore an outfit similar to Ninju's with a scarlet red t-shirt and a black jacket over top. Not to mention the navy blue jeans and maroon tennis shoes. Ninju bent his knees and put one leg far in front of the other as he locked his eyes on Junko. "Okay, Junko. I'm going to test you now."

Junko copied Ninju, taking the exact same position, and nodded. "Right."

Ninju ran towards Junko at a steady pace. The teen shot out his leg at Junko.

Junko blocked the attack with his own leg then fired off a kick of his own. Ninju's leg clashed with Junko's.

Ninju kicked Junko into midair. As Junko flew up Ninju instantly appeared above him. Ninju swung his foot down on Junko's stomach, sending the boy falling through the air. Just before Junko smashed into the ground he found himself resting in Ninju's arms. "I win," the dark-haired teen stated.

"Aw, man." Junko panted as he rested his hands on his knees. "I wasn't even close..."

Ninju shook his head with a smile. "Not true. You did great, kiddo." He patted Junko on the head, ruffling his hair a bit. "Come on Junko. Let's go eat dinner. I want to have a talk with you."

A sinking feeling formed in Junko's gut as he looked up at Ninju. "I'm not in trouble am I?"

"No, you're not in trouble. Now come on, I'll tell you the rest at the table."

Ninju finished cutting up the steak on the plate in front of him. He slid the plate across the wooden table over to Junko. "Junko, as you are now, there's nothing more I can teach you." Ninju handed Junko a small slip of paper with an address written on it. "So I want you to go to this school and continue your training there."

"Central Ovala Academy," Junko read the name of the school off the note. He stared at the piece of paper and his eyes started to water. "But why can't I just stay here with you?" Junko wasn't ready to leave Ninju. He had taught him so much and he loved getting to spend every day living with such a cool and admirable guy. It would be no exaggeration to say that he truly loved Ninju from the bottom of his heart.

Junko set the paper down and slowly shook his head. "Sorry, Ninju. I'm not going."

"I see, looks like you're finally hitting your rebellious phase, huh?" Ninju chuckled. Then, he looked at Junko's staring down at the table. "Listen, Junko. It's not like I'm pushing you away or anything. I just want you to be as strong as you can. I can't teach you anything more. But once you graduate from the academy you can come back here. Then, you and I will have a real battle."

Junko's eyes lit up at that. "Really?! You mean it?"

Ninju smirked before dabbing his face with a napkin. "Count on it. So do your best, okay? After all, I am your teacher. It isn't going to beat me. Make sure to pay attention in class and do all your homework."

Junko nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you for dinner." He got up from his chair and headed back into his room. He flicked the lights on. Multiple board games and toys were scattered across the floor. Junko plopped onto his messy bed that was shaped like a firetruck.

Junko didn't want to leave. He had gotten so accustomed to living here with Ninju. Ninju would always make meals for him and buy him stuff. He always had so much fun with Ninju. But Ninju seemed like he really wanted Junko to go to that school. Ninju was the one who saved Junko's life and he had done everything he could to make him happy. So Junko felt maybe it was his turn to finally make Ninju happy.

The next day Junko was saying goodbye to Ninju. "So you promise you'll still be here once I graduate?"

"Junko, it's only a two-year course. Of course I'll still be here," Ninju assured the young boy with a kind smile.

Junko shook his head. "Nuh-uh. That's not good enough. You have to promise."

Ninju ruffled Junko's shaggy brown hair and smiled. "I promise." The dark-haired teen then pulled out a clear white key and opened a matching portal. "This is the portal to the Normal Realm where Central Ovala Academy is located." Ninju looked down at Junkoand took a deep breath. "Goodbye, Junko."

Junko hugged Ninju tightly as tears escaped from his eyes. He still didn't want to leave. He didn't want to be alone again. But like he decided last night, he wanted to make Ninju happy. And that's exactly what he was gonna do. "Goodbye, Ninju." Junko wiped the tears from his face with his jacket's sleeve before walking into the portal.

