"This has been another excellent semester for your young student. She's passed with a eighty-six percent accuracy rate," the headmistress jabbered to my grandparents over the small video device she had hooked up at her desk. I sat on the other side of the massive oaken structure, slowly counting all the grains I could find. I had made it to two hundred and thirty-five, but my counting was interrupted by my grandmother's words.

     "She was always such a good child, just like her mother," Grandmother smiled falsely through the device, the deception layered thick in her sugary words. I knew that tone. When they had first sent me here, I had written to them, begging to go back home. They told me that the only reason they sent me here was because I was failing miserably at school. They told me once I showed them I could pass with flying colors, they'd bring me back.

     It had been five years, and no matter how high my scores reached, they wouldn't send me home. After a while I just stopped caring. I wasn't going to be able to get out of this boarding school until I came of age where they could snatch away whatever fortune they imagined my parents having. It had been so long since my parents' deaths, yet my grandparents still held onto the illusion that they left me something other than a rusty key. However, my grandparents didn't want to raise me, so they left me here to rot while they waited for a nonexistent fortune.

     "Will she be staying here over the summer again?" the headmistress asked, carefully stacking various papers on her desk.

     I didn't meet my grandmother's eyes as I heard the inevitable words.

     "We need her to stay until her grades go up. An eighty-six percent accuracy rate just isn't going to get her anywhere in life."

     "Of course," the headmistress smiled, hastily scribbling on my forms. "She'll stay right here until everything is perfect."

>(<>)<

If there was one thing about this dumb boarding school to hate, it was the uniforms. It was composed of so many articles of clothing that you'd sweat wearing it during the dead of winter. The minute my last roommate exited our room to go say her final goodbyes, I tore off the hairband, suit-jacket, vest, sash, shoulder cuffs, Mary Janes, etc. I swear like fifteen articles of clothing were tossed across the room after I was done. And I was still wearing the undershirt and skirt. This whole establishment could have been saving thousands per year if they just simplified the uniforms.

     Thankfully, the school year was over. Two of my roommates had departed back to their hometowns, while the last one was preparing to leave. No one would be there to care if I strung discarded, ugly uniform pieces everywhere. The only people that would care were the cleaners that showed up once a week during the summer. Like me, there were a few other girls who stayed, so the headmistress was required to pay the bill for upkeep.

     I quickly changed into my thieving attire (a dark, oversized shirt and sweatpants), and shoved a ski mask over my head. After securing my sunglasses in place, I swung out of the window and made my way onto the roof. My room was near the back of the building, so all the exiting students wouldn't see me.

     Once I made my way to the top, I scanned the city for my destination. Huddled on the opposite side of town was a massive red ship. I grinned.

     The rumors said it brought 'ninja' with it. And ninja were sure to bring a lot of exotic things with them.

     I made a running leap onto the next roof, practiced movement making the landing smooth. I gripped the sloped tiles, climbing up one side and sliding down the next. With all the commotion going on down by the boarding school, no one would look to the skies.

     I swung from a rafter to an abandoned alley, pushing my sunglasses back up my nose. They were an accessory adorned only with the purpose of hiding my eyes. I couldn't let any part of me be recognizable as I was thieving.

     The poor people who lived in the dirty alleys of the city didn't care if the town's most notorious thief openly walked in front of them. They were too busy trying to either steal themselves or trying to keep themselves safe. I didn't bother them, but their streets were somewhere I could walk without challenge. Once, a desperate man had tried to lay a trap for me, but my 'getting-out-of-sticky-situations' skills weren't terrible.

     It was almost twilight when I finally made it to the other side of town. The headmistress should have been concerned that I didn't come down for dinner, but luckily, I was known for taking food up to my room to 'study'.

     The ninja ship was parked in the outskirts of Kunci, filled with the stench of fresh fuel and the sight of strange people. When I got as close as I dared to it, I saw a man made of metal walking about on the deck, laughing with a younger blonde boy as they carried mechanical parts into the cabins. A darker haired boy trailed behind them, his movements wobbly.

