On a dark night in the deep depths of an old forest a man was running as if the world was about to end. The man wore a purple and black ninja suit and had a bullet wound on his shoulder and a stab wound on the back of his thigh. He also had a gash on his left eye, which had blurred his vision and filled half of it with nothing but red and black.

His injuries were beyond painful as every nerve in his body told him to stop running. The man did want to stop, unfortunately he couldn't as the ones responsible for the wounds were still pursuing him. The mysterious ninja man looked to his back, and even with the night having plunged the forest into darkness, and his damaged eye he was still able to see them.

A group of different people were closing in on him quickly, much to his horror. One had a gun in his or her hand which was the same one that was used to shoot him; another had a knife with some partially dried blood on it, the same knife used to stab him not too long ago. This person was also holding his or her right arm because it was broken.

The poor man turned his head away from the crazy psychos who had harmed him and continued running. He'd hope to find some way to get to safety; however, fate seemed to be working against him and he knew that this was where his light would finally go out. He soon came across a cliff that led down to a fast flowing river. For a moment he thought about jumping down there to live; unfortunately due to his injuries he would surely drown. So the man concluded that this was where he would die, so he decided to throw something down into the river to protect it.

Quickly the man pulled off a black ring with a purple gem off his finger and the ninja suit disappeared, leaving the man in his casual clothes he had put on this morning before he was attacked. He then threw the ring down into the river and it made a small splash as it made contact with the water.

After throwing the ring into the river the man pulled out a photo from his shirt pocket and took one final look at it. The photo was of him, his wife, and their fifteen year old daughter. That day was his daughter's birthday and he wanted to surprise her at her favorite restaurant. However, he knew that he wouldn't make it to the party now. The man stared at the photo for some time, only regretting that he couldn't see his young daughter blow out her birthday candles on her special day.

"Hehe, oh Natalie, I'm sorry I couldn't see you turn sixteen, but I don't regret protecting you and your mother. I love you both so much, and I hope the ring will one day find you and you'll be just as great as I was, if not better," the man weakly crooked out with the little amount of strength he had left. He instantly felt the cold blade of a knife on his neck; he knew that meant his time was finally up.

"You know, you would've lived if you had just given us the ring, but you had to have thrown it into the river. Now it's lost and you're powerless, so neither of us win tonight," the man holding the knife growled at the dying man.

"Hehe, no I won as I did my duty and protected both my family and the ring. Judas will never have it and he will remain in the dark world forever," the dying man declared with all his might and breath even though he was barely breathing.

"Well just see about that. Wont we? Your sacrifice will mean nothing once we set our lord free from his prison," the other man declared as he drove the blade into the dying man's throat.

The man fell to the grass that was now stained with his blood, finally dead, and only regretting not seeing his daughter one last time in real life, his hand clutching onto the photo even as his body slowly grew cold while his light went out.

Meanwhile in a small house in the countryside, a mother and her daughter were in the living room. The two had just gotten back from the birthday party at the daughter's favorite restaurant. However, they were both worried sick about the father as he never showed up at the party, despite promising he would after work.

"Mom, where could dad be? He wasn't at work, and he didn't show up to the party, so he has to be out there," the daughter, Natalie, explained, worried about her father.

"I don't know honey, but I'm sure he'll-" the mother was interrupted when two knocks were heard on the old front door. The mother looked at her daughter and told her to stay where she was while she looked to see who was at the door. Natalie nodded and watched as her mother cautiously got up and slowly made her way to the door. It wasn't common to get guests late at night so her mother was being careful to not make too much noise in case whoever it was had bad intentions.

Once the mother was up to the door she looked through the peephole and saw that standing right outside the door on the patio were two police officers. When she saw them she got a sinking feeling in the deep pit of her stomach. She prayed that it didn't have to do with her husband as she didn't want something bad happening to her love on her precious child's birthday. The mother gently opened the door and she saw the officers standing in front of her with serious looks on their faces.

"Hello ma'am, are you Violet Lana?" the first officer asked.

"Yes, what brings you to my house? I do hope it doesn't involve my daughter as she was with me all day," Violet jokingly said, trying to lighten up the two serious officers.

"No ma'am, I'm afraid this has to do with your husband," the officer replied not phased in the slightest on Violet's attempted humor.

When Violet heard that they were here regarding her husband the dread she felt before had grown even more.

"Ma'am, we're sorry to have to tell you this, but your husband was found near Quaker Cliff, dead. He had severe injuries and his throat was slit. We suspect that it was murder and not a suicide as we fail to see a reason he'd want to give up his own life since there was no written note in the location so we believe that someone had killed him," the other officer explained.

