I Will Never Forget You ( RC9GN fanfic) [On Hiatus]

Chapter-10 Positive Reinforcement

" Don't panic, just don't panic." Nomi constantly said to herself as her words bounced off the plastic walls of the cubicle. " How can I not panic?! That girl, Theresa admitted to liking Randy and I like an idiot, said the same thing aloud for her to hear."

" I'm unbelievable." She admitted as her head bowed down, her neck felt as if she could not support her head as ever corner of her mind was filled with thoughts. A knot was tied at her stomach making her uneasy. Suddenly a click sound emitted from the door in front, followed by a quick shake of the plastic door which causing to jump slightly from the shock.

" Oh, sorry." Came a female voice from the other side as she quickly apologized. " Thought it was empty."

Then a sequence of noises was heard as the girl stepped to the right, opened the door of the cubicle besides her, entered and finally the door closed. Nomi realized that this place might not be the best place of a quiet moment. She sighed as she exited the cubicle. Walking a few steps forward she stared at her reflection at the bathroom mirror.

She studied her facial appearance carefully and mentally compared herself to Theresa. She couldn't exactly judge on who was more likely to attract someone of the opposite gender. Nomi had more define sharper features but Theresa possessed more of the word that Nomi wasn't exactly pleased with, girly.

Would Randy care? She wondered to herself. He was a guy, no matter how pure hearted he was, surely deep down he might prefer someone more feminine, someone sensitive, someone who they would feel the need to protect. That's not how anyone who knew The NinjaNomicon would describe her as. She sighed once more unable to come with anything useful.

She splashed cool water on her face in attempts to calm her overheating mind. The cold sensation of the water covering her face as the remaining liquid dripped off her chin. She looked at herself once more with fresh eyes. The water did it's trick as she began to humbly admire her appearance. Feeling better and more confident, she left the restroom and walked to the halls filled with students.

She felt out of place there in the high school despite of the fact that she had been there for almost all her life as The NinjaNomicon and knew every inch of the entire school and could navigate through it perfectly blindfolded. Yet it was different on two walking legs like a normal high schooler going through life. She had a hard time remembering her past, her life before becoming the product of pen and paper. A source of ancient knowledge of the shadow warrior know to all as The Norrisville Ninja.

Everything is a blur, yet she remembered her parents. Loving and kind, strict but fair, supportive and always by her side. And now no one remembers them nor the people that existed in the past. Only she did, just the many selfless pure hearted heroes that had the honor of donning The Ninja Mask. Only she remembered their noble deeds.

This spiral of thoughts left her depressed and once again led her to lower her guard. A sudden tap on the shoulder caused her to nearly leap from her shoes. She snapped her head back quickly and the first thing she noticed was purple spike hair.

" Hey, Nomi you okay?" Asked Randy, his expression showing slight concern. " You look like you just lose your smile." He joked hoping for a reaction.

The joke was terrible it even made Howard roll his eyes in the background. yet it was cheesey it made her chuckle. That quick laugh drained all the negativity from her mind. She swore only Randy could achieve something like that.

" I'm fine now, thanks to you." She smiled fully facing him.

" You're welcome. Hey it's luck break, wanna hit the cafeteria?"

" Sure." She agreed. After her spirits had been lifted. What could go wrong? she thought to herself, however she learned to regret her decision ten minutes later.

Once the three had entered the cafeteria, almost all the tables were filled. Randy looked around to find an empty yet he couldn't find one, however he did find the next best thing. He grasped Nomi's wrist and lead her across the room." Come on this way." He said cheerfully.

Nomi didn't know where he was leading her, her field of vision showed no empty area. It left her confused yet she trusted him. Finally they reached the table and two things jumped out at Nomi, firstly it wasn't empty, there were two girls and second it was Debbie and freaking Theresa.

Randy asked if they could join them. Debbie seemed adamant but remained quiet. Theresa didn't mind in fact she seemed quite pleased that is until she saw the red headed girl besides Randy with a sunned expression. After taking their seats, Randy was expecting a better conversation with them that what happened the other day. Yet to his surprise it was pretty much the same, in fact it was even worse than yesterday.

The atmosphere was icy and extremely uncomfortable. Debbie and Howard still weren't talking to each other and acting aloof. He hoped Theresa would help but she seemed anxious and nervous. Her gaze was low, shoulders slouching. Her eyes was to her left. Randy turned to saw Nomi acting the same as Theresa. It was quite shocking for Randy to see her like that, and was regretting this decision but he still wanted to remain and see it through.

" So,...The-." Randy began before cutting to the blue haired girl instead." Debbie, what's up? How you been, gurl?"

Debbie turned her eyes towards the purple haired teen and stared at him as if he were a stranger. She realized how awkward the situation was at the moment so she tried to contribute to melt the chilly atmosphere.

" Everything's great." Even though she genuinely wasn't trying to sound sarcastic yet it still came out in that tone. She managed to compose herself quickly and carried the conversation." So, who's this?" She asked.

Nomi realized that Debbie was referring to her, so she replied with." I'm Nomi Norisu, an exchange student."

" But the semester-"

" Don't ask questions, just let it go." Nomi strongly suggested with a super creepy smile.

Sweat dripped from the back of Debbie's head as she decided to drop that subject but she didn't want the awkwardness to continue she asked a different question. " So, how do you too know each other?"

That question triggered Theresa to pull her head up as she too wanted to know how this person is acquainted with a friend she had known for a good portion of her young life.

Randy stepped in and answered the question for her, as he hadn't informed Nomi of the lie he made up to cover up how they met." We're pen-pals." He replied with a nervous smile." We've been messaging each other for a few years now."

" So, you've known one another for quite some time, now?" Asked Theresa quite surprised as she had never heard of this from Randy nor Howard. She thought that she had been good friend with Randy that he would tell her this sort of things.

" Well, he did say years, didn't he?" Spoke up Nomi as she looked at the girl in the eyes.

Debbie felt the need to change the topic once more as she noted the unease expression on her friend's face. " So, I guessing you're from Japan?"

Nomi simply nodded her head at the question.

This ploy thus allowed for an opening to ask typical tourist questions about the foreign country and avoid any more awkward exchange. Debbie opened her mouth to ask a question but for some reason, the words that escaped her mouth was not what she was going to say. Perhaps, Debbie couldn't think of anything at the moment and her instincts simply kicked in and did the talking for her.

" So, where have you been living?"

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A/N :  Hey dear readers, sorry for the super slow updates. I have a bunch of homework that I have to do so the doesn't really leave a lot of time for writing.

But I felt like I have to update today simply because it's my B-day today.

Anyway Stay Positive and Safe, dear readers.