     How could someone be made of metal? I had heard of cybernetic surgeries, but never of a robot acting so human. How exotic.

     Exotic.

     I quickly slid off the roof I was perched on, running quietly towards the massive structure.

     "You can't win like this, Storm!" a female voice screeched out of an open window. "Ope-ulent isn't even a word!"

     "Actually, it is a word. Morro told me all about it the other day—"

     "Morro, is ope-ulent is word?"

     "It's opulent, Aureole, not ope-ulent. And yes, it is a word," a disinterested voice responded.

     "You both are no fun," the girl whined, her voice getting closer to the window. I quickly pressed myself flat against the painted wood, stifling my breathing as much as possible. My mind whirled as I inched my way to the back of the ship. Something this big had to have a set of keys that turned it on, right?

     I rummaged around in my pockets to find my thieving sash. It was a piece of fabric that was sturdy enough to hold my weight, an object that came in handy during many of these types of situations. After hooking it on a rail, I swung myself up to the second story cabins. Muffled voices came through one of the slightly opened windows, so I climbed over to do a bit of spying.

     "What do you mean they want you to take Puffy Pot-stickers off the menu?" an older male voice complained, a flash of red coming closer to the window. I ducked around the side, praying that he wouldn't see me. It was dark outside though, and my outfit was dark, so for now I was safe.

     Another muffled noise called out; it sounded as if it was coming from a phone.

     "I get that, but remember what happened last time your company took those off the menu?" The sound of spraying followed the statement; the subtle scent of hair gel drifted out the crack in the window.

     More muffled noises jabbered on, until the man moaned, "Dareth is going to have my head for this."

     I didn't know who Dareth was, or what this supposed company was supposed to be, so I quietly made my way up the top cabin, which had a closed window. The only reason I knew people were in there was because of the faint light streaming from a crack in the curtain. Closed windows and closed curtains could only mean one thing: somebody was hiding something inside.

     There was a hook above the window that a lantern was perched on. I looped my sash around the hook, using the fabric to hang right outside of it. I pressed my ear against the closed window, closing my eyes to make the voices inside clearer.

     "I'm just worried," a female voice said.

     "I'm worried about her too. Sadly, that doesn't mean we can just get up and leave right now. I want to find Ver as fast as possible, but the Bounty's fuel tank won't finish refilling until around midnight, and it would be detrimental to our flight if we try to run this thing drowsy," a male voice responded.

     This was a flying ship? I don't know why I hadn't made the connection before (boats this big didn't just get towed around the land), but it made perfect sense. I had never seen a flying ship before. The keys that powered this thing had to be the most exotic things ever.

      I opened my eyes and squinted through the small opening in the curtains. I could faintly see a white-haired woman sitting crossed legged on a bed, fiddling with the folds of a gi around her waist. Her movements were slow and melancholy.

     A blonde man knelt down in front of her to help with the knot. He said something I couldn't hear which made her smile. She pressed her forehead against his, her mouth moving with words I couldn't hear. They looked too close to be siblings, so I assumed they were married. If they were married, then they were probably leading this group, since the boy using hair gel seemed too lighthearted to take the missing child seriously. If they were leading the group, then the possibility of them having the keys was pretty high.

     I pressed my ear against the window again, listening for hints on the location of said keys.

     "This whole ordeal has me uneasy. Why would he kidnap Ver of all people? She has nothing to give him," the female said.

     "Maybe he's trying to blackmail us."

     "That's the thing, he hasn't sent us any ultimatums. Why would he kidnap her and then not threaten us?"

     "Maybe he's... maybe he's..." the male hesitated, his voice wobbling, "maybe he's trying to punish us. Maybe he wants us to come to him so we can watch her suffer."

     "What if he's killed her?" the woman's voice was close to tears.