When Violet heard that she felt her whole world shatter in an instant. Her heart had broken like glass and she collapsed to her knees on the ground. She didn't want to believe that her beloved was gone, having been murdered by someone out there. However, based on how serious the officers were being, she felt like it was all too real and he really was gone.

While Violet was distraught over the news it was nowhere near how Natalie was feeling right now. Natalie had curled up on the couch and tried her best not to cry out too loud. However tears flowed from her eyes like a waterfall and she couldn't believe what she was hearing now. Her loving father, a man who was so kind, caring and loving to both her and everyone was murdered. She wondered who had killed her father and why? These questions that she'd felt like she would never get the answers to and that killed her.

Once they requested that Violet headed up to the station in the morning for more details and legal matters they left the property. As soon as they were gone, Violet went up to Natalie to see how she was doing.

She looked and saw that Natalie had cried herself to sleep as her eyes were all puffy and the cushion under her head was soaking wet from her tears. Violet sighed and decided to talk to Natalie in the morning when everything had settled down. So she grabbed the warm fluffy blanket that was resting on the back of the couch and draped it over Natalie. As soon as she made sure Natalie was comfortable she went to her room to go to bed to try to sleep off the shock and stress.

Several weeks passed after that incident and the police were unable to track down the killer. Natalie and Violet were both very depressed about that and continued to live in the same house as they did when they were a complete family. So Violet decided that the two of them needed a fresh start and consoled her brother in the matter. Thankfully he allowed them to move in with him and his daughter as they had plenty of room. So Violet signed up for a transfer to an office in the city and was accepted. Now here they were, Violet and Natalie heading to the city, planning on starting a new life with a fresh start.

Natalie was excited to see her cousin Martha again as it's been five years since they last saw one another in person. Unfortunately she was pretty depressed to be saying goodbye to her friends back home, even if she and her mother needed this.

"Hey Natalie, are you excited to see Martha again?" Violet asked her daughter.

"Yeah, but I wish that the circumstances of us moving were different." Natalie explained.

"Me too, but hey you and Martha will be going to the same school and I'm sure she'll help you to fit in and make new friends." Violet explained.

Natalie smiled a bit at that as she knew her cousin always knew how to be awesome and epic. She's always admired Martha's headstrong attitude, and how she always got back up no matter how hard life pushed her down. Natalie remembered how Martha had stayed strong and positive even after she had lost her right leg in a car accident a few years back.

"Hey I wonder if Martha got that prosthetic leg she needs. After all she didn't like being in a wheelchair and she does want to become a female ninja," Natalie explained as she thought about her cousin.

"From the conversation I had on the phone with my brother he said that with the help of their neighbors and friends they were able to raise the money for her prosthetic. So I'm sure she has it and is training as hard as she can to make her dream come true," Violet explained.

"Really? That's great! I can't wait to see her in action with her new leg!" Natalie exclaimed, now even more excited to see her cousin again.

They soon arrived at the apartment building and waiting outside the bakery that was on the bottom floor was Martha and her father. Natalie looked outside the car window and saw her cousin jumping up and down excitedly and just as full with energy as she remembered. She also saw Martha's prosthetic leg and thought it looked cool, as it showed how much of a fighter she was. Natalie opened her car door and stepped out excited to see her older cousin.

When she saw Martha she was able to get a better look at what she had on. Martha was wearing her ripped jean shorts, a black crop top, a yellow sleeveless overcoat, and clip-on earrings in the shape of ninja stairs. Finally to complete her look she had on her favorite ninja themed shoes.

"Hey! Ya! Cous! Come on and bring it in!" Martha exclaimed, with her arms reached out, excited and full of energy.

Natalie smiled hearing the amount of energy Martha had, she loved how ecstatic and energetic Martha was. Even with her disability she never let that stop her from being herself. Natalie walked up to Martha and gave her a big hug, Martha returned it with a big squeeze so hard Natalie thought she was about to crack a rib.

"Ohh! It's so great to see you again! And even better that you'll be living here with us! Ahh! I'm so excited to help you decorate your room!" Martha exclaimed as she hugged her cousin and twirled around like a tornado.

"AHH! YEAH ME TOO! BUT MARTHA! COULD YOU PLEASE PUT ME DOWN!" Natalie requested in a hurry as she started feeling sick.

"Oops! Sorry, I couldn't help it, I'm just so excited! Man, we're gonna watch all our favorite movies, play games all night! Oh and if you're interested! Even joined the Ninja Fan club at my school!" Martha exclaimed, bursting with energy and her eyes sparkling.

"Fan club?" Natalie asked, confused when she heard that.