When Junko exited the portal on the other side he was immediately, albeit rudely, greeted by a boy around his age with messy black hair. "Hey, you! Did you just come out of the Fire Realm?" The boy's black eyes gave a burning stare towards Junko.

Junko averted his gaze from the other boy and stepped back a few feet. "Um yes. Nice to meet you. My name is-"

Junko was cut off as the other boy came charging for him with his fist. Junko blocked the punch with his leg. Junko used the same leg to kick the black-haired boy in the mid-section, pushing him back.

The boy grunted. "Darn it!" He rushed towards Junko again, sending off a series of punches and kicks. Junko dodged, then blocked them with his own legs.

The growled as he kept failing to land a successful hit on Junko. He shouted, "Fire Punch!" Instantly his fist was suddenly enveloped by a larger flaming orange fist. This caught Junko off guard and made contact knocking the brown-haired boy back into a tree.

The other boy was still on the move and fired off another punch at Junko who quickly placed his hands on the floor and leaped up into the sky to dodge the attack.

"Shadow Kick!" Junko shouted as black energy formed around his leg into a larger one. His attack collided with the dark-haired boy's gut, causing him to fall to the ground.

When the boy awoke, Junko was patiently waiting, holding out his hand. "Are you okay?"

The boy rubbed his head, ignoring Junko's hand. "Yeah. Hey, you're not a Fire User, are you?"

Junko shook his head while still holding out his hand. "Nope. I'm a Shadow User."

"I thought so. I'm sorry then." The Fire User blushed a bit as he notched his head away from Junko.

"How come?"

"I attacked you because I thought you were from the Fire Realm. Right now our realm is in a civil war. My side has a password we use whenever we encounter each other. And since you didn't say it when you came out of the Fire Realm, I just assumed. I'm sorry."

Junko smiled at the black-haired boy. "It's okay. Now, are you gonna take my hand or just keep sitting there letting your pants get all soiled with dirt?"

The Fire user smiled back at the Shadow User and took his hand. "Thanks."

"You're welcome! So if your realm is in a war, how come you're here and not there?"

"I'm not skilled enough to fight in the war. So my parents told me to go study at Central Ovala Academy."

"Oh, that's kind of like me," Junko mused. Only without the whole war thing. Oh yeah, by the way, my name's Junko Yuki."

"And my name is Riley Narahara. Nice to meet'cha, Junko."

"Okay then," Junko said, dusting off his jeans. "We're both going to Central Ovala Academy, so let's hurry up!"

Riley nodded. "Yeah. Race ya." He stared at Junko, a spark of fire igniting in his eyes.

Junko grinned at Riley in turn. Warm feelings surged inside of him as the two boys continued to stare each other down. He was glad to have made a new friend so quickly. He could tell these two years were going to be the best ones of his life. Now if only he could actually remember all the previous years of his life. But still, he was sure that he would love this school and all of the new friends he was going to make. So, what better way to start off than to race with such a fun guy like Riley?

"You're on!"

Back in the Fire Realm, a small brick house suddenly burst into flames. The fire spread around wildly as a geeky looking man with messy brown hair jumped out of the window, cradling a woman in his arms. "Isabelle? Are you okay?" The woman named Isabelle just lied there silently. "Darn it, Isabelle! Speak to me!"

The brown-haired man noticed maroon tennis shoes appear in front of him. He looked up and growled. "You animal! You killed my wife!"

"Rod Narahara." Ninju stood calmly in front of the man and his wife. The dark-haired teen adjusted his sunglasses. "I'm no animal." Ninju pressed his wrists together and shouted, "Volcanic Ash!" A large blast of thick smoke shot out from his hands and consumed Isabelle and Rod. Seconds after, the smoke transformed into a dark raging fire as Rod screamed out in pure agony. "This is war."