     "The Overlord wouldn't do that. She's much more valuable to him alive. He's probably just waiting for us to come to him to save her. He wants us to go after the three things, so he can know how the rest of the prophecy goes."

     Prophecy?

     Overlord?

     I blanched from my perched position, temporarily distracted from the conversation. Overlord? As in 'I-almost-defeated-the-First-Spinjitzu-Master' Overlord? He was alive? And they were trying to find him? How stupid were these people? Didn't they know there were more professional Ninja to contact about that type of stuff?

     During my little thinking session, I had swung away from the window, ruining my chances of hearing the remainder of the conversation. I pulled myself back to the glass and squinted through the gap in the curtains to see the woman hide a gold rimmed box under the bed's mattress.

      Ah-ha!

     The lights were turned off as the couple left the room. I waited a solid two minutes in silence before gently sliding out my necklace of keys. I had attached a few paper clips to it in case of emergencies, and this definitely seemed like an emergency. I barely ever broke into a place, but these people's keys were one of a kind. And they had to be in that box.

     I knew my hands would be busy, so I hooked my legs through the dangling sash. I slid the end of the paper clip under the lining in the window that kept it sealed, slowly wriggling it through the crack where the windows met. Even though blood was rushing to my head from this position, it was essential that I slowed down and did the job correctly. Once I could feel the end of the thin metal strip break into the room, I brought it up to knock the hook holding the windows closed out of its socket.

     The windows clicked, then slowly creaked open. I could hear a group of people making a racket below this floor, so my operation was still safe. Once my gloves had a firm grip on the windowsill, I swung into the darkened room, landing as quietly as possible on the wooden floors.

     After turning on the light, I wandered over to the bed, feeling around for the end of the mattress. The room was covered in pictures of a group of smiling people in colorful outfits. I didn't pay much attention to what they looked like; that wasn't my mission. The mattress wasn't that heavy, so it was easy for me to prop it up and grab the poorly hidden box.

     It rustled when I picked it up, the sound making every fiber of my body stand up with delight. Just as I had started to open the lid, someone knocked on the door.

     "Mr. and Mrs. G?"

     My brain let out a string of chastisements as I scrambled for the window. Why had I been dumb enough to turn on the light? Whoever was out there probably thought the couple was still in here.

     "Uh, it's dinner time and Morro said I could find you up here—"

     His voice cut off when he heard the window screech. It had slid back shut while I was thieving, and I had been in the process of trying to open it quietly.

     The doorknob turned. "Mr. and Mrs. G?"

     Desperate, I kicked open the window and reached out to grab my sash so I could swing to safety. I had only wrapped my wrist around the fabric when I met his electric blue eyes. My mouth dropped open under my mask, the shock of being caught in the act freezing me in the moment.

     The boy looked older than I was, probably by a year or two, but what startled me was how odd he looked. His nose was offset and small, causing his narrow eyes to appear to pop out of his face. His dark hair wasn't able to decide between being curly or straight, so it seemed like an untamed mess on his head. Even the massive number of freckles on his face made him look like someone had unfairly smashed his genetics together into a combination that somehow couldn't be attractive.

     He was the most exotic person I had ever seen.

     And he had caught me in the middle of my heist.

     An unladylike squeak-laugh slipped through my lips as I swung out the window into my freedom. There was no way he would be able to follow me into town.

     "Hey!" he blurted out, running straight to the window. "Get back here!"

     I ignored the navy-clad boy, sliding down the side of the ship onto the grassy ground beneath. As soon as my feet caught traction, I bolted off into the firelit streets of town. I pushed through merchants and citizens, not bothering to stay hidden. I was moving so fast that I'd be gone by the time they started trying to chase me. I heard the muffled shouts of the people recognizing their notorious thief, then grunts as another figure knocked them down in pursuit. A quick glance over my shoulder showed me the strange boy gaining on me.

     It was much easier to get away if your hands weren't occupied, so I stuffed the box into one of the giant pockets I had sewn to the front of my thieving shirt. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation I was in.