"I'll explain it later, but for now let's go tour the building and I'll be showing you where you'll be staying," Martha said as she put Natalie down, before immediately grabbing her wrist and practically dragged her into the apartment building.

Despite the slight discomfort in her wrist from her cousin's strong grip, Natalie didn't bother to complain as she was enjoying the moment. After a while of the tour Martha brought Natalie up to the apartment where she lived with her dad. The two girls entered the room and the place was just how Natalie remembered it being. A room that was too big for just two people, it used to have three, but after Martha's parents divorced her mother moved out to go to Canada. Thankfully now the room was gonna have the amount of people it's meant to have, which is four.

"Wanna see the room you got?" Martha asked.

"Sure I'm up for it," Natalie said.

Martha smiled and went to the room where Natalie would be staying. The room was in the hallway that was past the kitchen about three doors down in the hallway. The room was big enough for her to stay in and even have a sleepover with about three friends if she so desired. There was also a single window across from the door that showed a good view of the city.

"Wow this is a nice room. I like it, and I can't wait to see what it'll look like once all my stuff is in it!" Natalie exclaimed excitedly about her new room.

"Yeah me too! I'm glad I was able to convince dad to give you this room, and more glad that you won't have a view of Mr. Parker in his swimming pool," Martha explained.

"Who's that? And why would that be bothersome to me?" Natalie asked, confused by her cousin's words.

"He's an attendant in the apartment across the street; the room he has also comes with a pool that has a big window, and unfortunately for most of the folks living here who have a view of it, they see him swimming in it. It wouldn't be a problem if he didnt like to always go swimming naked," Martha explained as she cringed at the thought.

"Ugh! Based on your words and the face you're making, I'm gonna guess he's not that attractive when he's not wearing anything," Natalie said as she shuttered at the thought as well.

"Yup, he's not one of those hot ripped guys you see on TV. If he was, I'd totally let you have a window where you can see him, but unfortunately, he's an old man who has so much hair on his body, you would think he's half wolf," Martha explained as she shuttered again.

Natalie giggled a little at what Martha was saying, she always knew her cousin said the funniest things ever and she loved it. This did help her feel a little better, but she was still sad about the reason why she and her mom had moved here. She was happy to be living with her cousin and uncle but disappointed that her dad couldn't live with them as well.

Martha looked at Natalie and saw that her cousin's smile was starting to melt away like ice cream on a hot summer day. At first she wanted to try to cheer her up, but the thought then came to mind about just letting Natalie feel and process her emotions.

This led to a bit of a bump for Martha as she didnt know what she had to do at that moment. However she didn't need to think long as she felt her phone vibrate in her back shorts pocket. She swiftly took it out and saw that she had received a message from her dad. So she opened it up and read what the text had to say, "Hey Martha the moving truck just arrived so you girls better come down here and help bring everything up to the apartment. After all, we don't want our family to sleep on the couch the first day they move here. And tomorrow I'd like for you to give Natalie a tour of your school while her mother discusses some things with the principal to allow Natalie to transfer."

As soon as she finished reading the text she responded with, "Alright dad, you messaged me just in time, Natalie was getting sad and I wasn't sure if I should comfort her or let her feel her emotions. Aside from that I'll tell her about the moving truck, Love you!"

After sending the response Martha looked to Natalie and tapped her lightly to get her attention. "Hey cous moving trucks here, let's head out and unpack your stuff so we can get your new room sorted out," Martha explained.

"Alright you go on ahead, I just need a moment," Natalie said, sounding pretty depressed now.

Martha frowned at this and just turned around and walked out of the apartment. Natalie meanwhile went up to the window and opened it up enough for her to rest her arms on it. She looked out to the city as the wind blew into her face and made her long black hair flow beautifully.

As she sat there she thought about how she could at least make things better here, even if her father wasn't with them anymore. Natalie knew that her dad wouldn't want her to just mope around; he would want her to live and be as happy as she could be. All he ever wanted was for her to be happy, so she decided she'd do what she could to be happy.

"Alright Natalie! A new life in a new home and a new school! You've got this! I'm gonna live my life and be happy, just as my dad would've wanted me to be. Oh and I really hope to find a cute boy here! I've been wanting to find a cute boyfriend for sometime now. And if he's all dark and mysterious then that will make it even better! EEE!" Natalie squealed as she thought about a cute dreamy boy to hopefully be her boyfriend.

After cheering herself up she raced down to help her family out with unpacking as she wanted her new room to be decorated ASAP. As she raced down to the first floor, Natalie had no idea what was waiting for her in this city, and how her life would change forever.