Two young ninjas are in deep concentration on how to bring their opponent down, looking for every open opportunity to strike. The effort has been proven futile, as every punch goes blocked and every kick gets interrupted. It's like they are the same person with the way they move, both wild, the other already predicting the next move of their opponent. Until finally, the young girl flips above him to land behind him, giving the young boy little time to react. That's when she saw her opportunity to strike. She jumped wrapping her legs around his head and shoulders and flipped him over, her landing on top of him. It was clear who won the fight.

"You got lucky, Ember, that's the only reason you beat me," Colt mouthed off to the girl pushing her off of him.

"Whatever Colt, just admit it, you got beat by a girl!" Ember replied smirking.

"You have to be the most annoying person I've ever met. Why can't you ever just leave me alone?" Colt huffed as he stood up, clearly embarrassed to have been beaten by a girl, let alone Ember. For reasons he never could pinpoint, she had always annoyed him.

"Now, where would the fun be in that? You know how much I love picking on you." She teased as she also stood up and walked over to the rest of the group.

"That was really great, Ember!" Rocky commented, blushing slightly.

Colt rolled his eyes. It was pathetic how much of a crush Rocky had on Ember. He just didn't understand it. Sure, she was pretty, even he had to admit that. He did have eyes, after all. She had long blonde hair, the deepest bluest eyes, long eyelashes and a pretty smile. Of course he noticed that she was pretty. It was just her personality that bugged him.

"Thanks, Rocky! Do you want to walk home together?" Ember asked. She was well aware of Rocky's crush on her, despite Rocky's attempts to hide it. She always caught him looking at her and he'd blush whenever she was around. She thought he was a very sweet boy, very well-mannered and had impressive skill, but she just didn't quite return his feelings in the same way as he felt.

Grandpa had been renting out a small space to continue the boys' ninja training even while in school. It was only five minutes from their house and Ember grew up living next door to the Douglas'. When she took interest in the boys' ninja training, Mori suggested that she tag along to watch and see if she would like to train with them. Colt, of course, objected and complained through her entire course of training. Despite this and the fact that she was starting much later than the boys, she learned very quickly.

"I'd love to walk home together," Rocky replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Colt and Tum-Tum sniggered at each other and began whispering and chanting, "Rocky loves Ember, Rocky loves Ember."

Ember pretended not to hear them. If she acknowledged them, then she would have to acknowledge the boy's feelings and she wasn't ready to do that. She didn't know exactly how she felt about him.

"Bye grandpa!" The boys exclaimed as they all hugged their grandfather goodbye.

"Bye boys! See you next week!"

During the walk home, Ember took the opportunity and attempted to talk to Colt. She never understood his frustration with her. She had never done anything to him, not that she could recall anyway. His frustration with her fueled and motivated her to irritate him even further and push his buttons to get a reaction out of him.

"Tonight was fun," Ember began.

Colt scoffed and said nothing, hoping she would finally just get the message and leave him alone. But Ember being stubborn and as hard-headed as he was, she didn't relent.

"Colt, one of these days, you're actually going to have to get your panties out of a twist and talk to me," Ember challenged him. Before Colt could reply, they had already arrived at home. Ember's house was to the right of the Douglas' house. Ironically, her bedroom was parallel with theirs so she could see in their window from time to time when they had their blinds open.

Ember walked inside her house and the boys stood at the end of their driveway. "God, she's so annoying!" Colt groaned.

Rocky looked at his brother through narrowed eyes. Why was Colt acting this way? Why did he dislike her so much? What could she have possibly done? Knowing his brother and his hot temper, she could have done something simple to upset him.

"What is your problem with Ember, Colt?" Rocky asked.

"She's just always around. She's annoying, won't leave me alone. She always wants to compete with me, trying to prove she's better," Colt complained like any other eight year old would and walked into the house with his brothers in tow.

While Colt immediately went up the stairs, Tum-Tum stopped and looked up at Rocky. "I think Colt's in looooove," sang Tum-Tum in between giggles.

"What? Where would you get an idea like that, Tum? He hates her," Rocky stated confused.

Tum-Tum licked at the sucker he was gripping and shrugged. "Just a guess, but what do I know? I'm just a kid." After that sentence, Tum-Tum followed his other brother upstairs leaving Rocky even more confused than before.