     This boy thought he could catch me.

     No one caught the Midnight Menace.

     I ducked under a low hanging sign, using the bar to slide myself into another alley. I quickly climbed onto the roof, looking to the stars for freedom. Kunci was a maze of buildings; it wouldn't take much effort for me to confuse my pursuer. I had outrun people who had lived here since birth. There was no way the boy could catch me.

     I got about three buildings into my run when someone let out a yell from behind me. I skidded to a stop, feeling the dust from the roof tiles fly out from under my feet. The boy was posed a rooftop away, holding out his hand as if he were grasping for the air. It was such an odd position that I had to blink a few times to make sure I saw it correctly.

      "Come on," he moaned, his face screwed tight in exertion.

      "What are you trying to do, Bluebell?" I snorted under my breath. "Summon a demon?"

     I slipped out of his sight quite quickly, using his momentary distraction to my advantage.

     Before I knew it, I was swinging from the roof of the boarding school into my dorm. I shut the window, closed the curtains, and made sure the front door was locked before removing the box from my costume. It was old, covered in golden markings and strange symbols. I gently lifted the lid to see a few opened scrolls and a stack of letters.

     Where are the keys?

     Setting aside my sunglasses, I gingerly opened one of the scrolls. Whatever was on these better have been worth my time.

     "Great sign... destiny... three things..." I muttered, skimming the useless document. No mention of anything related to how I could get my hands on something exotic. "A key, a sacrifice, and a voice that sings?"

     Sure enough, the scroll plainly said that whoever reading it needed a key to defeat the 'darkness'.

     A key.

     My fingers gently closed in around my necklace as I pulled it out into the light. These 'ninja' people. They were looking for a key. Could they possibly want...?

     "Well, well, well. You may be the best thief in this town, but sadly for you, I'm a trained ninja."

     I spun to see the exotic boy clad in blue in front of my now-open window. He was still behind the flowing curtains, giving him a brutal air of mystery that only heightened my rising fear.

     "Now hand over the box before..." he trailed off, his eyes widening at the sight of my necklace.

     I had locked myself in my own room. If this boy had the wits and talents to find me, then there was no way I stood a chance. Hopefully my identity could stay a secret even though my sunglasses were off.

     "Before what?" I found myself asking.

     I was cornered like a mouse and I was poking the bear.

     Stupid stupid stupid stupid...

     "Keys," he replied, throwing my thought train off yet again, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "You have keys. You could... you could have the one we're looking for."

      Don't poke the bear!

      "You're not getting any of these," I spat.

     Dang it!

     His overgrown brows furrowed, while I moved as close to the door as I dared. As soon as I could, I was breaking out of this room. Just as I was wondering whether taking time to slam the door or not would help me, realization flooded through my bones. I was still dressed as the Midnight Menace. If I went into the halls, then my secret identity would be done for.

     "We have money if you want to trade—" he tried again.

     But then he took a step closer, and I panicked.

     I dove for the door, my fingers inches away from the lock, when he was suddenly at my side. My feet were swept beneath me before I could process what happened—and with a firm tug, he snapped the necklace from my collar, shoving it in his pocket and dashing for the window.

      "If you want these back, then meet us tomorrow morning at the Bounty. Bring the box and everything inside of it," the boy smiled, showing teeth that needed braces. "By the way, if you're not sure who to ask for, my name is Storm. We'll be waiting."

      He disappeared into the night before I could utter another word.

I dropped down to my hands, using my feet to make a sweeping kick under the nearest soldier's legs. As I focused on the fragments of air created by the motion, a funnel extended from my legs, knocking down the three soldiers behind the first one.

     Quick as the wind, I sprung back to my feet, tearing another funnel through the air strong enough to knock another approaching snake soldier. The twist in my gut as I did so was barely noticeable, a strong contrast to when I first tried to control the wind.

     Feed it with your power.

     I barely made contact with any of the slimy soldiers. The wind was an extension of my ever-moving body, a force that I controlled like robotic limbs. It bended as I did. It thrust out when I commanded it to, knocking back any enemies who dared come my way.

     The Overlord's idea of training was far more rigorous than the exercises Father had Shade and Morro do at home. Several times a day I would be forced to participate in fights where it would only end when I drew blood. It didn't matter how many soldiers I beat. As long as I was untouched the fight would continue. One might see that as incentive to stop, but the Overlord kept pushing for me to go longer and longer. I wanted to go longer because it built up tremendous lengths of stamina.

     In between these fights I would be constantly lectured by the Overlord on how to manipulate the wind. I was too tired to do anything but play along, and it seemed blindly taking orders did the trick. The results were magnificent. I had only been in the camp for three days, but I already had a pretty decent grip on the breezes around me.

     Right as I turned to send another gust of wind flying, a sword tip pierced my left ear, sending bright red drops of blood flying. I cried out, instantly reaching up to assess the damage. The blade had only caught the top edge of my ear, but the pain from the small wound was akin to a thousand needles stabbing me. Because I was momentarily distracted, a snake soldier knocked my feet from beneath me. I fell to the ground with a grunt as it hissed with satisfaction.

     Stupid snakes.

     A shrill whistle sounded in the area, the signal for the fight to stop.

     "Twenty-two minutes," the old man, Krux, said from a dark lawn chair he had somehow acquired inside of a camp of snakes. He waved an old stopwatch in the air, shaking his head at me. "I've done better times in my sleep."

     Yeah, because all you ever do is sleep, my thoughts grumbled.

     I thought I knew what it was like to hate someone, but Krux brought on a whole new level. While the Overlord was a bit harsh at times, he still encouraged me to do my best and often helped me. Krux just sat around and complained. He always treated me a two-year-old, even though I could obviously best him a fight, and made fun of my lack of progress. I have no idea what magical force kept me from strangling him every time he got close, but maybe my morals were stronger than I thought.

     "Ssssoldiers, line up," the snake general, Ire, commanded, his eyes glowing with the hive mind.

     All around me, small red snakes slithered into their armor. They assembled into a line, each of them saluting in unison to their general. Ire wasn't a bad leader. His personality was like one of cardboard, but his calm command over his forces often did help in moments of chaos during my fights. During the first day I had gotten way too many cuts to not have some sort of stinging limb every time I walked. Ire was the one who realized that a beat-up girl couldn't help but get pummeled, so he ordered his soldiers to put away their longswords until I got a better grip on the wind.

     "I have gotten a command from our sssouthern camp to join them near the peninsssula. Viper'sss forcesss have found a lead on where the Ninja are heading. They are traveling towardsss Sssongdragon Lake, an isssolated lake within the mountainsss. We will sssurround the mountain to ambush them once they arrive," Ire paced in front of his soldiers, giving me a curt nod as he passed by. At least he acknowledged me as an equal... sort of.

     Krux started muttering to himself, "Isn't Acronix staying at the southern camp?"

     "I believe ssso," Ire responded, his voice dry. "We will be leaving at nightfall. I need a sssquadron of troopsss to prepare the vehiclesss."

     A perfectly synchronized group of snake soldiers bowed and made their way towards the woods behind the camp.

     Why are you hesitant?

     I didn't shudder when his cold voice entered my head anymore. I had become too used to it.

     "I didn't realize it would be so soon. You know, fighting them."

     They don't have to know it's you. You could wear a mask; you could hide behind your powers. All I need you to do is steal the key to the prophecy. Once we have control over one of the three things, then their attempt will become moot.

     "I won't fail," I said, my resolve hardening behind my gut. I knew this day would come; I just had to prepare myself for it. My family would have to suffer for their mistakes, but it was for a better cause and a greater good. Once I took away one of their three things, this world would be safe forever. All I had to do was play one little role to get there.